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Earth Island Institute

CharityWatch report issued
August 2021

Top-Rated Charity
A
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
88%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$5
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

Earth Island Institute
2150 Allston Way
Suite 460
Berkeley, CA 94704

Other Names

1000 Fountains
Action for a Livable Tomorrow
Alaska Clean Water Advocacy
ALERT: A Locally Empowered Response Team
All One Ocean
Altai Project
AlterTerra
Armenia Environmental Network
Baikal Watch
Bay Area Wilderness Training
Borneo Project
California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN)
California Institute for Community, Art, and Nature
California Trade Justice Coalition
California Urban Streams Partnership
Castanea Fellowship
Children in Nature Collaborative
Climate Action Now!
Climate Wise Women
Conservation Kids
Covenant Solar Initiative
Cultivate Oregon
EcoEquity
Ecovet Global
EcoVillage Farm Learning Center
EnergieRich
Environmental Finance Center (EFC) West
Ethical Traveler
Food Shift
Friends of Muonde
Generation Waking Up
Global Women's Water Initiative
Green Life
Green Schoolyard America
Guias Unidos
Hempstead Project HEART
International Marine Mammal Project
John Muir Project
John Muir Trail Wilderness Conservancy
Junior Wildlife Rangers
Kelly Creek Protection Project
Kids for the Bay
Living Well Collaborative
Mississippi Farm to School Network
Nature in the City
Numi Foundation
Oakland Food Policy Council
PGM ONE
Planet Earth Arts
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Project Coyote
Public Lands Media
Raptors Are the Solution
Real Food Real Stories
Richmond Trees
Sacred Land Film Project
SAVE International
Save our Soil
Seeding Sovereignty
Serengeti Watch
Shark Stewards
South Coast Habitat Restoration
Stop Fish Bombing U.S.A.
Transition Earth
Ultimate Civics
Viva Sierra Gorda
West County DIGS
Wholly H2O
Wild Heritage
Wild Hope
Wild Oyster Project
WildFutures
Women for Wildlife
Women's Climate Centers International
Women's Earth Alliance
Youth Empowered Action Camp

Tax Status

501(c)3

Stated Mission

Develops & supports projects that counteract threats to the biological & cultural diversity that sustains the environment. Through education & activism, these projects promote the conservation, preservation, and restoration of the Earth.

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Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 06/30/2020

Program Percentage: 88%

The percentage of Earth Island Institute's cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$15,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $5

How many dollars Earth Island Institute spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$14,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Earth Island Institute IRS Form 990 94-2889684
Earth Island Institute Audited Financial Statements 94-2889684
Entity: Earth Island Institute
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 94-2889684
Entity: Earth Island Institute
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 94-2889684

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
This charity is Top-Rated
What does it mean to be Top-Rated?
 
Earth Island Institute
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Earth Island Institute
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy No Sharing  

  Name Title Compensation
1 Julia Cohen Project Director $150,266
2 Dianna Cohen Project Director $147,617
3 David Phillips Executive Director $145,650
1
Name: Julia Cohen
Title: Project Director
Compensation: $150,266
2
Name: Dianna Cohen
Title: Project Director
Compensation: $147,617
3
Name: David Phillips
Title: Executive Director
Compensation: $145,650

CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

According to the Earth Island Institute tax filing for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, Earth Island received in-kind contributions of donated services and use of facilities in fiscal 2020 on which it placed a total value of $3,329,984 (IRS Form 990, Schedule D, Part XI).

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Earth Island Institute audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 10, Deposit for Land Purchase – Kelly Creek Protection Project):

"During the year ended June 30, 2018, the Organization started the Kelly Creek Protection Project to raise funds to purchase land in Petaluma named the Helen Putnam Regional Park extension. The Organization raised $3,040,000 during the year ended June 30, 2018 and raised another $1,087,000 during the subsequent year ending June 30, 2019 for a grand total of $4,127,000 for the project.

"In May 2018, the Organization made a deposit of $2,100,000 for the purchase of the land. In August 2018, the Organization made another deposit of $2,000,000 for a total of $4,100,000 which is currently being held as a deposit in escrow for the purchase of the land."

According to the Earth Island Institute audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 21, Related Party Transactions):

"The Organization leases office space from the David Brower Center (see Note 20 [portions cited, below]). Furthermore, the Organization has several board members that serve on the board of the David Brower Center."


According to the Earth Island Institute audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 20, Leases):

"The Organization's main office is located at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, California. This lease is for five years commencing on May 1, 2019 with three five-year renewal options. The monthly rent is currently $27,716.

"The Organization has been subleasing some of its office spaces at David Brower Center to other unrelated parties. These subleases are currently on a month-to-month basis.

"The David Brower Center building was owned by Oxford Street Development, LLC until December 2014 when the David Brower Center acquired the building. The David Brower Center held a master lease for the building before its acquisition of the building. Oxford Street Development, LLC has two members, one of which is the David Brower Center, a California non-profit organization... The David Brower Center has designated two supported organizations – one of them is the Earth Island Institute, Inc. The David Brower Center engages in efforts to protect the natural world, educates the public about the natural world, and promotes sustainable human communities.

"In addition, the projects of the Organization also have separate offices that are under noncancelable term leases, one-time lease, and/or month-to-month leases. The Organization also pays some of the project directors for the usage of their home offices..."

According to the Earth Island Institute tax filing for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, in response to the question re: the existence of a family or business relationship among officers, directors, trustees, or key employees (IRS Form 990, Part VI, line 2), Earth Island reports:

"Barbara and Ken Brower are board members and sister and brother" (IRS Form 990, Schedule O).


In addition to being a board member, Ken Brower is also reported as Vice President. Earth Island reports having 10 voting members on its board at the end of fiscal 2020, including Barbara and Ken Brower (IRS Form 990, Parts VI & VII).

According to the Earth Island Institute audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 14, Paycheck Protection Program Loan Payable):

"In April 2020, the Organization obtained an SBA [Small Business Administration] Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan through Bank of the West in the amount of $1,530,727 to finance operations during the Coronavirus Pandemic... The PPP loan bears an interest rate of 1% and is payable in monthly installments of $85,726 beginning October 2020 through March 2022. However, the PPP loan can be forgiven in accordance with the requirements of the Paycheck Protection Program... There is no guarantee that the Organization will receive forgiveness of any portion of the Loan. Forgiveness is conditioned on SBA Approval and SBA reimbursement to the Lender."

According to the Earth Island Institute audit of June 30, 2020 (Note 22, Coronavirus Pandemic):

"In December 2019, an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) began to spread among various countries, including the United States. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. In addition, multiple jurisdictions in the U.S., including California, declared a state of emergency and issued shelter-in-place orders in response to the outbreak. The immediate impact to the Organization's operations included restrictions on employees' and volunteers' ability to work, and it is anticipated that the impacts from this pandemic will continue for some time. As of the report date [November 4, 2020], the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak cannot be measured."