Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

Khamai Foundation

EIN 93-3313266 · St Petersburg, FL

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood71 out of 100GovernanceWeak44 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

To save biodiverse tropical forests protect threatened herpetofauna support the discovery of new species and fight climate change by connecting our donors to the forest. Khamai focuses on creating reserves for amphibians and reptiles which can be particularly susceptible to environmental degradation and pollution. By protecting this often ignored animal group in turn hundreds if not thousands of other species in the reserves will be protected too.

Income
$343,442
Spending
$288,725
Spent on programs
91%
Reserves
2.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
0
Volunteers
4
Highest pay
$26,500, president and ceo

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 71 out of 100. Higher than 37% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 2.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 16% of income.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    91% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Weak: 44 out of 100. Higher than 8% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    5 of 25

    2 of 4 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    0 of 15

    Reports no written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no 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

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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, 2025, 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 (4)
  1. $135,349 spent. This project aims to save the only known population of the critically endangered Mindo Harlequin Toad Atelopus mindoensis rediscovered in 2019 after being thought extinct for 30 years. The project will implement a rapid-response monitoring program the sourcing of a backup ex-situ colony based on tadpoles and the creation of a reserve to protect the habitat of the only surviving population. All these actions seek to increase population densities and ultimately help save the species from extinction. | Explanation:| In 2025 the organization expanded the Arlequn Reserve from 5 to 33 protected hectares in the Andean cloud forest to safeguard the critically endangered Mindo Harlequin Toad. This expansion involved land acquisition ecological monitoring and the hosting of the 4th BioBlitz to document biodiversity.
  2. $125,233 spent. This project seeks to expand the Pitalala Reserve a protected area inside the biodiversity vertex a 100 km2 quadrant holding the ABSOLUTE greatest number of animal and plant species per unit area anywhere on Earth hoping to secure its designation as the first-ever Kichwa Biosphere Reserve. The expansion of the reserve will stop a network of colossal open-pit gold mining operations through the direct purchase of various rainforest land lots totaling 2,200 hectares. Khamai Foundation has the opportunity to acquire these plots of land before the miners do but only if we act quickly. | Explanation:| In 2025 the Pitalala Reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon successfully expanded to 152 hectares. The organization effectively prevented the establishment of a new gold mining front in the area safeguarding the watershed from mercury contamination and habitat destruction. This effort directly protected a newly discovered population of the Endangered Spotted Rocket Frog Hyloxalus maculosus marking only the third known population of the species in existence.
  3. $2,180 spent. The Arteaga Species Discovery Fund is the first fund dedicated exclusively to the discovery of new animal species. The fund aims to help accelerate the rate of animal species discovery and support young taxonomists. It provides small grants of $1,000 to $3,000 to individuals between the ages of 18 and 35 who are working on new species descriptions.
  4. This Rare Snake Census consists of a rapid-response expedition by the Khamai Foundation and the Reptiles of Ecuador book authors to locate survivors of the elusive Ecuadorian Eyelash Boa Trachyboa gularis a Critically Endangered snake species endemic to western Ecuador. This expedition is a response to a credible source reporting a snake possibly belonging to this species spotted in a previously unexplored marshland in west-central Ecuador.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 October 13, 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 November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.

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

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since April 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 November 4, 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.