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Inaturalist

EIN 92-1296468 · San Rafael, CA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong90 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

INATURALIST'S MISSION IS TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO NATURE AND ADVANCE BIODIVERSITY SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION. ITS VISION IS A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND AND SUSTAIN BIODIVERSITY THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF OBSERVING WILD ORGANISMS AND SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT THEM.

Income
$4.7 million
Spending
$3.1 million
Spent on programs
72%
Reserves
18.7 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 94%
Employees
15
Volunteers
1,300,000
Highest pay
$224,638, executive dir., secretary

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 72% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 18.7 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 2% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 35% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 15% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    72% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 60% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 8 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (1)
  1. $2.2 million spent. INATURALIST DEMONSTRATED IMPACTS IN THREE KEY AREAS THAT ALIGN WITH ITS MISSION: PEOPLE, SCIENCE, AND CONSERVATION. THE CORE OF HOW INATURALIST FULFILLS ITS MISSION BY BUILDING AND SUPPORTING SCALABLE TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO MAKE AND SHARE OBSERVATIONS OF BIODIVERSITY USING FREE MOBILE APPS AND WEBSITES.IN 2024, MORE THAN 1.3 MILLION PEOPLE WERE DIRECTLY ENGAGED IN INATURALIST'S CORE ACTIVITY OF MAKING THEIR OWN OBSERVATIONS AND/OR IDENTIFYING OBSERVATIONS FOR OTHER PEOPLE. EACH MONTH, ABOUT 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE USED SEEK BY INATURALIST, AND APPROXIMATELY 3.6 MILLION PEOPLE VISITED THE INATURALIST WEBSITE. (CONT. ON SCH. O)THANKS TO THIS GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE DOCUMENTING BIODIVERSITY, INATURALIST PASSED THE MILESTONE OF HAVING 500,000 UNIQUE TAXA OR APPROXIMATELY 23% OF ALL NAMED SPECIES ON THE EARTH. OVER 300,000 OF THESE SPECIES WERE RECORDED IN 2024 ALONE. COMPARED TO OTHER SOURCES OF BIODIVERSITY DATA, INATURALIST IS THE LARGEST SOURCE OF DATA FOR MOST OF THE WORLD'S SPECIES. MORE THAN 900 SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS PUBLISHED IN 2024 USED INATURALIST DATA.BY USING MACHINE LEARNING TO SYNTHESIZE MILLIONS OF INATURALIST OBSERVATIONS, IDENTIFICATIONS, AND PHOTOS, WE RELEASED 7 NEW COMPUTER VISION MODELS AND GEOMODELS THAT MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO IDENTIFY THE SPECIES THEY SEE. BY THE END OF 2024, NEARLY 100,000 TAXA WERE REPRESENTED IN THESE MODELS. BUILDING ON THE GEOMODEL, WE ALSO RELEASED AN ANOMALY DETECTION TOOL TO HELP SURFACE UNUSUAL OBSERVATIONS. INATURALIST DATA IS NOW CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO DISCOVER NEW SPECIES, REDISCOVER "LOST" ONES, EXTEND AND REFINE SPECIES DISTRIBUTIONS, DETECT INVASIVE SPECIES, MANAGE ENDANGERED SPECIES, ADVOCATE FOR PROTECTED AREAS, UNDERSTAND OUR CHANGING CLIMATE, STUDY ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR, AND INFORM HUMAN HEALTH. MANY ANNUAL STATS AND EXAMPLES CAN BE FOUND HERE: HTTPS://WWW.INATURALIST.ORG/STATS/2024

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 2023.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.