Illinois · Nonprofit
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST (Illinois) receives grants from 149 organizations whose IRS filings report $46,266,119 to it, the largest being JOHN D AND CATHERINE T MACARTHUR FOUNDATION ($8,000,000). 110 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $12M
- Funders on record
- 149
- Grants received
- $46M
- Net assets
- $43M
What Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest does
Mission
The environmental law & policy center (elpc) is the midwest's leading public interest environmental legal advocacy and ecobusiness innovation organization, and among the nation's leaders. We develop and lead successful strategic environmental advocacy campaigns to improve environmental quality and protect our natural resources. We are public interest environmental entrepreneurs who engage in creative business deal making with diverse interests to put into practice our belief that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together. Elpc's multidisciplinary staff of talented and experienced public interest attorneys, environmental business specialists, policy advocates, and communications specialists bring a strong and effective combination of skills to solve environmental problems.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Energy project - elpc promotes clean energy efficiency and renewable water and climate change solutions by reducing pollution from conventional power plants.
$2,537,308 spentof which $250,000 as grants$30,193 earned by the program33% of program spendingGreat lakes/great places - elpc engages in litigation and policy advocacy with scientific support to protect: the great lakes and midwest rivers; national forests, wildlife habitat and biodiversity; special conservation lands and waterways; scenic landscapes and other vital natural resources; and outdoor recreation and fisheries. Elpc advocates sound environmental management practices that preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life in our communities.
$2,713,925 spentof which $2,500 as grants36% of program spendingClean water - elpc attorneys and advocates implement, enforce, and defend the clean water act. We hold polluters accountable and fight to clean up midwest water, from the great lakes and big river systems to the community watersheds and small-town wells that provide drinking water, wildlife habitat, jobs, and recreational enjoyment for millions.
$868,298 spent11% of program spendingTransportation and land use reform - elpc promotes innovative transportation solutions, including development of a midwest high-speed rail network, which will lead to cleaner air and more jobs.clean climate - elpc works to accelerate smart solution in the battle against climate change. Elpc is focused on accelerating solar energy, wind power, battery storage, and energy efficiency to replace conventional polluting power plants. Clean air - elpc attorneys and advocates implement, enforce, and defend the clean air act. We work to reduce pollutants like smog, mercury, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases that harm human health and wildlife.
$1,456,271 spent19% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $7,575,802.
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 2022 to 2023, from $32M to $38M (+21%).
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: 2021 9% · 2022 5% · 2023 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
79% of ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 9 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.
Chief executive
Howard Learner
President and executive director
Board chair
Manny Flores
Chair of the board of director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 35 funders to 72 funders, grant income rose $3.2M → $7.8M.
28 of 149 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 11% 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 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 149 funders by total. 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
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
29% 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 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 26% · 2018 31% · 2019 34% · 2020 27% · 2021 17% · 2022 15% · 2023 18% — 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
53% of ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 74% 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
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST draws 53% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 21 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 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
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 210 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST
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 Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
75%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Environmental Law and Policy Center Action Fund · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: 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 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST?
- ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST (Illinois) receives grants from 149 organizations whose IRS filings report $46,266,119 to it, the largest being JOHN D AND CATHERINE T MACARTHUR FOUNDATION ($8,000,000). 110 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST have?
- IRS filings report 149 organizations giving $46,266,119 in grants to ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST, 110 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST?
- JOHN D AND CATHERINE T MACARTHUR FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $8,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 149 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing