The Amazon Needs Organizations You Can Trust. Our 2026 Watchdog Results Confirm We’re Earning That Trust.

June 25, 2026

Every year, independent evaluators comb through nonprofit financial records, governance practices, and program data to help donors answer one of the most important questions in philanthropy: is this organization worth my trust?

We’re glad to share that in 2026, their answer about Amazon Conservation was yes, across the board.

Candid has renewed our Platinum Seal of Transparency, Charity Navigator has awarded us 4 stars for another consecutive year, and we’ve received accreditation from the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance for the first time. We’re proud of these results, and grateful to the team whose consistent, careful work makes them possible. If you’re not already familiar with how charity watchdogs work, or why their ratings matter to you as a donor, read on. Understanding what these organizations look for, and what it means when a nonprofit earns their top marks, can help you give with greater confidence, not just to us, but to any organization you choose to support.

Plus, if we’ve already earned your trust, scroll to the end: one of the watchdog platforms we work with invites reviews from donors and supporters, and a few words from you can go a long way toward helping others find us.

The Problem These Ratings Solve

Choosing a nonprofit to support isn’t always easy. There are hundreds of thousands of registered charities in the United States alone, and most of them will tell you, in good faith, that their work matters. The ones that are less effective, or less honest, will say the same thing.

Charity watchdogs exist to help donors cut through that noise. They do the investigative legwork that most donors don’t have time to do: scrutinizing tax filings, auditing governance structures, reviewing program data, and interviewing the communities an organization serves. Their ratings aren’t based on compelling storytelling or a beautiful website. They’re based on evidence.

When Amazon Conservation earns top marks from the most rigorous watchdogs in the field, it means independent evaluators, with no stake in our success, have looked hard at how we operate and concluded that we meet the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.

That’s what these ratings mean. That’s why they matter.

What the Watchdogs Found

Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency

Candid (formerly GuideStar) evaluates nonprofits on a single, essential question: how openly does an organization share information about itself? Financials, governance, leadership, strategy, impact metrics — Candid wants it all on the table.

The Platinum Seal is the highest level Candid awards, and it signals that an organization has met the most rigorous public reporting standards in the field. Only a small fraction of U.S. nonprofits hold Platinum status in any given year.

Amazon Conservation has earned and maintained the Platinum Seal for multiple consecutive years. You can explore our full Candid profile, including finances and leadership, here.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance Accreditation

The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance is perhaps the most thorough evaluator on this list. To earn accreditation, a charity must demonstrate compliance with 20 standards of charity accountability, covering everything from board governance and conflict-of-interest policies to fundraising practices, financial oversight, and donor privacy.

We are honored to receive this accreditation for the first time in 2026. It reflects not just the integrity of our programs, but the care and rigor our team brings to every aspect of how this organization is run.

You can review our BBB Wise Giving Alliance report here.

Charity Navigator: 4 Stars Rating

Charity Navigator takes the broadest view of any major watchdog, evaluating nonprofits across financial health, program effectiveness, cost efficiency, long-term stability, and accountability practices. Its four-star rating, the highest it awards, signals that an organization exceeds best practices across nearly every dimension it measures.

Amazon Conservation has held a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for over 13 consecutive years. That’s not an accident or a lucky streak. It’s the product of consistent, disciplined organizational management across more than a decade.

You can review our full Charity Navigator profile here.

 

What It Means for Your Giving

These ratings don’t tell you whether the Amazon matters. You already know it does. What they tell you is that when you give to Amazon Conservation, your contribution is managed with care and deployed with accountability. That your gift reaches the forests, the scientists, the community rangers, and the policy advocates who are doing the actual work of protecting them. And that we will continue to report back to you, honestly, on what that work has achieved.

In a moment when the Amazon faces some of the most serious pressures in its history, from deforestation, mining, and climate change, the organizations working to protect it need to be as effective as possible. These ratings are independent confirmation that Amazon Conservation is.

One More Way to Help: Leave a Review on GreatNonprofits

There is one watchdog we haven’t mentioned yet, and it works a little differently. GreatNonprofits doesn’t evaluate financial records or governance structures. It asks the people who know us best, donors, partners, volunteers, and community members, to share their firsthand experience.

If you support Amazon Conservation and our mission, we’d love to hear from you. Your review helps others discover why this work is worth their support and contributes to our rating on the platform. Create a free account at GreatNonprofits and share more about why you support our work!

These recognitions belong to everyone who makes this work possible: our team on the ground, our partners across the Amazon, and the donors and supporters who trust us with their resources and their faith in what conservation can accomplish. Thank you, for that trust, and for helping us earn it again.