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VOICE FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS SOCIETY

EIN 47-3943896 PALO ALTO, CA

Revenue 2025
$414,643
Expenses 2025
$429,038

Program services were 89.0% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
D34
Classification
1240
Street
PO BOX 194

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2025

Mission

VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS (VFAE) COMBINES SCIENCE, STORYTELLING, AND TECHNOLOGIES LIKE AI, ROBOTICS, AND GIS TO PROTECT ENDANGERED ASIAN ELEPHANTS, RESTORE AND REWILD THEIR HABITATS, AND SAFEGUARD MIGRATION CORRIDORS. BY PARTNERING WITH GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, AND PROVIDING TRIBAL COMMUNITIES WITH RESOURCES FOR VITAL SUSTENANCE, WE PROMOTE HARMONIOUS COEXISTENCE TO THOSE LIVING ALONGSIDE THESE MAJESTIC CREATURES.

  • SECURING AND REWILDING CORRIDORS FOR ODISHA ELEPHANTS - A CRISIS IS UNFOLDING RIGHT NOW-AND IT IS SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL. ACCORDING TO THE WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA, THE NATION'S ELEPHANT POPULATION HAS PLUMMETED TO JUST 22,446 INDIVIDUALS-A STAGGERING 18% DECLINE FROM THE 27,312 RECORDED IN 2017. THIS IS NOT A SLOW DECLINE. THIS IS A COLLAPSE UNFOLDING IN REAL TIME. IN ODISHA ALONE, NEARLY 100 ELEPHANTS HAVE DIED WITHIN JUST ONE YEAR, ACCORDING TO ODISHA'S MINISTER OF FOREST AND ENVIRONMENT-AN ALARMING SIGNAL OF HOW RAPIDLY THIS CRISIS IS ESCALATING AT THE STATE LEVEL. OVER THE PAST DECADE, 790 ELEPHANTS HAVE PERISHED IN ODISHA, WITH ELECTROCUTION LEADING AS THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THESE UNNATURAL DEATHS. IN THIS TIME, CONFLICTS HAVE CLAIMED 668 HUMAN LIVES AND LEFT 509 OTHERS INJURED, UNDERSCORING THE SHARED TRAGEDY OF THIS CRISIS. IN THE FACE OF THESE ESCALATING TRAGEDIES, VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS IS TAKING BOLD, FRONTLINE ACTION-WORKING ALONGSIDE GRASSROOTS PARTNERS LIKE PARIBARTAN AND INDIGENOUS TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. IN JUST ONE YEAR, WE HAVE SECURED 52 ACRES OF VITAL CORRIDOR LAND, RECONNECTING TWO FRAGMENTED FORESTS AND RESTORING A LOST MIGRATORY PATH. THE RESULT? OVER 50 ELEPHANTS HAVE ALREADY RETURNED HOME. AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE HEALING DEGRADED HABITATS-PLANTING ELEPHANT-FRIENDLY, FRUIT-BEARING SAPLINGS AND CREATING WATERHOLES WITHIN CORE FOREST AREAS. THESE ARE NOT SMALL INTERVENTIONS-THEY ARE LIFELINES. BY BRINGING FOOD AND WATER BACK INTO THEIR NATURAL HABITATS, WE ARE PREVENTING ELEPHANTS FROM STRAYING INTO DANGEROUS HUMAN LANDSCAPES-WHERE TOO MANY TRAGEDIES OCCUR-AVOIDABLE DEATHS.

    Expenses $295,383 · Grants $262,413

  • SAVING ELEPHANTS FROM DEADLY TRACKS - ELESENSE - UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENCROACHMENT IN INDIAN FORESTS ARE PUSHING ENDANGERED ASIAN ELEPHANTS TOWARD EXTINCTION, WITH 18-20 DYING ANNUALLY IN TRAIN COLLISIONS ALONE. WEST BENGAL, THE FOURTH MOST DENSELY POPULATED STATE, IS A DEADLY HOTSPOT, RANKING SECOND IN ELEPHANT DEATHS ON TRAIN TRACKS. TO ADDRESS THIS CRISIS, VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS AND PARTNERS LAUNCHED ELESENSE, A SENSOR-BASED EARLY WARNING SYSTEM THAT PREVENTED NEARLY 1,600 TRAIN COLLISIONS BETWEEN JANUARY 2023 AND AUGUST 2025. INSTALLED NEAR TRACKS CUTTING THROUGH FORESTS, IT ALERTS TRAIN PILOTS OF ELEPHANT PRESENCE WITHIN 750 METERS, ALLOWING SAFE BRAKING AND DETERRING ELEPHANTS FROM DANGER ZONES. ELESENSE IS NOW BEING EXPANDED INTO CRITICAL HABITATS LIKE BUXA TIGER RESERVE AND CHAPRAMARI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY. THIS INDIGENOUS-DESIGNED INNOVATION IS TRANSFORMING CONSERVATION, SAFEGUARDING ELEPHANTS, AND PROMOTING PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE.

    Expenses $35,217

  • ROBOTIC ELEPHANTS PROJECT - IN FEBRUARY 2025, VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS UNVEILED THE SECOND ROBOTIC ELEPHANT IN INDIA - FIRST IN THE STATE OF KERALA - TO REPLACE A LIVE ONE IN TEMPLE PROCESSIONS-PRESERVING TRADITION WHILE PREVENTING CRUELTY. THE LAUNCH GARNERED EXTENSIVE COVERAGE ACROSS AT LEAST 30+ MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS IN ENGLISH, AND MALAYALAM, MARKING A BOLD STEP TOWARD PROTECTING THE ENDANGERED ASIAN ELEPHANT. IN KERALA ALONE, THE NUMBER OF CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS HAS DROPPED FROM 500 IN 2019 TO 397 IN EARLY 2024, WITH AN AVERAGE OF 25 ELEPHANT DEATHS ANNUALLY. THESE ANIMALS, OFTEN VIOLENTLY CAPTURED AND EXPLOITED IN THE NAME OF CULTURE, ARE SUFFERING ALONGSIDE MAHOUTS, WITH 293 STAMPEDES IN 2023 CAUSING MULTIPLE DEATHS AND INJURIES. THE ROBOTIC ELEPHANTS ARE NOW INSPIRING TEMPLES TO TRANSITION AWAY FROM LIVE ELEPHANT USE, ENSURING PUBLIC SAFETY AND ANIMAL WELFARE. THIS INNOVATION SIGNALS A COMPASSIONATE CULTURAL SHIFT WHERE TRADITION AND KINDNESS CAN COEXIST.

    Expenses $29,709 · Grants $14,598

  • SECURING FORESTLAND TO REHABILITATE CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS - VOICES FOR ASIAN ELEPHANTS IS PARTNERING WITH BOON LOTT'S ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN REHABILITATING CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS RESCUED FROM THE TOURISM INDUSTRY. AS PART OF THIS COLLABORATION, VFAE HAS CONTRIBUTED 14 ACRES OF LAND TO HELP EXPAND THE BOON LOTT'S ELEPHANT SANCTUARY (BLES)-CREATING ADDITIONAL SPACE FOR ELEPHANTS TO ROAM FREELY, WITHOUT FEAR OR EXPLOITATION. ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA, COUNTLESS ELEPHANTS ONCE USED IN TOURISM ENDURE LIVES OF CONTROL, CONFINEMENT, AND HARDSHIP. MANY ARE SEPARATED FROM THEIR FAMILIES, SUBJECTED TO HARSH TRAINING, AND DENIED THE FREEDOM THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO THEIR WELL-BEING. AT BLES, LOCATED IN NORTHERN THAILAND, RESCUED ELEPHANTS ARE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO BEGIN AGAIN. HERE, THEY ARE NOT FORCED TO PERFORM OR INTERACT. THERE ARE NO RIDES, NO CHAINS, AND NO COMMANDS-ONLY SPACE, SAFETY, AND THE TIME THEY NEED TO HEAL. SPREAD ACROSS MORE THAN 600 ACRES OF PROTECTED FOREST, THE SANCTUARY PROVIDES A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE ELEPHANTS CAN ROAM FREELY, FORM SOCIAL BONDS, AND REDISCOVER THEIR INSTINCTS. WHAT EMERGES IS SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY: TRUST REBUILT, TRAUMA SOFTENED, AND A RETURN TO THE RHYTHMS OF LIFE AS NATURE INTENDED.

    Expenses $21,570 · Grants $13,343

As filed on the 2025 return.

Officers and directors · 2025

As listed in Part VII of the 2025 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • Nancy Plant

    PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    7

  • David Ezekiel

    TREASURER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Dr Sunita Sastry

    SECRETARY

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Luveen Wadhvani

    CHIEF TECH OFFICER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    3

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2025
    Revenue
    $414,643
    Expenses
    $429,038
    Contributions
    $397,477
    Grants paid
    $275,757
  • 2024
    Revenue
    $245,345
    Expenses
    $222,483
    Contributions
    $224,884
    Grants paid
    $89,254
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $204,897
    Expenses
    $270,328
    Contributions
    $200,849
    Grants paid
    $126,809
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $184,982
    Expenses
    $159,861
    Contributions
    $154,678
    Grants paid
    $79,750

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990-EZ

    Revenue
    $198,515
    Expenses
    $123,898
    Assets (EOY)
    $205,463

  • 2020 · 990-EZ

    Revenue
    $133,809
    Expenses
    $50,652
    Assets (EOY)
    $131,424

  • 2019 · 990-EZ

    Revenue
    $59,554
    Expenses
    $36,059
    Assets (EOY)
    $47,689

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all.

Form 990-N e-Postcard, tax year 2018

Tax period
1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018
Principal officer
Nancy Ma
Mailing address
3415 South Sepulveda Blvd Ste 1100Los Angeles CA 90034

As filed, from the IRS e-Postcard file of 26 October 2026. The IRS publishes only each organization's most recent postcard, so earlier years are not shown. A 990-N carries no financial detail. The postcard also gives the principal officer's address, which is not shown here.

Grants made

No itemized grants to organizations. Schedule I is filed only by organizations that granted more than $5,000 to a recipient, so most filers have none.

Grants received

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 29 October 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2025, the newest we have parsed for this organization.