EWG claims to be a "non-partisan" organization that refrains from formal lobbying activity. They receive funding from a variety of large, multi-million dollar foundations including the Turner Foundation, Joyce Foundation, W. Alton Jones Foundation, Schumann Foundation and Packard Foundation.
In a complaint filed with the IRS, the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise charged that the EWG's "excessive lobbying and politicking" activities are "clearly illegal and should (at a minimum) result in revocation of the organization's tax-exempt status." The complaint charged that the group hid its political-lobbying expenditures, failed to register as a lobbyist in California, submitted false or misleading reports with the IRS and acted as a political-action organization in violation of Section 501(c)(3) rules.
