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Cottonwood Environmental Law Center

Organization is dedicated to protecting the people, forests, water and wildlife in the west

Environment Bozeman, MT EIN: 271225588 (IRS) Sign up to see website
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70
Integrity Assessment
Strong transparency
70/100 · methodology

About

In 2021, Cottonwood made progress in our litigation to allow Yellowstone bison to freely roam in their native range on federal lands in Montana. We continued our prosecution of Boyne Resorts Inc. and Big Sky Water and Sewer District for Clean Water Act violations on the Gallatin River and its tributaries. We completed research to prepare for Clean Water Act litigation with Spanish Peaks Resort.

Mission

Organization is dedicated to protecting the people, forests, water and wildlife in the west

Founder story
Not yet on file. The organization can add how and why it was founded by claiming this profile. Registered with the IRS since March 2010.

Focus & reach

Verification & registration

Check them yourself

Every mark links to the official registry entry - opens in a new tab.

IRS
Exempt Organizations · EIN 271225588
Tax-deductible (Pub 78)
501(c)(03)
Federal tax-exempt subsection
Since 2010

Verified certifications

Confirmed against the issuing authority - not self-reported.

IRS Tax-Deductible since 2010

Integrity assessment

A 0-100 measure of public-data transparency - registration, financial disclosure, governance, contact details, and recency. It does not measure programme impact.

Registration 16/20
('Government registration ID on record', 8)
('Sourced from official registry', 4)
('Cross-referenced (2+ sources)', 4)
('Profile not yet claimed by organization', 0)
Financial Transparency 24/30
('No financial documents found on website', 0)
('Financial filing on record', 8)
('Revenue figure disclosed', 6)
('Spending figure disclosed', 6)
('Detailed financial breakdown disclosed', 4)
Governance 20/20
('At least 1 officer disclosed', 5)
('3+ officers disclosed', 3)
('Officer titles disclosed', 2)
('Executive compensation disclosed', 4)
('Mission / description on file', 3)
('Founding date on file', 3)
Contact Availability 10/10
('Website', 3)
('Email', 3)
('Phone', 2)
('Physical address', 2)
Data Recency 10/20
('Updated within 2 years', 10)
('Newer data needed for full score', 0)
Red flags -5
Transparency checklist
Official registration on file
Financial disclosure published
Website on record
Contact details available
Leadership disclosed
Mission or description published

GiveRadar Analysis

Original analysis from GiveRadar's dataset of comparable organizations

GiveRadar's verified records show Cottonwood Environmental Law Center with a complete profile, cross-referenced across 4 independent sources including the IRS.

  • GiveRadar has cross-referenced this organization across 4 independent sources, led by the IRS - more than 92% of comparable charities. See the sources
  • It has more complete contact information than nearly all comparable charities, with a verified website, email, phone and address on record. See national comparisons
  • GiveRadar's profile for Cottonwood Environmental Law Center draws on its financial disclosures and its governance, in line with the typical environment charities in the United States it tracks. View this cohort
GiveRadar has verified
  • government registration
  • financial records (5 filed years)
  • disclosed leadership
  • a website
  • a contact email
  • a donation page
Not yet verified by GiveRadar
  • an owner-submitted profile claim

Analysis based on GiveRadar's benchmark dataset of 2026-07-03. It describes what GiveRadar has verified, not a judgment of the organization itself.

Explore View this cohort United States benchmarks GiveRadar's data sources Methodology

Financials

From irs 990 (fy2024) · FY2024
Annual revenue
$100K-$1M
Reporting year
2024
To programmes
85%
Revenue, FY2020-FY2024
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Where money goes
Program85%

Leadership & board

Disclosed in official filings
JO
Joan M•••••••
Director
JO
John B•••••
Director
JO
John M••••
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JO
Jon S•••••
Director

How it stacks up against peers

· vs. 8 similar environment in United States
Program spending This charity: 85%
Peer average: 72%
CEO comp as % of revenue This charity: 25.71%
Peer average: 0.48%
Integrity Assessment This charity: 70
Peer average: 90

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Annual revenue
$100K-$1M
85% to programs
Source: IRS 990 (FY2024) why this matters
Unlock exact figures

Filing history

5 years on file from IRS 990 (FY2024): revenue, expenses, program spending, assets, and liabilities by fiscal year.

Years on record: FY2024, FY2023, FY2022, FY2021, FY2020.
Financial details are free - with a GiveRadar account

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Taxes

Tax-deductibility for donors

Donations may be tax-deductible for residents of United States under local rules. Confirm with the charity directly.

Always confirm tax treatment with the charity directly or your tax advisor before donating.

Staff & volunteers

From filings and published profiles

Employees
3

Leadership

From FY2024 filing

JO
John M••••
Executive Direc

Officers & trustees (9)

Source: Public filings

See full names, roles, and stories

9 officers and trustees on file - free with a GiveRadar account.

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Latest news

From global news sources

6 articles found

From news sources and the organization. Shown for transparency; news never affects the integrity score.

Federal jury dismisses Cottonwood lawsuit against Big Sky's Yellowstone Club - Bozeman Daily Chronicle

www.bozemandailychronicle.com ·

Cottonwood comes up empty on racketeering, Boyne lawsuits - Explore Big Sky

www.explorebigsky.com ·

Federal judge sanctions Cottonwood Law over 'reckless' water allegations against Big Sky - Bozeman Daily Chronicle

www.bozemandailychronicle.com ·

‘Baseless fraud theory’: Judge rules against Cottonwood Law in Big Sky water lawsuit - Explore Big Sky

www.explorebigsky.com ·

Zinke Introduces Bill to Address Cottonwood Decision and Bring Common Sense Back to Montana’s Forests - Representative Ryan Zinke | (.gov)

zinke.house.gov ·

Cottonwood Lawsuit challenging DEQ permit to Yellowstone Club dismissed - Explore Big Sky

www.explorebigsky.com ·

Activity timeline

Filings and press mentions, merged

Federal jury dismisses Cottonwood lawsuit against Big Sky's Yellowstone Club - Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Feb 2026
www.bozemandailychronicle.com
Cottonwood comes up empty on racketeering, Boyne lawsuits - Explore Big Sky
Dec 2025
www.explorebigsky.com
Federal judge sanctions Cottonwood Law over 'reckless' water allegations against Big Sky - Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Jul 2025
www.bozemandailychronicle.com
‘Baseless fraud theory’: Judge rules against Cottonwood Law in Big Sky water lawsuit - Explore Big Sky
Jul 2025
www.explorebigsky.com
Zinke Introduces Bill to Address Cottonwood Decision and Bring Common Sense Back to Montana’s Forests - Representative R
Jan 2025
zinke.house.gov
Form filed
$0.4M revenue
FY2024
IRS 990
Form filed
$0.2M revenue
FY2023
IRS 990
Cottonwood Lawsuit challenging DEQ permit to Yellowstone Club dismissed - Explore Big Sky
Jul 2023
www.explorebigsky.com
Form filed
$0.3M revenue
FY2022
IRS 990
Form filed
$0.1M revenue
FY2021
IRS 990
Form filed
$0.1M revenue
FY2020
IRS 990

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Cause areas in United States

How many charities work in each area, with this charity's area highlighted.

Human Services 322,683
Education 195,586
Arts & Culture 133,130
Advocacy & Civil Rights 128,026
Religion 114,636
Health 98,863
Community Development 56,086
Youth Development 53,450
Environment this charity 30,144
See all cause areas in United States

Most common causes in United States

Causes charities work on most.

Community Development 235,146
Education 159,016
Religion 103,741
Arts & Culture 101,203
Human Rights 76,926
Health 65,250
Youth Development 47,775
Animal Welfare 32,425
All charities in
🇺🇸 United States
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Environment in United States

Sources and verification

Registration and legal identity
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Exempt Organization Search
Financial filings
IRS Form 990 filings - Fiscal year 2024 most recent on file.
Officers and trustees
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Exempt Organization Search - 28 disclosed in the public registry.
News and media coverage
GDELT Project + Google News
Supplementary verification
Charity Navigator

Data freshness

Last updated
Aug 3, 2026
Registry checked
Aug 3, 2026
Profile completeness
100%

What we know and don't know

Exactly which public data we hold on this charity. Our score reflects transparency, not impact.

On record · 10
  • Financial data · FY2024 on record
  • Named leadership · 28 officers on file
  • Executive pay · Disclosed
  • Government registration · Registered with an official registry
  • Mission statement · Published
  • Official website · On record
  • Headquarters address · On file
  • Direct contact · Email or phone published
  • Tax-deductibility · Verified
  • Founding date · 2009
Not available · 1
  • Programs & activities
    No named programs listed by the charity

Methodology

GiveRadar builds each profile primarily from official government charity registries, supplemented where available by third-party nonprofit databases and news archives, and combines it into a single 0-100 integrity assessment. The exact sources for this charity are listed above. We don't take a cut of any donation, ever.

Read full methodology

Are you the owner or a board member?

If you represent this organization and want to correct or update its data, you can claim this listing to edit details yourself, or email [email protected] with the correct information. We review every request and respond within 30 days.

Quick facts about Cottonwood Environmental Law Center

What is Cottonwood Environmental Law Center?
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center is a environment publicly-supported charity (509(a)(2)) based in Bozeman, United States. In 2021, Cottonwood made progress in our litigation to allow Yellowstone bison to freely roam in their native range on federal lands in Montana. We continued our prosecution of Boyne Resorts Inc. and Big Sky Water and Sewer District for Clean Water Act violations on the Gallatin River and its tributaries. We completed research to prepare for Clean Water Act litigation with Spanish Peaks Resort.
When was Cottonwood Environmental Law Center founded?
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center was founded in 2009.
Who leads Cottonwood Environmental Law Center?
John Meyer serves as Executive Direc.
Where is Cottonwood Environmental Law Center located?
Headquartered in Bozeman, MT, United States.
What is Cottonwood Environmental Law Center's annual budget?
Annual revenue for fiscal year 2024 is approximately $100K-$1M. 85% of expenses go to program services.
Is Cottonwood Environmental Law Center trustworthy?
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center has a GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 70 out of 100 (Strong transparency). The score reflects public-data transparency: registration, financial disclosure, governance, contact details, and how recently data was refreshed. It does not measure program impact.
What is Cottonwood Environmental Law Center's registration number?
IRS EIN: 271225588.
What is Cottonwood Environmental Law Center's website?
http://www.cottonwoodlaw.org