Natural Resources Defense Council
“To safeguard the earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.”
The origin
How they started
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a legal and policy powerhouse, roughly 700 staff of attorneys, scientists, and advocates who go after federal decisions that threaten land, water, and wildlife. Since 1970 it has built much of the case law that protects public lands, and it remains a constant party in litigation over the Arctic Refuge, BLM leasing, and endangered species. When a rule needs challenging, NRDC is often the one filing.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “WE SAFEGUARD THE EARTH: ITS PEOPLE, ITS PLANTS AND ANIMALS, AND (SEE SCHEDULE O) THE NATURAL SYSTEMS ON WHICH ALL LIFE DEPENDS. WE WORK TO RESTORE THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELEMENTS THAT SUSTAIN LIFE - AIR, LAND, AND WATER - TO DEFEND ENDANGERED NATURAL PLACES AND COMMUNITIES.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Pressing the policymakers
$59.6MINTERNATIONALNRDC HAS CONTINUED TO URGE THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE PLANS TO TACKLE THE BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CRISES.
Read it as they filed it
INTERNATIONALNRDC HAS CONTINUED TO URGE THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE PLANS TO TACKLE THE BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CRISES. NRDC'S INTERNATIONAL WORK LEVERAGES OUR SCIENTIFIC, ECONOMIC, AND POLICY EXPERTISE TO ADVANCE KEY ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE PROGRAMS WITH FAR-REACHING IMPACTS ACROSS THE WORLD. OUR HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR INCLUDE:TO PREPARE FOR THE EFFECTS OF RISING GLOBAL TEMPERATURES, NRDC CONTINUED PROJECTS WITH ITS LOCAL PARTNERS IN INDIA TO INCREASE HEAT RESILIENCE, LAUNCHING HEAT ACTION PLANS AND SUPPORT FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ON HEAT RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE COOLING (CEHSC). IN OUR EFFORTS TO ADVANCE TRANSPORT ELECTRIFICATION, NRDC WITH SUPPORT FROM ITS LOCAL PARTNER, RELEASED ITS FLEET ELECTRIFICATION ROADMAP FOR THE CITY OF HYDERABAD, WHICH SETS TARGETS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES. NRDC CONTRIBUTED TO STANDARDIZE DEVELOPMENT FOR ZONING MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITIES NEAR NATIONAL PARKS IN CHINA. OUR RESEARCH REVIEWED INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC PRACTICES, ANALYZED THE EXISTING CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPING GATEWAY COMMUNITIES IN CHINA AND PROVIDED RECOMMENDATIONS. THE STANDARD WILL HELP ENSURE PUBLIC ACCESS TO NATURE AND SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BUT ALSO PRESERVE ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY AND REDUCE BIODIVERSITY LOSS.IN WEST AFRICA, NRDC WAS CRITICAL TO THE LAUNCH OF A FIFTEEN-COUNTRY GIS AND MAPPING WORKING GROUP TO ADVANCE REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OF SAVING 30 PERCENT OF LANDS, OCEANS, AND INLAND WATER BY 2030 (30 X 30). OUR CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDED PROVIDING EXPERTISE, TECHNICAL CAPACITY, AND ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION SHARING TO BENEFIT WEST AFRICAN STATES.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
76 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
Backed on the record by David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund and 4 others, latest filing FY24.
$160,497,279 programs, $24,551,126 management, $26,961,297 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at NRDC? Claim this page.
Those 5 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If NRDC is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 6The record
The court record
And 37 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $97,057,964 |
| 2012 | $98,701,707 |
| 2013 | $115,962,571 |
| 2014 | $121,617,764 |
| 2015 | $155,192,637 |
| 2016 | $129,809,261 |
| 2017 | $177,129,164 |
| 2018 | $182,319,651 |
| 2019 | $181,821,968 |
| 2020 | $197,585,835 |
| 2021 | $273,728,385 |
| 2022 | $186,185,838 |
| 2023 | $193,144,386 |
| 2025 | $248,922,592 |
From $97.1M in 2011 to $248.9M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
Fights alongside Sierra Club (17 shared cases), Earthjustice (14 shared cases), Center for Biological Diversity (13 shared cases), Defenders of Wildlife (9 shared cases) and Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (7 shared cases) and 27 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The record
On the Hill
Natural Resources Defense Council files its own federal lobbying reports: 25 filings from 2019 to 2024, naming 1 bill. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on environment/superfund, defense and energy/nuclear.
Their ground
The places they defend
Co-filer of the challenge over BLM’s failure to allow public comment on the sale
Who’s defending it In the fightGrand Staircase-EscalanteCo-plaintiff in the federal suit over the 2017 boundary cuts
Who’s defending it In the fightTongass National ForestParty to the Tongass Roadless Rule litigation
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Natural Resources Defense Council files 3 related organizations on its return: Nrdc Action Fund INC (501(c)(4)), Nrdc Action Fund INC PAC (527) and Nrdc Action Votes (527). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Ways in
How to help
76 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
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 NetworkFollowFollow the monumentsBears Ears and Grand Staircase, tracked as they move. Alerts when it matters.
Monument WatchStand with Natural Resources Defense Council
56 years on the ground, 5 volunteers, 2 live lawsuits, 76 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.