Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 2008.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
21 people listed on the 990; $2.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Dr Benjamin Strauss’s $310K as CEO & Chief Scientist is at the 26th percentile of top reported officer pay among 139 $10–100M science & technology nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Benjamin Strauss | $309,795 | $307,592 | $333,068 | $294,351 | $263,505 | $283,920 |
| Scott Kulp | — | $263,242 | $239,250 | $221,860 | $207,695 | $186,025 |
| Scott Andrew Kulp | $256,391 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jessica Cashdan | — | $255,045 | $253,063 | $249,283 | $231,166 | — |
| Daniel Dodson | $236,554 | $231,231 | $223,062 | $212,000 | $201,500 | $199,444 |
| Andrew Pershing | $225,000 | $213,616 | $185,300 | $178,954 | $167,274 | — |
| Steven Rush | — | — | — | — | $105,102 | $216,039 |
| Emily Ellen Silberstein | $213,750 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Educates the public and leaders about climate science and its impacts.
Questions for Climate Central INC
Your first name shows with your question. Climate Central INC answers here, for everyone.
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Communication
The organization communicates factual information to help the public and policymakers make sound choices about climate change. Climate central reaches the public through web, print, and broadcast at the national, local and international levels.
Research
Climate central scientists publish peer-reviewed research on climate science; energy; impacts such as sea level rise; climate attribution and more. Our independent research is designed to engage the public by illuminating the scientific facts of climate, using pioneering analysis and data visualization techniques.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4.7M | $5.4M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $4K | $10K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $181K | $239K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $6.5M | $6.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $743K | $552K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $5.7M | $5.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.5M | $1.1M | $267K | $155K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $2.2M | $1.6M | $390K | $227K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $383K | $281K | $64K | $37K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $253K | $186K | $42K | $25K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $249K | $180K | $44K | $26K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $24K | $16K | $8K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $42K | $42K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.1M | $953K | $10K | $116K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $38K | $16K | $4K | $18K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $180K | $158K | $12K | $10K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $300K | $218K | $50K | $31K |
| TravelLn 17 | $21K | $11K | $6K | $4K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $137K | $100K | $23K | $14K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $53K | $39K | $9K | $6K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $19K | $328K | −$348K | $39K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $6.5M | $5.2M | $626K | $709K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $22.3M | $11.5M | $10.7M | $14.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $6.8M | $12.2M | −$5.4M | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $9.6M | $10.7M | −$1.1M | $9.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $14.4M | $8.8M | $5.6M | $10.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $7.4M | $7.8M | −$331K | $5.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $6.2M | $6.5M | −$310K | $5.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $6,210,427 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 10 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,210,427 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,520,341 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $5,979,873 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,427,836 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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