North Carolina · Nonprofit
CleanAIRE NC
CleanAIRE NC (North Carolina) receives grants from 22 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,463,724 to it, the largest being FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS ($7,385,700). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 91% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 22
- Grants received
- $8.5M
- Net assets
- $1.8M
What CleanAIRE NC does
Mission
To advocate for the health of all North Carolinians by pursuing equitable and collaborative solutions that address climate change and air pollution.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Community Education ProgramsDelivered air quality education and advocacy training in various locations across the state.CleanAIRE NC and our partners hosted Charlottes Earth Day festival! Over five hundred people came out to enjoy hands-on activities, environmental education, and outdoor family fun.Continued work to create an educational portal that will be launched in 2025 that delivers specialized courses designed to meet the unique needs of community leaders, professionals, students, and everyday people.
$630,715 spent42% of program spendingEnvironmental Justice CleanAIRE NC was honored to have Community Science Manager Daisha Wall appointed to Governor Coopers Environmental Justice Advisory Council. Our representation on this council allows us to advocate for the needs of frontline communities and ensure that environmental justice is a priority in state policy. Teamed up with the City of Charlotte and Sol Nation to transform under-resourced communities through the GreenPrints initiative. Driven by community feedback, were promoting sustainable development and healthier neighborhoods through initiatives focused on resilience, energy affordability, green mobility, electrification, and workforce development.
$588,628 spent40% of program spendingPolicy ProgramInvested in building a strong network of environmental advocates. Our new training workshop and in-depth advocacy manual equip individuals with the skills to effectively engage policymakers, mobilize communities, and champion clean air solutions. Mobilized hundreds of North Carolinians to join the fight for a stronger Carbon Plan, one thats centered around clean energy and community well-being.
$110,319 spent7% of program spendingCommunity Science ProgramLaunched new air monitoring networks in Sampson and Mecklenburg Counties, equipping residents and community partners with tools to track air pollution and demand stronger protections. Through various partnerships, installed several new EV charging stations in Charlottes Historic West End, driving equity and sustainable mobility. Engaged with rural communities to address their unique transportation challenges and support cleaner transportation options.
$102,053 spent7% of program spendingHealthThe 9th Annual NC BREATHE Conference brought together diverse voices to explore the critical links between our health and the environment, offering a platform for cutting-edge research, policy discussions, and community engagement.Equipped health professionals with the tools to identify and address environmental health concerns, thus empowering them to protect their patients and communities. Trained health professionals to recognize and treat air pollution and climate change impacts in their patient populations.
$53,531 spent4% of program spendingOther ProgramsPartnered with a micro-transit organization to create fl exible transportation solutions in areas where traditional transit is inadequate or inaccessible. Co-sponsored a clean transportation town hall to collect community input on rural and urban transportation needs. Conducted co-location studies to validate the accuracy and reliability of community air quality sensors.
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,485,246.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $2.4M to $2.9M (+22%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 10% · 2021 10% · 2022 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of CleanAIRE NC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Kwame Alexander
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 11 funders, grant income fell $1.0M → $954k.
6 of 22 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 91% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of CleanAIRE NC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
CleanAIRE NC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 87% of grant income and the top three 93%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
96% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CleanAIRE NC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 99% · 2019 99% · 2020 93% · 2021 90% · 2022 78% · 2023 73% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
73% of CleanAIRE NC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 68% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
91% of CleanAIRE NC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $781k that is directly attributable, 70% of it comes from funders outside North Carolina, across 7 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $7.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
CleanAIRE NC's revenue grew 26% between 2017 and 2024.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,186 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding CleanAIRE NC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.1M on record.
- Environmental Protection Agency$1.1M
- Department of Health and Human Services$5k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like CleanAIRE NC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In North Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
54%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CleanAIRE NC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds CleanAIRE NC?
- CleanAIRE NC (North Carolina) receives grants from 22 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,463,724 to it, the largest being FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS ($7,385,700). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 91% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does CleanAIRE NC have?
- IRS filings report 22 organizations giving $8,463,724 in grants to CleanAIRE NC, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CleanAIRE NC?
- FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS is the largest funder on record, with $7,385,700 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CleanAIRE NC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in North Carolina. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds CleanAIRE NC →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 22 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing