Friends of the Earth
“To defend the environment and champion a healthy and just world.”
2 live lawsuits, 15 comments to the agencies, 84 cents of every dollar to the work.
The work
What they do
International environmental advocacy fighting for a more healthy, just world.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Outreach and Membership Programs
$6.7M, 36% of spendingThe outreach program educates members and activists as well as the greater public about significant threats to the environment, and encourages them to participate with Friends of the Earth to achieve positive outcomes…
Including $376,500 granted onward, most of it ($360,000) to Friends of the Earth (Action) Inc.
Read it as they filed it
OUTREACH AND MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM - THE OUTREACH PROGRAM EDUCATES MEMBERS AND ACTIVISTS AS WELL AS THE GREATER PUBLIC ABOUT SIGNIFICANT THREATS TO THE ENVIRONMENT, AND ENCOURAGES THEM TO PARTICIPATE WITH FRIENDS OF THE EARTH TO ACHIEVE POSITIVE OUTCOMES INCLUDING PROTECTING POLLINATORS FROM TOXIC PESTICIDES, PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS FROM POLLUTION, AND PREVENTING INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS THAT WOULD HARM COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS. THIS IS DONE THROUGH ONLINE ACTION ALERTS, ONLINE ADVERTISING, MAILINGS, PRINT NEWSLETTERS (TO MEMBERS), AS WELL AS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES LIKE FACEBOOK. FOE ALSO SEEKS OPPORTUNITIES TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC THROUGH TV AND RADIO INTERVIEWS. THE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTLY REACHED OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE WHO TOOK NEARLY 3 MILLION ACTIONS IN THE 2024 FISCAL YEAR. THESE ACTIONS CONTRIBUTED TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS LIKE PUSHING CALIFORNIA'S DEPARTMENT OF PESTICIDE REGULATION (DPR) TO DEVELOP A BINDING AGREEMENT TO PROPOSE REGULATIONS FOR PESTICIDE-TREATED SEEDS, PUSHING COUNTRIES TO CUT UP TO $15 BILLION IN FOSSIL FUEL FUNDING, AND DELAYING A DESTRUCTIVE GEOENGINEERING PROJECT IN CAPE COD.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Food and Technology Programs
$3.5M, 19% of spendingThe food and technology team conducts market campaigns, scientific research and policy advocacy to promote a more just and sustainable food system.
Including $298,737 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
FOOD AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM - THE FOOD AND TECHNOLOGY TEAM CONDUCTS MARKET CAMPAIGNS, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND POLICY ADVOCACY TO PROMOTE A MORE JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM. IN THE PAST YEAR, THE TEAM CAMPAIGNED TO CONVINCE GARDEN STORES AND GROCERS TO STOCK MORE BEE-FRIENDLY AND ORGANIC PRODUCTS AND ADVOCATED FOR PUBLIC POLICIES TO PHASE-OUT BEE-KILLING PESTICIDES. IT ALSO HELPED INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS SCHOOLS TO ADOPT MORE CLIMATE-FRIENDLY PURCHASING POLICIES, ENCOURAGED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO DIVEST FROM FACTORY FARMS, AND ADVOCATED FOR BETTER REGULATION OF PRODUCTS MADE FROM SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Economic Policy Program
$1.9M, 11% of spendingThe economic policy team aims to create a more environmentally sustainable and socially just world by transforming financial and economic systems.
Including $89,107 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
ECONOMIC POLICY PROGRAM - THE ECONOMIC POLICY TEAM AIMS TO CREATE A MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AND SOCIALLY JUST WORLD BY TRANSFORMING FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE EFFORTS TO END SUBSIDIES FOR POLLUTING INDUSTRIES AND ENCOURAGE INVESTMENTS IN CLEAN ALTERNATIVES. DURING THE LAST YEAR, IT WORKED TO ALTER LENDING PRACTICES AT LARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT FUND FOSSIL FUELS AND HARM COMMUNITIES AND BIODIVERSITY IN THE US AND ABROAD. IT ENCOURAGED INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS TO ADOPT POLICIES TO DEFUND DEFORESTATION, PARTICULARLY RELATED TO PALM OIL PRODUCTION.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Climate and Energy Programs
$1.7M, 9% of spendingThe climate & energy team promotes clean energy and conservation and fights to end our dependence on dirty, harmful sources of energy including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear.
Including $208,000 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
CLIMATE AND ENERGY PROGRAM - THE CLIMATE & ENERGY TEAM PROMOTES CLEAN ENERGY AND CONSERVATION AND FIGHTS TO END OUR DEPENDENCE ON DIRTY, HARMFUL SOURCES OF ENERGY INCLUDING COAL, OIL, NATURAL GAS AND NUCLEAR. IN THE LAST YEAR, THE TEAM HELPED LEAD EFFORTS TO PREVENT FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES AND RESISTED ATTEMPTS TO OPEN UP PUBLIC WATERS AND LANDS TO FOSSIL FUEL DEVELOPMENT. IT CONTINUED ITS CAMPAIGN EFFORTS TO PROMOTE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND/OR RENEWABLE ENERGY IN NC AND ALSO ADVOCATED FOR THE REGULATION OF GEOENGINEERING.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
84 cents of every dollar goes to the work
A good sign, not a scorecard: what matters is the extremes, and this is nowhere near one.
$15,310,827 programs, $1,153,816 management, $1,851,618 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed on the record by David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and 444S Foundation, latest filing FY24.
The people
Who does the work
Took the helm from Erich G Pica, who drew $230,400 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at Friends of the Earth? Claim this page.
Those 1,000 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Friends of the Earth is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
And 7 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
Fights alongside Center for Biological Diversity (9 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (6 shared cases), Sierra Club (6 shared cases), Alaska Wilderness League (4 shared cases) and Defenders of Wildlife (4 shared cases) and 15 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $5,495,897 |
| 2012 | $6,151,456 |
| 2013 | $7,475,073 |
| 2014 | $7,495,818 |
| 2015 | $12,759,708 |
| 2016 | $10,486,418 |
| 2017 | $12,545,714 |
| 2018 | $10,051,439 |
| 2019 | $10,801,719 |
| 2020 | $11,961,583 |
| 2021 | $17,624,249 |
| 2022 | $17,950,451 |
| 2023 | $16,789,731 |
| 2025 | $20,396,676 |
From $5.5M in 2011 to $20.4M in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2024).
On the Hill
Friends of the Earth files its own federal lobbying reports: 28 filings from 2019 to 2025, naming 50 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on the environment, the budget and energy.
The record
On the record with the agencies
15 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov. The latest on decisions we track:
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1969Friends of the Earth is formed.the directory; the return’s own formation year is 1974
- 20162016 to 2024: 10 cases filed, all since closed: Wilderness Society v. Burgum; Healthy Gulf v. DOI and 8 more.the docket
The other 8
2024, State of Iowa v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed; 2021, Friends of the Earth v. Haaland, closed; 2021, Alaska Wildlife Alliance v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2016, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, closed; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Land Management, closed; 2020, Organized Village of Kake v. Vilsack, closed; 2020, Alaska Community Action on Toxics v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed; 2019, Native Village of Nuiqsut v. Bureau of Land Management, closed.
- 2020Natural Resources Defense Council v. Bureau of Land Management: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- 2022First appears in the grants of David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and 444S Foundation.the funders’ returns
- 2023State of Alaska v. The United States Department of Agriculture: intervenor, still in court.the docket
- 1 comment to NOAA, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 20241 comment to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 20259 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 20264 comments, most to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 12 federal cases with the group on the docket, 15 comments filed under its own name, 4 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Friends of the Earth files 2 related organizations on its return: Foe Action Healthy World Victory Fund (527) and Healthy World Fund. A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Help complete this profile. If you work here, claim it and send us your current campaigns and the best way for supporters to get involved. An editor checks what you send before it goes up.
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Friends of the Earth
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.