Virginia · Nonprofit
SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER (Virginia) receives grants from 327 organizations whose IRS filings report $305,069,528 to it, the largest being FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS ($221,683,800). 225 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 82% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $58M
- Funders on record
- 327
- Grants received
- $305M
- Net assets
- $261M
What Southern Environmental Law Center does
Mission
The mission of the Southern Environmental Law Center is to protect the basic right to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate; to preserve our region's natural treasures and rich biodiversity; and to provide a healthy environment for all.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Energy: goals to promote and secure a sustainable energy policy across the south that protects the people and natural resources of the region, enhances the economy, and minimizes the health, environmental, and economic harm of energy development and air pollution, including greenhouse gases. In pursuit of these goals, selc litigates cases to reduce fossil fuel use and air pollution, promote clean energy, and reduce consumers' energy bills and to enforce existing laws and regulations.
$17,069,914 spentof which $16,166 as grants41% of program spendingWater: goals - to protect and restore water quality and water flow to ensure surface and ground waters in our region can meet long-term human and ecological needs. In pursuit of these goals, selc litigates cases to protect drinking water and waterways from pollution and to enforce existing laws and regulations.
$9,086,592 spent$238,574 earned by the program22% of program spendingLand and community: goals - to promote vibrant communities, protect natural/rural areas, reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions/pollutants through smarter growth/sustainable transportation systems. Selc litigates cases benefiting citizens by enforcing existing laws.
$4,193,528 spentof which $57,250 as grants10% of program spendingWetlands and coasts: goals - to protect and preserve the wetlands and high priority coastal ecosystems in the south for the benefit of wildlife, marine life, and people. In pursuit of these goals, selc litigates cases to protect wetlands, wildlife, and marine life, safeguard communities from flooding, and enforce existing laws and regulations.
$3,766,928 spent9% of program spendingNational forests and parks: goals - to ensure that southern appalachian national forests are managed primarily for fish and wildlife, clean water, recreation, scenic beauty, and to protect the integrity of the great smoky mountains, shenandoah, and other national park units. Selc litigates cases to protect these forests and parks, public resources therein, and enforce existing laws.
$2,878,094 spentof which $10,000 as grants7% of program spendingAir: goals - to achieve high air quality across the region, with specific focus on heavily industrialized communities. In pursuit of these goals, selc litigates cases to reduce harmful air pollution and enforce existing public health protections and to enforce existing laws and regulations.
$2,321,973 spent6% of program spendingWildlife: goals - to protect and preserve the south's rich biodiversity and habitats. Selc litigates cases to protect and preserve the region's rich biodiversity and wildlife habitat and to enforce existing laws and regulations.
$1,927,873 spent$319,259 earned by the program5% of program spendingEnvironmental justice: goals - to partner with historically disadvantaged communities to ensure that all communities in our region have clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment. Selc's program areas incorporate considerations of environmental justice through the organization's work. Selc achieves these goals through established program areas, including by litigating cases to enforce existing laws and regulations. Environmental justice efforts are embedded across various program areas and support the organization's overarching mission.
$281,801 spentof which $3,000 as grants1% of program spendingClimate: goals to ensure protection of a livable climate for people and ecosystems in the south. Selc incorporates climate considerations, including mitigation and adaptation, into its various program areas. Selc litigates cases to protect the south from the effects of climate change when appropriate.
$273,471 spent1% of program spending
The 9 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $41,800,174.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $133M to $184M (+38%).
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.
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
Dj Gerken
President & executive director
Board chair
Laura D Gates
Chair of the board
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 64 funders to 176 funders, grant income rose $34M → $42M.
59 of 327 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 82% 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 SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 327 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
SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 73% of grant income and the top three 77%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
85% 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 SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 91% · 2018 85% · 2019 77% · 2020 67% · 2021 80% · 2022 66% · 2023 70% — 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
65% of SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 69% 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
82% of SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER'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 $55M that is directly attributable, 88% of it comes from funders outside Virginia, across 35 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $250M arriving through sponsors registered in 25 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.
Organizations like SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
92%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 26 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: 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 SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER?
- SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER (Virginia) receives grants from 327 organizations whose IRS filings report $305,069,528 to it, the largest being FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS ($221,683,800). 225 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 82% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER have?
- IRS filings report 327 organizations giving $305,069,528 in grants to SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER, 225 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER?
- FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS is the largest funder on record, with $221,683,800 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 327 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