GiveBetter x New York City

WE ACT for Environmental Justice

Whole recipient; conditional local heat-policy implementation

Research time: ~3 min on GPT-6 Astra Light + ~1 min on GPT-6.1 Sol
  • Research — reviewed programs, finances and impact evidence.
  • Source audit — checked claims, assumptions and calculations.

Updated: 2026-10-07

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Summary

What do they do? WE ACT combines community organizing, research, education and advocacy for environmental justice. Its charitable recipient works locally, statewide and nationally, including on housing, heat and toxic exposures. The numerical estimate covers only additional NYC heat-policy implementation while charging the full recipient's operating cost.

Why we’re interested in this organization:

  • A documented coalition role connects local organizing to a real implementation opportunity.

  • Current heat risk is source-grounded and benefits are restricted to local residents.

  • Full-recipient accounting retains national work and separately netted event resources.

Our main reservations:

  • Campaign attribution and funding response remain subjective.

  • Existing laws and public programs can substantially substitute for new advocacy.

  • Most environmental, workforce and national outcomes are unpriced, so this is not complete portfolio return.

What do you get for your dollar? $36.1M per DALY in New York City. DALY is our one-year comparison unit. QALY-based health gains and income-welfare equivalents retain their original assumptions; they are not measured clinical DALYs. Retained conditional heat clinical reference; household cooling resources assessed unknown.

Additional implementation of cooling access and affordability -> annual heat deaths avoided beyond baseline -> finite survival-adjusted QALYs.

1. What do they do?

The ordinary charitable recipient is West Harlem Environmental Action Inc., EIN 13-3800068, doing business as WE ACT. Its work spans Northern Manhattan, state policy and a federal office; the whole operating denominator remains in this estimate. The related WE ACT 4 Change is a separate 501(c)(4), not a second pool of charitable outcomes to append. Recipient Affiliate disclosure

2. Monitoring and information sharing

The impact report documents coalition work on the cooling-center law and a wider city/state/federal portfolio. These establish a role, not marginal deaths prevented. The 2026 policy agenda was prepared before final enactment of the residential cooling law, and the heat webpage retains a petition to pass it. The current Council record is authoritative: the law was enacted in January 2026 with key requirements beginning in 2030. New gifts can at most improve implementation beyond this baseline, not earn the law's full historical benefit. Impact report Current legal status Tenant elections, hardship extensions and the separate NYCHA cooling-plan route limit the 2030 requirement; no universal cooling or additional law-passage benefit is assumed.

3. Qualitative assessment

WE ACT's heat coalition and energy-assistance advocacy offer a concrete pathway through affordability, uptake and enforcement. The latest city report estimates roughly 500 annual heat-related deaths, predominantly modeled heat-exacerbated mortality. This is the local risk envelope, not a campaign output. Preventing death may extend life briefly rather than restore a full healthy lifetime, which is why survival is constrained. Campaign Current mortality evidence

Healthy housing, toxic-product regulation, clean energy and workforce work may dominate total value. No sensor, workshop, bill or grant is automatically treated as a health outcome. Their unpriced value is a reason not to rank the organization using the heat component alone.

Household housing and energy resources assessed unknown, not zero or a90%-health finding.

4. What do you get for your dollar?

Signed household cooling resources are assessed unknown and potentially material. The retained conditional heat-policy reference remains about $36.1M per DALY, with 0.9347604475165978 MSA QALYs at $33,762,033 across three full annual recipient budgets. This is not a complete combined valuation, a zero-income finding or an empirical 90%-health share. All seven original worlds remain unchanged.

WE ACT's heat program identifies LIHEAP affordability, efficient cooling, installation and operating support, and cooling centers. Its historical2025 closure notice and pre-enactment petition are not current2026 funding status or a claim that the cooling law remains pending. Existing enacted requirements, HEAP, landlord obligations, public centers and coalition work remain baseline. New cooling use can raise electricity bills while improving health; efficiency and subsidies can reduce actual alternative purchases. Public capital and retail equipment value are not household cash.

A numerical bridge requires current funding-responsive unique resource-sharing households, actual cooling uptake/use and alternative electricity/equipment/rent payments, tenant-landlord and public-payer incidence, taxes and benefit withdrawals, time/access costs, and finite delay/duration. Mortality cohorts are not ratepayer households. Full negative bills and access burdens cannot depend on clinical response or survival; positive overlap applies only to gains. Public transfers and disjoint real resources need separate scope without duplicating the original induced household/public-cost diagnostic. Broader housing, energy and national resources remain unquantified, not zero; no institutional total, retail care or ordinary survivor earnings is credited.

The conditional local heat-component price is approximately $36.1M per DALY, not complete portfolio cost-effectiveness.

The cost numerator is three years of the entire charitable recipient's gross operating expense. The scenario assumes an additional cooling-implementation package could reduce the city's annual heat mortality envelope by 1% beyond already funded and mandated protections. A 25% coalition probability, 20% WE ACT contribution and 50% ordinary funding response yield 0.125 attributable deaths avoided annually for five cohorts starting four years from valuation. These are transparent priors, not measured effects. Each death avoided is valued at no more than five remaining years with 0.6 utility and a 20% annual competing-mortality hazard, discounted 3%.

All modeled deaths are NYC-resident deaths, so the component's MSA share is 100%; this does not assign national benefits to New York. The parallel NYC-EJA scenario shares the same coalition opportunity and is correlated, not another independent citywide reduction. A combined giving model would need to reassess joint additionality rather than add both prices or benefits mechanically.

Positive alternatives vary implementation, attribution, funding and survival. Complete replacement and a one-QALY adverse outcome are retained. Added $1 million induced household/public cost and 25% coalition-resource cases test omitted costs; neither is a measured invoice. Rent, electricity costs, grid effects and displacement can offset health gains.

Model, assumptions and sensitivity

Three years of all charitable recipient gross operating expense, including national programs, grants and event resources; not only the local heat campaign. Capital acquisition is not added on top of recognized annual expense; a resource stress addresses omitted capacity.

g=1 for modeled NYC-resident heat mortality, entirely within the official 22-county MSA. No statewide campaign or climate benefit assigned by headquarters.

v=ln(1+d)+m; q=u*(1-exp(-v*L))/v; A=sum(j=0..T-1)(1+d)^(-lag-j); Qall=D*r*p*a*b*q*A-h; QMSA=g*Qall; price10=10*C/QMSA if positive.

C
33762033 USD across three operating years (judgment). Three future years at observed FY2024 gross operating expense, assuming constant scale; undiscounted costs charged upfront. This is a projection, not an observed three-year expense total. [return2024] [schedule2024]
D
500 historical annual NYC heat deaths (observed). Rounded current city estimate, predominantly statistically estimated heat-exacerbated deaths; not an observed campaign outcome. [heat] [law] [mortality]
r
0.01 fraction of heat deaths additionally prevented conditional on implementation (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
p
0.25 coalition incremental implementation probability (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
a
0.2 WE ACT coalition contribution fraction (judgment). Explicit 20% contribution prior based on documented coalition co-founding and ongoing work; not an empirical attribution estimate. [heat] [law] [mortality]
b
0.5 funding response fraction (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
T
5 annual mortality cohorts (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
lag
4 years to first benefit (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
u
0.6 health utility (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
m
0.2 annual competing mortality hazard (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
L
5 maximum remaining survival years (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
h
0.00 net QALYs of adverse effects (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
g
1 MSA fraction (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
d
0.03 annual discount (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]

Conditional additional heat-policy implementation: Cost: $33.8M; New York City health QALYs: 0.93; all-population health QALYs: 0.93. {"C":33762033,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Small implementation effect and short survival: Cost: $33.8M; New York City health QALYs: 0.00; all-population health QALYs: 0.00. {"C":33762033,"D":500,"r":0.002,"p":0.1,"a":0.1,"b":0.1,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.4,"m":0.5,"L":1,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Substantial additional cooling protection: Cost: $33.8M; New York City health QALYs: 46.25; all-population health QALYs: 46.25. {"C":33762033,"D":500,"r":0.05,"p":0.5,"a":0.3,"b":0.75,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.7,"m":0.1,"L":10,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Complete funding replacement: Cost: $33.8M; New York City health QALYs: 0.00; all-population health QALYs: 0.00. {"C":33762033,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

No protection and implementation-related harm: Cost: $33.8M; New York City health QALYs: -1.00; all-population health QALYs: -1.00. {"C":33762033,"D":500,"r":0,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":1,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Added household and public resources: Cost: $34.8M; New York City health QALYs: 0.93; all-population health QALYs: 0.93. {"C":34762033,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Unrecognized coalition-resource sensitivity: Cost: $42.2M; New York City health QALYs: 0.93; all-population health QALYs: 0.93. {"C":42202541.25,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Combined resources unknown; clinical reference retained: Cost: $33.8M; New York City health QALYs: 0.93; all-population health QALYs: 0.93. Original clinical model and full three-year recipient scope retained; net household resources unknown, not zero.

Counterfactual: Enacted cooling law, existing HEAP, cooling centers, agency enforcement and other coalition members continue. Only improvement beyond that baseline is credited; no historical passage or total congestion-pricing gain.

Attribution: The shared coalition framework assigns WE ACT a subjective 20% central contribution to additional implementation, not credit for the whole coalition. The NYC-EJA report separately assumes 20%; these correlated scenarios are not independent interventions to sum. Existing legal mandates receive no new-gift credit.

Judgment-based scenario, not a statistical forecast or complete portfolio ranking. Marginal cooling uptake, health protection and campaign additionality are not observed. Positive alternatives, zero and harm are retained.

Sensitivity

  • Small implementation effect and short survival: 259401214440 USD per DALY.
  • Substantial additional cooling protection: 7299362 USD per DALY.
  • Complete funding replacement: no finite positive-benefit price.
  • No protection and implementation-related harm: no finite positive-benefit price.
  • Added household and public resources: 371881727 USD per DALY.
  • Unrecognized coalition-resource sensitivity: 451479749 USD per DALY.

Unresolved inputs

  • Campaign-specific incremental cooling uptake and affordability beyond enacted-law baseline.
  • WE ACT causal contribution relative to NYC-EJA, NRDC, tenant organizations and public agencies.
  • Ordinary gift allocation across local, statewide, national and capital work.
  • FY2023 prior-year reconciliation and current audited gross resources.
  • Health outcomes of the unpriced wider portfolio.
  • Current WE ACT gift-responsive unique resource-sharing households and actual cooling uptake/use; alternative private electricity/equipment/rent payments, tariff and billing incidence; disposable-resource baseline, taxes/benefits and full access/time costs; finite lag/duration, existing HEAP/public/landlord baseline and disjoint real resource scope.

5. Funding and previous grants

FY2024 gross expense is $11,254,011: Part IX $11,067,147 plus $186,864 separately netted event expense. Schedule D has no donated-service addback. FY2022 is $7,890,202: Part IX $7,618,578 plus $197,262 recognized donated services and $74,362 event expense. FY2023 original current-period gross is $13,137,650: Part IX $13,013,153 plus $124,497 event expense. Its audit reconciliation contains an additional $147,947 prior-year adjustment, not assigned to the current operating year; the next return's comparative expense also differs by $75,351. FY2023 is noncomparable pending reconciliation, not smoothed into a synthetic mean. FY2024 original FY2023 reconciliation

FY2024 reports $2,428,022 government grants and $17,182,896 net assets, including $2,714,557 restricted. Cash and savings total $11,214,924. Those balances do not establish a new-gift capacity commitment. The impact report's fundraising categories differ from return revenue, so they are not substituted for accounting totals. Current national and local work remains in the whole-recipient scope. Donate

Expense appendix: FY2024 Part IX is $8,291,799 program, $2,360,382 management/general and $414,966 fundraising, totaling $11,067,147. Add separately netted event resources $186,864 to reach $11,254,011. FY2023 remains noncomparable; the three-year projected model cost is not a verified historical mean.

Annual expenses

Organization-level spending, including programs, administration and fundraising. The research list averages three comparable, consecutive full fiscal years when available.

  • FY 2022: $7.9M; West Harlem Environmental Action Inc., EIN13-3800068, 12-month period, Original Form 990 current-period expense plus donated services and separately netted event costs; prior-period reconciliation treated separately.. Source
  • FY 2023: $13.1M; West Harlem Environmental Action Inc., EIN13-3800068, 12-month period, Original Form 990 current-period expense plus donated services and separately netted event costs; prior-period reconciliation treated separately.. Source
  • FY 2024: $11.3M; West Harlem Environmental Action Inc., EIN13-3800068, 12-month period, Original Form 990 current-period expense plus donated services and separately netted event costs; prior-period reconciliation treated separately.. Source

6. Sources

  1. Enacted cooling law and implementation requirements. NYC Council. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  2. 2026 heat-mortality report. NYC Department of Health. Published: 2026-06-15; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  3. Current cooling funding and unmet demand. NYC Department of Health. Published: 2026-06-15; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  4. FY2022 original IRS990. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  5. FY2022 original IRS990ScheduleD. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  6. FY2023 original IRS990. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  7. FY2023 original IRS990ScheduleD. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  8. FY2024 original IRS990. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  9. FY2024 original IRS990ScheduleD. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  10. Heat, health and equity campaign. WE ACT. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-07.
  11. 2026 policy agenda, published before final cooling-law enactment. WE ACT. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  12. 2024–2025 impact report. WE ACT. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  13. Original affiliate disclosure. WE ACT / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  14. Ordinary charitable donation route. WE ACT. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.