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Austin Parks Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Austin Parks Foundation

AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION partners with our community to enhance people's lives by making our public parks, trails and green spaces better through volunteerism, innovative programming, advocacy and financial support.

$534k
Granted FY2024still arriving
12
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$302k
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 2024.

Recreation & Sports$1.5MArts & Culture$1.1MEnvironment$722kPhilanthropy$190kEducation$100kEmployment$66kCommunity Improvement$46kAnimals$11kOther$0
02FY2024 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 12 grants below total $514,077, the rows itemized in this filing. The $534,077 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $20,000 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $16k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $197k
  • $250k+1 grant · $302k
$25,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$26M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CITY OF AUSTIN PARD$301,500
TRAIL CONSERVANCY$37,500
FUN TIME TRAIN RIDES$32,520
AUSTIN YMBL SUNSHINE CAMPS$30,000
DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC$26,700
AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF$25,000
WATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY$15,357
GREATER EAST AUSTIN YOUTH ASSOCIATION$10,000
AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC$10,000
CITY PARK ALLIANCE$10,000
TRI-COUNTY GRAVESITE MAINTENANCE$9,500
KUTKUTX RADIO$6,000
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%TRAVIS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $11k → 10%FUN TIME TRAIN RIDES: $33k → 16%CITY PARK ALLIANCE: $10k → 14%AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS E-CORPS: $41k → 10%AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS E-CORPS: $19k → 10%DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $238k → 10%DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $125k → 10%DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $27k → 10%DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $16k → 10%DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $14k → 10%AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $10k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARD: $302k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARD: $297k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARD: $270k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $200k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $150k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $116k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARD: $100k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $70k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $40k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $28k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $25k → 10%ULAUF SCULTPURE GARDEN AND MUSEUM: $25k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $20k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $20k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $19k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $17k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $17k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $15k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARD: $10k → 10%CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS & RECREATION: $10k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF: $25k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - FBO TOLF: $15k → 10%ZILKER BOTANICAL GARDEN CONSERVANCY INC: $75k → 10%AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION - (FRIENDS OF ELIZABET NEY MUSUEM): $10k → 10%HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY - V: $15k → 10%WEVIVA: $32k → 10%TREEFOLKS INC: $13k → 10%FORKLIFT DANCEWORKS: $10k → 10%FORKLIFT DANCEWORKS: $10k → 10%FORKLIFT DANCEWORKS: $10k → 10%FORKLIFT DANCEWORKS: $10k → 10%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.
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.
$3.3M · 12 repeat orgs$321k to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
12

Total granted

$3.3M
$205k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+24%

Still filing today

83%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $116k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEnvironmentRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • TT
    The Trail Conservancy
    2× · 2017–2018 · $293k · revenue +229%
  • AY
    AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS
    2× · 2017–2018 · $66k · revenue +111%
  • AY
    AUSTIN YMBL SUNSHINE CAMP
    2× · 2023–2024 · $60k · revenue +19%

Funded once

  • ZB
    ZILKER BOTANICAL GARDEN CONSERVANCY NON-PROFIT CORPORATION
    one grant, 2022 · $75k · revenue +24%
  • W
    WEVIVA
    one grant, 2017 · $32k
  • US
    UMLAUF SCULPTURE GARDEN & MUSEUM
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue +11%
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
Shoal Creek Conservancy

The conservancy is dedicated to restoring, protecting and enhancing the ecological, social and cultural vibrancy of shoal creek in austin, texas, for the people of austin by engaging the public and partnering with the community, including…

Environment
2
Fruitful Commons

Every neighborhood has vibrant spaces that reconnect people to growing food, nature and each other.

Environment
3
Travis County Parks Foundation

To create a powerful community resource that increases awareness, engagement and community support for Travis County parks.

Public Benefit
4
Austin Outside

Austin Outside champions vibrant and thriving outdoor places for all in Greater Austin, and serves as a hub for our member organizations to empower a healthier Austin for all. We envision a Greater Austin where everyone lives within a ten…

Environment
5
Austin Parks Foundation

Austin parks foundation partners with our community to enhance people's lives by making our public parks, trails and green spaces better through volunteerism, innovative programming, advocacy and financial support.

Recreation & Sports
6
Zilker 351

Zilker 351 works to honor, preserve and enhance the natural, cultural, and recreational treasures of 351-acre Zilker Metropolitan Park for all.

Community Improvement
7
Austin Creative Alliance

The mission of Austin Creative Alliance is to advance, connect, and celebrate Austin's arts, culture, and creative communities in order to nourish and strengthen the character, quality of life, and economic prosperity of our region.

Arts & Culture
8
Trinity Park Conservancy

Trinity Park Conservancy champions the transformation of the Trinity River to become the heart of Dallas. With the community, the Conservancy will design public spaces that unite us, enrich people's lives through access to nature, create…

Community Improvement
9
Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau

The austin convention and visitors bureau promotes tourism in the austin area to enhance the economy of the community.

—
10
Houston Parks Board

The Houston Parks Board mission is to expand, improve, and protect parks and greenspace in the Houston region.

Philanthropy
11
Hermann Park Conservancy

Hermann Park Conservancy is a citizens organization dedicated to the stewardship and improvement of Hermann Park - today and for generations to come.

Environment
12
Evergreen Austin

The corporation is organized for the purpose of working to create a more livable, equitable, resilient, and healthy austin, texas through investments in green space and green infrastructure.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Waterloo Greenway Conservancy; the most unlike its peers is Greater East Austin Youth Assn. 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

26 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. 26 of the 32 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/26
Grantees still filing
15/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

City of Austin: $1,733,085 · OtherCity of AustinNORWOOD PARK FOUNDATION: $271,565 · OtherNORWOOD PARK FOUNDATION+10 more: $188,372 · Other+10 moreDOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $420,046 · Arts & CultureDOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LL…ZILKER THEATRE PRODUCTIONS: $315,791 · Arts & CultureZILKER THEATRE PRODUCTIO…ALLISON ORR DANCE INC: $40,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $68,000 · Arts & Culture+5 moreThe Trail Conservancy: $293,300 · EnvironmentThe Trail Co…ZILKER BOTANICAL GARDEN CONSERVANCY NON-PROFIT CORPORATION: $75,000 · EnvironmentZILKER BOTAN…HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY: $20,000 · Environment+2 more: $21,296 · EnvironmentAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,040 · PhilanthropyAUSTIN YMBL SUNSHINE CAMP: $60,000 · Recreation & SportsTRAIL CONSERVANCY INC: $37,500 · Recreation & SportsPease Park Conservancy: $18,737 · Recreation & SportsCITY PARKS ALLIANCE INC: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsBarton Springs Conservancy: $7,500 · Recreation & SportsWATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY: $45,714 · Community Improvement
Other$2,193,022Arts & Culture$843,837Environment$409,596Philanthropy$200,040Recreation & Sports$133,737Community Improvement$45,714

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 budgetDOWNTOWN AUSTIN PARKS LLC: $420,046 over 5y, 61% of budgetZILKER THEATRE PRODUCTIONS: $315,791 over 5y, 14% of budgetThe Trail Conservancy: $293,300 over 2y, 17% of budgetNORWOOD PARK FOUNDATION: $271,565 over 2y, 48% of budgetAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $200,040 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetZILKER BOTANICAL GARDEN CONSERVANCY NON-PROFIT CORPORATION: $75,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetAMERICAN YOUTHWORKS: $66,108 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetAUSTIN YMBL SUNSHINE CAMP: $60,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetWATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY: $45,714 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetALLISON ORR DANCE INC: $40,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetWEVIVA: $32,400 over 1y, 16% of budgetUMLAUF SCULPTURE GARDEN & MUSEUM: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetCAPITAL OF TEXAS PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL: $21,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY: $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetPease Park Conservancy: $18,737 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITY PARKS ALLIANCE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBarton Springs Conservancy: $7,500 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC RADIO: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSUSTAINABLE FOOD CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Austin Community Foun…Alice Kleberg Reynold…Better Business BureauThe Applied Materials…St David's FoundationShield-Ayres Foundati…Still Water FoundationJacob and Terese Hers…The Powell FoundationThe Moody FoundationThe Kabacoff Family F…Greater Austin Perfor…
Austin Community Foundation IncTX35.7× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Austin Community Foundation Inc · Alice Kleberg Reynolds Meyer Foundat A0479800 · Better Business Bureau · The Applied Materials Foundation · St David's Foundation · Shield-Ayres Foundation · Still Water Foundation · Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation · The Powell Foundation · The Moody Foundation · The Kabacoff Family Foundation · Greater Austin Performing Arts Center Inc

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 Austin Parks Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Austin Parks Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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 32 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Austin Parks’ 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