World Resources Institute

Overview

Mission

WRI works to improve people’s lives, protect and restore nature, and stabilize the climate. & Values Our mission and values define WRI as an institution. Our values are not rules, but shared ideals and understanding that bind us together. Along with our mission and our commitment to excellence in everything we do, they articulate who we are and what we believe, influence our goals, guide our actions, and help us to explain our aspirations to others. Menu. and values define WRI as an institution. Menu About Us.

What it reported doing in 2023

Food, land, water, and ocean program - see schedule owri focuses on seven urgent global challenges: food, forests, water, ocean, cities, climate and energy. Food: to help the world sustainably feed its people, wri is catalyzing action to cut food loss and waste in half by 2030, shift toward plant-based diets and make a compelling case for sustainable food and land systems. Land: wri protects forests against loss and degradation and restores forests in landscapes where they are needed most. We track forest change, combat deforestation and illegal logging, and help communities and businesses manage land more sustainably.water: wri works to increase water security. Our aqueduct tools are the world's best source of information on global water risk and stress. Our water, peace and security partnership early warning tool helps prevent water scarcity from driving conflict and migration. Our cities4forests initiative helps protect watersheds and other natural systems.ocean: wri seeks to accelerate systemic shifts to support sustainable development and put the ocean on a recovery path. We play a central role in two high-profile initiatives: the high-level panel for sustainable ocean economy and the friends of ocean action to help drive a global ocean movement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% for grants.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521257057
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027297600
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$267,358,799
Expenses
$240,843,544
Assets
$630,309,050
Liabilities
$45,403,949

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 91.4%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $79.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.9%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 8 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.1% of revenue deployed · 91.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $220.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $672K · 44 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.8M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 89 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 73 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.

Leadership & pay

44 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ANIRUDDHA DASGUPTA (PRESIDENT & CEO): $671,704 total reported compensation
  • CRAIG HANSON (MD, PROGRAMS): $403,594 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH COOK (EVP, GOVERNANCE & DEVELOPMENT): $381,353 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023.