Rainforest Action Network

What it reported doing in 2024

Community Action GrantsRANs community action grants program is focused on strengthening the capacity of Indigenous and frontline communities and supporting grassroots leadership through direct grants to organizations that are working to save our planet.The community action grants program provides crucial and rapid funding for people fighting in their own communities across the globe to protect millions of acres of forest, to keep millions of tons of carbon in the ground, and to protect the rights and self determination of local communities.This strategy is based on the firm belief that local and Indigenous activists know how to co-exist with natural resources and they know how to organize in order to protect the planet and their communities. The Community Action Grants program has distributed more than $5 million dollars to more than 400 organizations across the globe from Southeast Asia, to Africa, to North and South America. These frontline communities, Indigenous-led organizations, and allies secure protection for millions of acres of traditional territory in forests around the world and keep millions of tons of carbon in the ground through their efforts to stop the destructive and often illegal practices of extractive industriesRANs Community Action Grants are distributed under two categories: Protect An Acre grants and Climate Action Fund grants. Protect an Acre grants support grassroots leadership and local organizations in forest regions to protect threatened forest lands and to protect the human rights of communities that have coexisted with and depended on these regions for generations. These grants are critical to help local efforts to regain control of and sustainably manage traditional territories. Climate Action Fund grants support frontline communities directly challenging the damage caused by the fossil fuel industry. These small grants go to local groups tackling the root causes of climate change the extraction and combustion of dirty fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 79.8%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Pass
  • 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: 96.9%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • 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: -39.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings