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Birdlife International at a glance

· Public charity

Birdlife International

To conserve wild birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, by working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources

$3.9M
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$1.1M
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Animals$9.7MEnvironment$420k
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 4 grants below total $1,279,938, the rows itemized in this filing. The $3,941,495 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $2,661,557 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 $10k1 grant · $7k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $42k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $179k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.1M
$178,549
Median grant
3
States reached
$51M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
National Audubon Society$1,052,213
Wildlife Conservation Society$178,549
Missouri Botanic Gardens$42,411
Bat Conservation International Inc$6,765
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 (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 75% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%National Audubon Society: $2.8M → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society: $612k → 28%Bat Conservation International Inc: $7k → 10%Friends of the Osa: $11k → 14%Missouri Botanic Gardens: $173k → 21%Terra Communications LLC: $27k → 9%The Morton Arboretum: $14k → 7%American Bird Conservancy: $1.3M → 6%NatureServe: $48k → 7%National Audubon Society: $1.4M → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society: $574k → 28%Missouri Botanic Gardens: $54k → 21%Terra Communications LLC: $13k → 9%American Bird Conservancy: $1.1M → 6%National Audubon Society: $1.1M → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society: $397k → 28%Missouri Botanic Gardens: $42k → 21%National Audubon Society: $15k → 17%Wildlife Conservation Society: $290k → 28%Wildlife Conservation Society: $179k → 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

IL
NY
CT
MO
VA
NC
DC
TX

Grants abroad, by region: $12M on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 9 regions, $12M to organizations and $63k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$4.4M · 37% · 58 grants · 1 person

Stated purpose: Conservation

South America$2.2M · 19% · 10 grants · 3 people

Stated purpose: Conservation

Sub-Saharan Africa$2.0M · 17% · 37 grants

Stated purpose: Conservation

East Asia and the Pacific$1.9M · 16% · 14 grants

Stated purpose: Conservation

Russia and Neighboring States$790k · 7% · 4 grants

Stated purpose: Conservation

Middle East and North Africa$429k · 4% · 15 grants

Stated purpose: Conservation

South Asia$102k · 1% · 3 grants · 2 people

Stated purpose: Conservation

North America (Canada and Mexico)$21k · 0% · 2 grants

Stated purpose: Conservation

Central America and the Caribbean$7k · 0% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: Conservation

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$10M · 6 repeat orgs$80k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
3

Total granted

$10M
$73k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+8%

Still filing today

83%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentAnimalsArts & CultureOther
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

  • NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $5.2M · revenue +25%
  • AB
    American Bird Conservancy
    2× · 2022–2023 · $2.4M · revenue +25%
  • WC
    Wildlife Conservation Society
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.1M · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • NatureServe
    one grant, 2023 · $48k · revenue -17%
  • TM
    THE MORTON ARBORETUM
    one grant, 2022 · $14k · revenue +8%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE OSAgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $11k · revenue ×12
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
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
4
Endangered Species International

Endangered Species International is strongly committed to reversing the trend of human-induced species extinction, saving endangered animals, and preserving wild places.

Animals
5
Ornithological Council

The Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists. The research conducted by their members spans the globe and their cumulative expertise comprises the knowledge that is fundamental and essential to…

Animals
6
Waterbird Society

The waterbird society is composed of biologists, researchers, conservationists, students, and others interested in the behavior, ecology, and conservation of waterbirds. the organization is administered by officers and council members…

—
7
American Ornithological Society

See schedule othe american ornithological society (aos) is an international membership organization that connects ornithologists, science, and bird conservation by supporting science that advances the understanding and conservation of…

Science & Tech
8
Nature and Culture International

Nature and culture international conserves biologically diverse landscapes in latin america, in concert with local cultures, for the well-being of the planet.

Environment
9
Natura International Inc

Natura International conserves rainforests and other key natural ecosystems and the endangered species they contain through creation of protected areas in collaboration with local governments and communities in Latin America. In this way…

Public Benefit
10
The Nature Conservancy

The mission of the nature conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

—
11
The Wildlife Society

The wildlife society's mission is to inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to sustain wildlife populations and habitats through science-based management and conservation.

Animals
12
Bird Endowment

Bird Endowment's mission is to save the critically endangered Blue-throated Macaw from extinction in its native range in Bolivia. Habitat destruction has contributed to a steep decline in the wild population of Blue-throated Macaws. In…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Missouri Botanical Garden Board of Trustees; the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. 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

9 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. 9 of the 10 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
7/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $5,240,071 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INCMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $269,868 · Environment+3 more: $73,039 · EnvironmentAmerican Bird Conservancy: $2,408,369 · AnimalsAmerican Bird ConservancyWildlife Conservation Society: $2,051,448 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation SocietyTerra Communications LLC: $39,713 · OtherBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $6,765 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE NC STATE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES: $37,303 · Arts & Culture
Environment$5,582,978Animals$4,459,817Other$46,478Arts & Culture$37,303

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $5,240,071 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetAmerican Bird Conservancy: $2,408,369 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $2,051,448 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $269,868 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNatureServe: $47,941 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE NC STATE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES: $37,303 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE MORTON ARBORETUM: $14,101 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE OSA: $10,997 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $6,765 over 1y, 0.1% 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Fidelity Investments …
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA5.8× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%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
    1report 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 10 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

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    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