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American Museum of Natural History at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

$6.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
22
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$441k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Science & Tech$8.2MAnimals$3.6MEducation$2.0MArts & Culture$1.1MHealth$949kEnvironment$694kRecreation & Sports$100kCommunity Improvement$82k
02FY2025 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 22 grants below total $2,428,268, the rows itemized in this filing. The $6,145,408 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $3,717,140 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $235k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+2 grants · $872k
$73,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$1.7B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo$440,673
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY$431,298
University of Utah$189,909
New York Hall of Science$170,925
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$154,676
Trustees of Princeton University$143,893
Friends of Roosevelt Park$99,965
California Academy of Sciences$90,747
Staten Island Zoo$82,655
Virginia Commonwealth University$75,352
Houston Museum of Natural Science$73,000
Suffolk University$64,774
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corp$62,582
Friends of the North Carolina Museum$59,018
New York Botanical Garden$53,530
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 69% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $155k → 8%Temple University: $129k → 22%SRI International: $204k → 7%Regents of the University of California: $217k → 10%New York Hall of Science: $197k → 13%University of Oklahoma: $120k → 13%University of Connecticut: $163k → 11%University of North Carolina at Charlotte: $294k → 10%University of Utah: $371k → 8%Trustees of Princeton University: $144k → 11%University of Southern Maine: $124k → 7%University of Southern Maine: $220k → 15%Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $136k → 8%SRI International: $175k → 7%New York Hall of Science: $171k → 13%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $431k → 17%University of Connecticut: $154k → 11%University of North Carolina at Charlotte: $249k → 10%University of Utah: $297k → 8%University of Southern Maine: $209k → 15%SRI International: $128k → 7%New York Hall of Science: $154k → 13%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $420k → 17%University of Connecticut: $146k → 11%University of Utah: $294k → 8%New York Hall of Science: $143k → 13%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $366k → 17%University of Utah: $271k → 8%New York Hall of Science: $126k → 13%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $343k → 17%University of Utah: $238k → 8%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $303k → 17%University of Utah: $231k → 8%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $274k → 17%University of Utah: $192k → 8%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $254k → 17%University of Utah: $190k → 8%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $190k → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $582k → 28%University of Utah: $186k → 8%NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: $185k → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $566k → 28%Research Foundation of CUNY: $135k → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $441k → 28%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $434k → 28%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $371k → 28%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $298k → 28%Wildlife Conservation Society-Bronx Zoo: $248k → 28%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
NH
IL
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
VA
AZ
NC
DC
OK
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$16M · 27 repeat orgs$326k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against -80% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
1

Total granted

$16M
$17k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
-80%

Still filing today

74%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $309k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentScience & TechAnimalsOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • WC
    Wildlife Conservation Society
    9× · 2017–2025 · $3.1M · revenue +59%
  • NY
    New York University
    9× · 2017–2025 · $2.8M · revenue +76%
  • NY
    NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.0M · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • BO
    BIODIVERSITY OUTREACH NETWORK EXPLORMOR
    one grant, 2024 · $17k · revenue -80%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The mission is "to understand the natural world and inspire everyone to care for it." the academy implements its mission through understanding the diversity of life; developing and applying science to protect the environment; and informing…

Science & Tech
3
Lowell Observatory

The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…

Science & Tech
4
Science Museum of Minnesota

The museum's mission statement is "turn on the science: inspire learning. inform policy. improve lives."

Arts & Culture
5
The Pierpont Morgan Library

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

Education
6
William Marsh Rice University

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to path breaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contributions to the betterment of our world. It seeks to fulfill this…

Education
7
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
8
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Inc

Phipps' mission is to inspire and educate all with the beauty and importance of plants, to advance sustainability and promote human and environmental well-being through action and research, and to celebrate its historic glasshouse.

Environment
9
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Inc

We harness the power of plants for humankind and share the joy and beauty of tropical gardening with everyone. fairchild tropical botanic garden is a museum of tropical plants within a world famous, 83-acre designed landscape. it was…

Environment
10
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation

The institute for advanced study (the institute) is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. see schedule o.

Science & Tech
11
Cook Museum of Natural Science
Arts & Culture
12
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science Inc

Frost science inspires and connects people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy science and technology, and to better understand ourselves and our world.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Queens Botanical Garden Society Inc; the most unlike its peers is Biodiversity Outreach Network. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

27 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 27 of the 33 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
21/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: $2,268,274 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF UTAHUNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM INC: $652,852 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM INCUNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: $612,862 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUTTHE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE: $542,973 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLIN…REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO: $398,889 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CA…+3 more: $222,518 · OtherNew York University: $2,766,559 · EducationNew York UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $514,516 · EducationMassachusetts Institute of Tech…Research Foundation of the City University of New York: $367,857 · EducationResearch Foundation of the City…Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $243,666 · EducationCornell University: $167,113 · EducationVIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDAT: $166,548 · Education+4 more: $380,935 · Education+4 moreWildlife Conservation Society: $3,107,736 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation So…STATEN ISLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $516,577 · AnimalsSTATEN ISLAND ZOOLOGICAL…NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE: $1,042,164 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK HALL O…Houston Museum of Natural Science: $302,479 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum …FRIENDS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES: $298,744 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF THE …CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $279,253 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACAD…THE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $264,492 · Arts & CultureTHE ADLER PLANE…Colorado Museum of Natural History: $131,138 · Arts & CultureColorado Museum…+1 more: $33,474 · Arts & CultureSRI INTERNATIONAL: $744,248 · Science & TechASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY INC: $45,555 · Science & Tech+1 more: $17,083 · Science & TechBROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN CORPORATION: $282,749 · EnvironmentNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: $276,325 · EnvironmentQUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC: $135,215 · Environment
Other$4,698,368Education$4,607,194Animals$3,624,313Arts & Culture$2,351,744Science & Tech$806,886Environment$694,289

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $3,107,736 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetNew York University: $2,766,559 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE: $1,042,164 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetSRI INTERNATIONAL: $744,248 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSTATEN ISLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $516,577 over 9y, 1.8% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $514,516 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetResearch Foundation of the City University of New York: $367,857 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $302,479 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES: $298,744 over 9y, 51% of budgetBROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN CORPORATION: $282,749 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $279,253 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: $276,325 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ADLER PLANETARIUM: $264,492 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetTemple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education: $243,666 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCornell University: $167,113 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDAT: $166,548 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTrustees of Princeton University - Alumni Organizations and Classes: $143,893 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetQUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC: $135,215 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetColorado Museum of Natural History: $131,138 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $119,306 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSUFFOLK UNIVERSITY: $64,774 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $52,962 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY INC: $45,555 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBRUCE MUSEUM INC: $33,474 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBIODIVERSITY OUTREACH NETWORK EXPLORMOR: $17,083 over 1y, 9.4% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds Wildlife Conservation Society ↗
  • Who funds New York University ↗
  • Who funds NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE ↗
  • Who funds SRI INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds STATEN ISLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds Massachusetts Institute of Technology ↗
  • Who funds Research Foundation of the City University of New York ↗
  • Who funds Houston Museum of Natural Science ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN ↗
  • Who funds THE ADLER PLANETARIUM ↗
  • Who funds Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education ↗
  • Who funds Cornell University ↗
  • Who funds VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDAT ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Princeton University - Alumni Organizations and Classes ↗
  • Who funds QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds Colorado Museum of Natural History ↗
  • Who funds The Research Foundation for The State University of New York ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF ROOSEVELT PARK INC ↗
  • Who funds SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Dartmouth College ↗
  • Who funds ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY INC ↗
  • Who funds BRUCE MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds BIODIVERSITY OUTREACH NETWORK EXPLORMOR ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The New York Communit…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The New York Community TrustNY13.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The New York Community Trust · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization American Museum of Natural History funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Museum of Natural History. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Suffolk University: 1% of income from government
  • Bruce Museum Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 33 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on American Museum of Natural History’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home