Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 2002.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
72 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
17 people listed on the 990; $982K paid to officers and key staff.
Ellie Cohen’s $199K as CEO is at the 82nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3394 $1–10M education 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellie Cohen | $198,625 | $202,750 | $183,072 | $176,134 | $181,396 |
| Jeri Howland | $161,460 | $158,730 | $153,000 | $150,000 | — |
| Lois Downy | $136,610 | $132,787 | $122,129 | $112,129 | $93,866 |
| Barry Vesser | $135,212 | $132,525 | $116,306 | $106,572 | $102,483 |
| Ryan Schleeter | $133,291 | $129,351 | $124,440 | — | — |
| Kurt Johnson | $115,324 | $122,350 | — | — | — |
| Baani Behniwal | $101,450 | — | — | — | — |
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.
See The Climate Center executive salaries →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
Accelerates climate pollution reduction through policy in California.
Questions for The Climate Center
Your first name shows with your question. The Climate Center answers here, for everyone.
Public Outreach and CommunicationsThe Climate Center has pursued multiple outreach strategies to educate decision-makers and the public about the urgency of the climate crisis and the array of accelerated, equitable solutions that the state can pursue now to address it.
Policy Development, Implementation, and Coalition BuildingThe Climate Center advanced equitable climate policy to reduce emissions and address affordability in California in six main areas: developing equitable and safe carbon dioxide removal strategies; driving funding for natural carbon sequestration; working to make polluters pay…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $706K | $1.3M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $99K | $103K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $40K | $10K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.1M | $1.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $213K | $308K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $925K | $1.3M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $50K | $50K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $572K | $353K | $187K | $32K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.6M | $1.1M | $118K | $353K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $46K | $32K | $4K | $10K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $180K | $125K | $18K | $37K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $163K | $108K | $23K | $31K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $0 | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $0 | |||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $13K | $13K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $35K | $35K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $287K | $284K | $1K | $2K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $6K | $1K | $1K | $3K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $51K | $21K | $8K | $22K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $124K | $78K | $19K | $27K |
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $16K | $10K | $2K | $3K |
| TravelLn 17 | $52K | $43K | $5K | $4K |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $102K | $97K | $2K | $3K |
| InterestLn 20 | $91 | $91 | ||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $30K | $30K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $12K | $2K | $9K | $597 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $37K | $31K | $4K | $2K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $0 | |||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.3M | $2.4M | $414K | $530K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Dec 19, 2025 | $3.7M | $3.3M | $358K | $1.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Mar 5, 2025 | $3.1M | $3.2M | −$28K | $925K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 9, 2023 | $3.3M | $3.0M | $292K | $953K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jan 13, 2023 | $2.4M | $2.5M | −$119K | $661K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Feb 2, 2022 | $2.1M | $2.0M | $87K | $780K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $3,702,919 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $3,702,919 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,344,967 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,591,504 assets, 22 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,283,388 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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