The Earth Rangers USA Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872797392
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
2128890575
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$456,652
Expenses
$456,652
Assets
$1,057,664
Liabilities
$1,034,253

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY GLUECK (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $146,346 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To educate and increase the public understanding of the environment and climate change as well as engage youth & families in environmental action.

What it reported doing in 2025

Our free membership program is accessed through the earth rangers app and provides elementary aged kids with environmental content and activities they can do at home and in their communities. The app includes fun tangible missions, podcasts, a blog and an wildlife adoption section.our school program will be delivered in individual schools across the country.the earth rangers clubs program provides teachers with a free, easy-to-use program that allows them to either engage their classroom as a club, or run a school-wide eco-club.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • 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: 0%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.32; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.98; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -24.3% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 52.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $385K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $146K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.