Voice for Asian Elephants Society

What it reported doing in 2025

Securing and rewilding corridors for odisha elephants - a crisis is unfolding right now-and it is spiraling out of control. According to the wildlife institute of india, the nation's elephant population has plummeted to just 22,446 individuals-a staggering 18% decline from the 27,312 recorded in 2017. This is not a slow decline. This is a collapse unfolding in real time. In odisha alone, nearly 100 elephants have died within just one year, according to odisha's minister of forest and environment-an alarming signal of how rapidly this crisis is escalating at the state level. Over the past decade, 790 elephants have perished in odisha, with electrocution leading as the primary cause of these unnatural deaths. In this time, conflicts have claimed 668 human lives and left 509 others injured, underscoring the shared tragedy of this crisis. In the face of these escalating tragedies, voices for asian elephants is taking bold, frontline action-working alongside grassroots partners like paribartan and indigenous tribal communities. In just one year, we have secured 52 acres of vital corridor land, reconnecting two fragmented forests and restoring a lost migratory path. The result? Over 50 elephants have already returned home. At the same time, we are healing degraded habitats-planting elephant-friendly, fruit-bearing saplings and creating waterholes within core forest areas. These are not small interventions-they are lifelines. By bringing food and water back into their natural habitats, we are preventing elephants from straying into dangerous human landscapes-where too many tragedies occur-avoidable deaths.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 92.1%; rating input score 92
• Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
• Fundraising efficiency: $121.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Fail
  • Conducts field audits: Fail
  • May suspend future funding: Fail
  • Requires financial reports: Fail
  • Conducts site visits: Fail
  • Requires grant agreements: Fail
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • 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: -3.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 36.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings