Environmental Working Group

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522148600
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026676982
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Energy Resources Conservation and Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,366,034
Expenses
$19,283,285
Assets
$23,735,512
Liabilities
$9,305,547

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEN COOK (CHAIR & PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEN COOK (CHAIR & PRESIDENT): $434,346 total reported compensation
  • SCOTT FABER (SENIOR VP GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS): $335,733 total reported compensation
  • JOCELYN LYLE EXECUTIVE (VP, MISSION & PARTNERSHIPS): $325,125 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The environmental working group (ewg) is committed to empowering people to live healthier lives in healthier environments. We are a nonprofit research and advocacy organization with a community made up of millions of consumers who stand-up for healthy food, farms, water and people.

What it reported doing in 2025

Toxics and human health - ewg believes people should be able to trust that the products they are buying are safe and won't cause harm to their health or their families. Our simple theory is unfortunately not the reality in today's chemical safety regulatory environment. Our science program has two primary objectives: first, to influence consumer behavior by directly informing and motivating a large audience to adopt habits of environmental health, using original research about chemicals of concern found in everyday environments. Second, to influence mass market change by disrupting the food, household cleaner, and personal care product markets through evidence-based research on toxic ingredients and consumer pressure for safer alternatives.our science program is working to produce cutting-edge, newsworthy research and consumer education projects on environmental health to educate citizen activists, move markets and generate debate on chemical policy reform. Ewg has a dedicated team of scientists with expertise in toxicology, chemistry, public health and nutrition. Our team of a dozen experts is one of the largest and most recognized in the environmental field.from the top researchers on environmental health issues, to an award winning government affairs shop, to copywriters to help us tell our environmental health stories to a robust online community of millions of consumers - ewg is inspiring change, both big and small. Through our habit changing guidance, to our market and policy moving science we are transforming the perception that health and wellness is a luxury and redefining it as a necessity.because we all have a right to live in an "environment" we can trust.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.9%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.7%; rating input score 96; 25th 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: -17.8%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.9% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $15.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $434K · 31 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.