Fortunately, this nerd spent his COVID lock-down learning to code. So I wrote a script to search through every nonprofit\u2019s Form 990 filings and get their latest revenue figure and IRS tax category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a couple 10 hour days of alternating between banging my head against the wall and banging my computer against the wall, I got the code to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I discovered that environmental non-profits received about $8 billion in donations last year. That\u2019s less than 2% of all charitable donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So where does that money go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of it goes to conservation, wildlife protection, and land trusts. The top five organizations (think The Nature Conservancy, WWF, Conservation International, etc) in this category raked in about $2 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you think about it, that makes sense. Conservation is tangible in a way that so much other environmental work isn\u2019t. You can protect that <\/em>piece of land. You can hike on it. If you support a local land trust you can see the impact of your money every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work is also dominated by the largest environmental non-profits \u2014 the so-called \u201cBig Green\u201d organizations \u2014 who have been cultivating members and donors for decades. Many of these organizations spend tens of millions per year on fundraising alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n