Northwest Environmental Defense Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930653430
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5037686673
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$225,303
Expenses
$249,937
Assets
$189,543
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY VAN SAUN (PRESIDENT)
  • JESSE BUSS (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • AMY VAN SAUN (PRESIDENT)
  • JESSE BUSS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • EMMA BRUDEN (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Nedc's mission is to work toward a future in which the pacific northwest leads the nation in developing, implementing & enforcing strong laws and regulations that protect the environment & human health, and where our governments & communities value fostering and maintaining healthy and productive ecosystems.

What it reported doing in 2025

Clean water & air campaign: continued our work developing and prosecuting clean water act enforcement actions. Nedc's clean water act enforcement work in 2025 included continuing to monitor Oregon industrial facilities; engaging with state agencies in the revision of environmental permitting and authorization decisions; and challenging water quality permitting decisions that fail to sufficiently protect the region's waters. Nedc's clean air work in 2025 included monitoring facilities called in to the cleaner air Oregon program; partnership in the breathe Oregon collaborative to reduce the risk of harm to public health and the environment posed by diesel emissions; engaging with state agencies to update toxicity reference values for industrial facilities; and advocacy to protect overburdened portland communities from industrial emissions. This work benefits anyone using affected waterways and breathing air in the portland metropolitan area and throughout the pacific northwest, including nedc members and the general public.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.6% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -12.1% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.1% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $205K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.