Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 266 organizations whose IRS filings report $338,590,779 to it, the largest being SEQUOIA CLIMATE FOUNDATION ($30,195,000). 152 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $213M
- Funders on record
- 266
- Grants received
- $339M
- Net assets
- $521M
What World Resources Institute does
Mission
Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. Change it. Scale it.": - count it: our work is guided by timely, independent research that is subjected to rigorous peer reviews. - change it: we then use our research to inform action on the ground, clear barriers to implementation and then monitor progress to learn from it. - scale it: once tested, we strive to expand our successes nationally, regionally and globally, and we make our learnings accessible through partnerships, publications and tools. We employ this strategy across all our major programs and centers.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Food, land, water, and ocean program - see schedule owri focuses on seven urgent global challenges: food, forests, water, ocean, cities, climate and energy. Food: to help the world sustainably feed its people, wri is catalyzing action to cut food loss and waste in half by 2030, shift toward plant-based diets and make a compelling case for sustainable food and land systems. Land: wri protects forests against loss and degradation and restores forests in landscapes where they are needed most. We track forest change, combat deforestation and illegal logging, and help communities and businesses manage land more sustainably.water: wri works to increase water security. Our aqueduct tools are the world's best source of information on global water risk and stress. Our water, peace and security partnership early warning tool helps prevent water scarcity from driving conflict and migration. Our cities4forests initiative helps protect watersheds and other natural systems.ocean: wri seeks to accelerate systemic shifts to support sustainable development and put the ocean on a recovery path. We play a central role in two high-profile initiatives: the high-level panel for sustainable ocean…
$100,332,562 spentof which $44,983,275 as grants41% of program spendingClimate, economics, finance, and governance - see schedule oclimate: wri works to advance climate strategies that cut greenhouse gas emissions while creating strong, job-rich, equitable and resilient economies. We develop tools and conduct analyses that measure emissions, set ambitious targets and take bold action. Economics: wri conducts analysis and modeling to improve environmental management and advance economic development that is good for people, nature, and climate.finance: wri promotes the shift of global finance and investments away from environmentally destructive activities toward sustainable development. Governance: wri aims to build a resilient, just and sustainable future by working with the public sector, the private sector, civil society and citizens to address issues that matter most to vulnerable communities.
$63,398,182 spentof which $19,250,109 as grants26% of program spendingWri ross center for sustainable cities - see schedule othe wri ross center for sustainable cities helps turn cities into resilient, inclusive, low-carbon places. Through applied research, tools and advice, our international network of experts work on innovative projects that put cities on a sustainable trajectory.
$45,233,914 spentof which $17,071,374 as grants18% of program spendingWri polsky center for the global energy transition: delivers pragmatic, scalable and urgently needed solutions to achieve a clean, abundant, affordable and reliable energy future.energy: wri collaborates with policymakers, cities, companies, utilities, regulators and development institutions to secure a future in which people everywhere have access to affordable, clean and reliable energy. Business: wri's center for sustainable business works to change the approach of business to make a positive contribution to human well-being and the environment. Our work centers on three main initiatives: the science based targets initiative drives corporate action that aligns with planetary boundaries; we encourage circular economy models to promote alternatives to unchecked consumption; and we support policy engagement to shift business influence on government policy. Wri also plays a leadership role in two multi-stakeholder partnerships: pace, which seeks to advance a circular economy, and p4g, which supports sustainable development through public- private partnerships.program description expenses grants revenueenergy $ 21,147,368 $ 6,487,409 $ 0special projects $ 11,725,807 $ 4,271,622 $…
$38,312,616 spentof which $13,219,778 as grants$896,591 earned by the program15% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $247,277,274.
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 $428M to $595M (+39%).
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: 2017 6% · 2018 4% · 2019 3% · 2020 2% · 2021 2% · 2022 5% · 2023 3% · 2024 5% · 2025 24%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
92% of WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (97% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 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
Aniruddha Dasgupta
President & CEO
Board chair
David Blood
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 38 funders to 111 funders, grant income rose $13M → $110M.
45 of 266 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 22% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $18M from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Climateworks Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE raised.
From the IRS filings of WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 266 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
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 9% of grant income, and it takes 9 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 9 funders to its left
37% 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 WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 41% · 2018 19% · 2019 12% · 2020 17% · 2021 16% · 2022 19% · 2023 19% — 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
45% of WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 57% 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
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE draws 97% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 32 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $74M arriving through sponsors registered in 19 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
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE has grown faster than half of the 59 international nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 59 international nonprofits over $100M, FY2025
Government funding WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $92.5M on record.
- Agency for International Development$45.6M
- Department of State$33.3M
- Department of Agriculture$11.2M
- Department of Energy$1.6M
- Department of Commerce$450k
- Department of the Interior$200k
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 WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
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 Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
92% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 28 states
Part of a family of 5 related entities
- Wri International Inc · disregarded
- World Resources Institute Fund · exempt
- Wri Europe Stitchting · exempt
- Fundacion Wri Colombia · exempt
- World Resources Institute India Private Unlimited · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE: 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 WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE?
- WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 266 organizations whose IRS filings report $338,590,779 to it, the largest being SEQUOIA CLIMATE FOUNDATION ($30,195,000). 152 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 266 organizations giving $338,590,779 in grants to WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE, 152 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE?
- SEQUOIA CLIMATE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $30,195,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. 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 266 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