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Appalachian Trail Conservancy at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

To help protect the 2,200 mile appalachian national scenic trail and 370,000 acres of land in the appalachian trail (a.t.

$780k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$59k
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.

Environment$14MRecreation & Sports$1.0MCommunity Improvement$466kArts & Culture$145kEducation$74kPhilanthropy$54kYouth Development$40kFood & Nutrition$21kOther$0
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 5 grants below total $116,082, the rows itemized in this filing. The $779,568 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $663,486 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

  • Under $10k2 grants · $12k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $45k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $59k
$13,428
Median grant
3
States reached
$55M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
POTOMAC APPAL TRAIL CLUB$59,262
GATC$31,302
CAROLINA MOUNTAIN CLUB$13,428
NANTAHALA HIKING CLUB$6,245
ROANOKE APPAL TRAIL CLUB$5,845
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 8%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 23% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%AMC - BUSINESS OFFICE: $100k → 16%WILDLANDS CONSERVANCY INC: $80k → 11%OUTDOOR AFRO: $59k → 10%COMMUNITY INITIATIVES: $54k → 10%HUDSON HIGHLANDS LAND TRUST INC: $66k → 6%GROUNDWORK USA: $48k → 9%SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY: $85k → 12%GATC: $31k → 9%GATC DOUG HAAS: $56k → 13%FRIENDS OF MONROE INC: $43k → 15%NYNJ TRAIL CONFERENCE: $75k → 7%POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB: $59k → 6%THE CONSERVATION FUND: $5.8M → 7%GILES COUNTY: $300k → 12%NDPONICS: $75k → 12%BLACKSBURG CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $40k → 21%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $85k → 9%SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS: $50k → 7%HIGH PEAKS ALLIANCE: $40k → 14%FOREST SOCIETY OF MAINE: $115k → 15%APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB: $75k → 16%SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY: $83k → 12%GEORGIA APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB: $36k → 9%GATC DOUG HAAS: $50k → 13%POTOMAC APPAL TRAIL CLUB: $59k → 6%THE CONSERVATION FUND: $3.3M → 7%GILES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: $97k → 12%NDPONICS: $45k → 12%THE HUMBLE HUSTLE COMPANY INC: $40k → 20%NORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST CORPORATION: $60k → 9%UPPER VALLEY LAND TRUST INC: $100k → 10%FOREST SOCIETY OF MAINE: $75k → 15%GREENAGERS INC: $50k → 12%SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY: $67k → 12%GATC DOUG HAAS: $45k → 13%POTOMAC APPAL TRAIL CLUB: $32k → 6%THE CONSERVATION FUND: $1.3M → 7%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $50k → 9%UPPER VALLEY LAND TRUST INC: $80k → 10%CORNWALL CONSERVATION TRUST INC: $50k → 9%GEORGIA APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB: $42k → 13%POTOMAC APPAL TRAIL CLUB: $31k → 6%NORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST CORPORATION: $35k → 9%CENTRAL PA CONSERVANCY INC: $41k → 8%POTOMAC APPAL TRAIL CLUB: $30k → 6%CENTRAL PA CONSERVANCY INC: $34k → 8%NATURE CONSERVANCY: $100k → 7%THE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $39k → 7%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
VT
NH
WI
NY
MA
OR
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
KY
WV
VA
MD
NM
TN
NC
SC
DC
GA
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$14M · 35 repeat orgs$1.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +27% for those funded once.

35 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 30 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
55

Total granted

$14M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+27%

Still filing today

80%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EnvironmentArts & CultureRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementFood & NutritionEducationOther
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

  • THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION
    5× · 2019–2024 · $11M · revenue +49%
  • GA
    Georgia Appalachian Trail Club
    9× · 2017–2025 · $327k · revenue +33% · 51% of their budget
  • Potomac Appalachian Trail Club
    9× · 2017–2025 · $312k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • TW
    THE WEST VIRGINIA LAND TRUST INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $222k · revenue +87%
  • WC
    WILDLANDS CONSERVANCY INC
    one grant, 2018 · $80k · revenue -56%
  • OA
    OUTDOOR AFROgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $59k · revenue +211%
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
Lakes Region Conservation Trust

The mission of the Organization is the conservation of the natural resources of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, the preservation of wildlife habitat, the stewardship of lands that define the character of the region and its quality of…

Environment
2
Catawba Lands Conservancy

As a nationally accredited land trust, we conserve and manage land for public benefit in North Carolinas Southern Piedmont. We have conserved 235 properties, totaling 17,786 acres of land. We also facilitate the creation of a 1600 mile…

Environment
3
Conserving Carolina

To protect, restore, and inspire appreciation of the natural world.

Environment
4
Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia Inc

To promote permanent conservation of the natural resources and scenic beauty of the mountains and foothills of north georgia through land protection, collaborative partnerships and education.

Environment
5
Upper Saco Valley Land Trust

The Organization works with local landowners to permanently protect natural land and waters that define its community and enrich the quality of life by purchasing, managing, negotiating and developing conservations easements in the Upper…

Food & Nutrition
6
Midcoast Conservancy

The mission of Midcoast Conservancy is to protect vital lands and waters on a scale that matters and to inspire wonder and action on behalf of all species and the Earth.

Environment
7
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
8
Natural Lands Trust Inc

Saves open space, cares for nature, and connects people to the outdoors. (See schedule O)

Environment
9
Woodstock Land Conservancy Inc

Acquire land and easements to preserve and enhance the open lands, forests, water resources, scenic areas and historical sights of the Woodstock, NY area. Steward protected lands and offer educational programs and events regarding nature…

Environment
10
Massachusetts Land Conservation Trust

Conservation and preservation of land.

Environment
11
Appalachian Trail Conservancy

To help protect the 2,200 mile appalachian national scenic trail and 370,000 acres of land in the appalachian trail (a.t. or the trail) corridor; advocate for the trail; compile and disseminate educational information; and cooperatively…

Recreation & Sports
12
Royal River Conservation Trust

The royal river conservation trust (rrct) is a regional land trust working primarily in seven maine municipalities. the trust owns,cares for, and stewards land and conservation easements to protect land and water resources for the general…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wildlands Conservancy Inc; the most unlike its peers is Ndponics. 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

70 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. 70 of the 91 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
67/70
Grantees still filing
50/70
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $10,566,100 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION+38 more: $2,562,834 · Environment+38 moreGILES COUNTY: $396,611 · OtherGILES COUNTYGeorgia Appalachian Trail Club: $326,943 · OtherGeorgia Appal…Potomac Appalachian Trail Club: $312,102 · OtherPotomac Appal…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $125,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CO…+31 more: $646,310 · Other+31 moreNew York-New Jersey Trail Conference Inc: $114,527 · Recreation & SportsHIGH PEAKS ALLIANCE: $50,000 · Recreation & SportsNANTAHALA HIKING CLUB INC: $27,902 · Recreation & SportsKEYSTONE TRAILS ASSOCIATION: $10,800 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $5,100 · Recreation & SportsNDPONICS: $120,000 · Food & NutritionGREENAGERS INC: $50,000 · Food & NutritionADAMS COUNTY FARMERS MARKET ASSOCIATION INC: $13,608 · Food & NutritionTHE SALISBURY ASSOCIATION INC: $55,000 · Arts & CultureBLACKSBURG CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $40,000 · Arts & CultureAPPALACHIAN TRAIL MUSEUM INC: $20,500 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $15,000 · Arts & CultureHISTORIC GETTYSBURG ADAMS COUNTY INC: $10,800 · Arts & CultureGROUNDWORK USA INC: $47,878 · Community ImprovementNORTHEAST TENNESSEE REGIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION AND: $15,000 · Community ImprovementCUMBERLAND AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $5,600 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY INITIATIVES: $54,378 · Philanthropy
Environment$13,128,934Other$1,806,966Recreation & Sports$208,329Food & Nutrition$183,608Arts & Culture$141,300Community Improvement$68,478Philanthropy$54,378

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 budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $10,566,100 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetGeorgia Appalachian Trail Club: $326,943 over 9y, 51% of budgetPotomac Appalachian Trail Club: $312,102 over 9y, 3.9% of budgetSouthern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy: $282,959 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $243,787 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetTHE WEST VIRGINIA LAND TRUST INC: $222,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $220,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetForest Society of Maine: $215,000 over 3y, 8.0% of budgetUPPER VALLEY LAND TRUST INC: $180,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetNEW RIVER LAND TRUST: $128,860 over 2y, 9.9% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $125,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNDPONICS: $120,000 over 2y, 40% of budgetHudson Highlands Land Trust Inc: $115,100 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetNew York-New Jersey Trail Conference Inc: $114,527 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetNORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST CORPORATION: $105,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetMaine Appalachian Trail Land Trust: $85,500 over 4y, 10% of budgetCENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY INC: $82,950 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetWILDLANDS CONSERVANCY INC: $80,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetSOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS: $70,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetOUTDOOR AFRO: $59,378 over 1y, 10% of budgetCarolina Mountain Club Incorporated: $57,844 over 5y, 5.2% of budgetTHE SALISBURY ASSOCIATION INC: $55,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY INITIATIVES: $54,378 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCATOCTIN LAND TRUST INC: $53,000 over 3y, 32% of budgetGREENAGERS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetCornwall Conservation Trust Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetHIGH PEAKS ALLIANCE: $50,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetGROUNDWORK USA INC: $47,878 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetBLACKSBURG CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $40,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetTHE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC: $39,478 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLAND SAVERS UNITED: $36,500 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetMainspring Conservation Trust Inc: $36,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetWARREN LAND TRUST INC: $30,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetVERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCUMBERLAND COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND HAMILTON LIBRARY ASSOC: $24,327 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTHE MAYAPPLE SCHOOL: $23,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetHIGHSTEAD FOUNDATION INC: $22,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetSouthern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards: $22,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetAPPALACHIAN TRAIL MUSEUM INC: $20,500 over 2y, 8.2% of budgetHOUSATONIC VALLEY ASSOCIATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetBERKS NATURE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetDUTCHESS LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $16,980 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetVALLEY CONSERVATION COUNCIL: $15,500 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetMountainTrue: $15,000 over 2y, 0.7% 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.

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 Nature ConservancyLand Trust Alliance I…National Fish and Wil…The Conservation Fund…Open Space Institute …Fields Pond Foundatio…Ibm International Fou…Berkshire Taconic Com…Davis Conservation Fo…PatagoniaorgThe John T and Jane a…The Wilderness Society
The Nature ConservancyVA42.9× affinity23 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Nature Conservancy · Land Trust Alliance Inc · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · The Conservation Fund a Nonprofit Corporation · Open Space Institute Land Trust Inc · Fields Pond Foundation Inc · Ibm International Foundation · Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Inc · Davis Conservation Foundation · Patagoniaorg · The John T and Jane a Wiederhold Foundation · The Wilderness Society

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 Appalachian Trail Conservancy funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • The Salisbury Association Inc: 54% of income from government
  • Vermont Land Trust Inc: 42% of income from government
  • Housatonic Valley Association Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Cornwall Conservation Trust Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Greenagers Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Northeast Wilderness Trust Corporation: 2% of income from government
  • Berkshire Natural Resources Council Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • Ridge and Valley Conservancy Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
24report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 91 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 Appalachian Trail Conservancy’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