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Coastal Quest at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Coastal Quest

Coastal Quest (the Organization) is a nonprofit organization working collaboratively with partners to build resilient coastal communities in California.

$460k
Granted FY2024still arriving
20
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$70k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Environment$1.3MScience & Tech$121kRecreation & Sports$90kAnimals$7k
02FY2024 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 20 grants below total $445,455, the rows itemized in this filing. The $460,456 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $15,001 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 $10k8 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $208k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $183k
$16,796
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
California Academy of Science$70,000
Ctr for Environ Econ Develop$60,000
Sustainable Solano$52,500
Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation$40,000
Color the Water$30,000
Green Cities Fund$30,000
Cal Marine Sanctuary Fdn$28,000
Nature Collective$22,478
Orange County Coastkeeper$21,028
Monterey Coastkeeper$16,796
Greater Farallones Assoc$10,000
Crystal Cove Conservancy$10,000
Laguna Canyon Foundation$7,500
International Bird Rescue$7,000
Surfrider Foundation$7,000
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 (FY18–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 93% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Wishtoyo Foundation: $60k → 10%Orange County Coastkeeper: $24k → 10%Sustainable Solano: $53k → 10%Green Cities Fund: $60k → 10%California Academy of Science: $70k → 10%Wildcoast: $22k → 11%Bay Foundation of Morro Bay: $40k → 12%Cal Marine Sanctuary Fdn: $60k → 12%Save Our Shores: $28k → 13%Color the Water: $60k → 14%Oceans Unmanned: $23k → 14%Acorn Partners in Education: $13k → 18%Coastal Ecosystems Institute: $24k → 18%Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation: $40k → 10%Orange County Coastkeeper: $21k → 10%Sustainable Solano Inc: $38k → 10%Green Cities Fund: $30k → 10%California Academy of Science: $30k → 10%Wildcoast: $15k → 11%Bay Foundation of Morro Bay: $19k → 12%Cal Marine Sanctuary Fdn: $42k → 12%Color the Water: $30k → 14%Earth Island Insitute: $15k → 10%CA Academy of Sciences: $15k → 10%Ocean Discovery Institute: $19k → 11%Cal Marine Sanctuary Fdn: $28k → 12%Nntl Marine Sanctuary Fdn: $39k → 13%Catalina Island Conservancy: $14k → 14%Environmental Defense Center: $15k → 14%Laguna Canyon Foundation: $15k → 10%Earth Island Institute: $11k → 10%Greater Farallones Assoc: $15k → 10%Nature Collective: $45k → 11%CA Marine Sanctuary Fdn: $15k → 12%Altasea at Port of LA: $14k → 14%Greater Farallones Assoc: $10k → 10%Nature Collective: $36k → 11%Cal Marine Sanctuary Fdn: $10k → 12%Los Cerritos Wetlands Fund: $20k → 14%Crystal Cove Conservancy: $18k → 10%Nature Collective: $22k → 11%Monterey Coastkeeper: $25k → 12%Crystal Cove Conservancy: $15k → 10%Monterey Coastkeeper: $17k → 12%Los Cerritos Wetlands Fund: $13k → 14%Crystal Cove Conservancy: $10k → 10%Heal the Bay: $17k → 14%The Bay Foundation: $34k → 14%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 20 repeat orgs$229k to everyone else

20 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
9

Total granted

$1.3M
$195k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+109%

Still filing today

95%
89%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $34k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentAnimalsArts & CultureRecreation & SportsCrime & LegalEducationOther
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

  • CM
    CALIFORNIA MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION
    5× · 2018–2024 · $155k · revenue +190%
  • CA
    CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    3× · 2018–2024 · $115k · revenue +4%
  • SS
    SUSTAINABLE SOLANO INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $90k · revenue +11%

Funded once

  • NM
    NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $39k · revenue +200%
  • SM
    SANTA MONICA BAY RESTORATION FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $34k · revenue +124%
  • CE
    COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS INSTITUTE OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
    one grant, 2018 · $24k · revenue -98%
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
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
2
The Coral Reef and Marine Science Foundation Inc C/O James Bildner
—
3
California Wildlife Foundation

The foundation works with diverse groups representing many interests to acquire and restore critical wildlife habitat and protecting species

Animals
4
Pacific Coast Environmental Conservancy

Organization was able to support efforts for the protection and sustainability of the unique pacific coast environments

Environment
5
Save Cuesta Inlet Inc
Environment
6
California Institute of Environmental Studies

The institute is dedicated to scientific research, the results of which are used to promote public awareness and education in the areas of conservation biology and ecology,including the wise use of natural resources.

Animals
7
Clean Reefs
Environment
8
Save Oceanside Sand

Save Oceanside Sand is a group of local activists dedicated to restoring and preserving the beaches of Oceanside, California. Working with local, regional, state, and federal authorities, our mission is to protect this vital resource by…

Education
9
San Francisco Estuary Institute

Provide scientific support and tools for decision making and communication through collaborative efforts.

Environment
10
Schmidt Ocean Institute
Science & Tech
11
Coral Conservancy
—
12
Ocean Alliance Project

Protecting and promoting the marine biodiversity of Hawai'i through coral restoration, ecological monitoring, regenerative tourism, and cultural integration

Science & Tech
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Heal the Bay; the most unlike its peers is Color the Water. 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

32 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. 32 of the 34 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
32/32
Grantees still filing
22/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATURE COLLECTIVE: $103,227 · EnvironmentNATURE COLLECTIVESUSTAINABLE SOLANO INC: $90,000 · EnvironmentSUSTAINABLE SOLANO INCGREEN CITIES FUND INC: $90,000 · EnvironmentGREEN CITIES FUND INCOrange County Coastkeeper: $45,070 · EnvironmentOrange County CoastkeeperMonterey Coastkeeper: $41,990 · EnvironmentMonterey CoastkeeperNATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION: $39,200 · EnvironmentNATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATIONWILDCOAST: $37,400 · EnvironmentWILDCOASTSANTA MONICA BAY RESTORATION FOUNDATION: $34,000 · EnvironmentLos Cerritos Wetlands Fund: $32,915 · EnvironmentOCEANS UNMANNED INC: $30,000 · EnvironmentEarth Island Institute Inc: $25,950 · EnvironmentCOASTAL ECOSYSTEMS INSTITUTE OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $24,000 · EnvironmentLAGUNA CANYON FOUNDATION: $22,500 · Environment+5 more: $58,500 · Environment+5 moreCtr for Environ Econ Develop: $90,000 · OtherCtr for Environ …BAY FOUNDATION OF MORRO BAY: $65,000 · OtherBAY FOUNDATION O…SAVE OUR SHORES: $37,400 · OtherSAVE OUR SHORESSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $13,500 · OtherSANTA CATALINA I…ACORN PARTNERS IN EDUCATION: $12,800 · OtherACORN PARTNERS I…CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $115,000 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA ACADE…WISHTOYO FOUNDATION DBA WISHTOYO CHUMASH FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Arts & CultureWISHTOYO FOUNDAT…CALIFORNIA MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION: $154,998 · AnimalsCALIFORNIA MAR…GREATER FARALLONES ASSOCIATION: $25,000 · AnimalsGREATER FARALL…INTERNATIONAL BIRD RESCUE: $7,000 · Animals+1 more: $6,000 · AnimalsCOLOR THE WATER: $90,000 · Recreation & SportsCOLOR THE …CRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY: $42,643 · Recreation & SportsCRYSTAL CO…ALTASEA AT THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES: $20,710 · Science & TechOCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $18,620 · EducationENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: $15,000 · Crime & Legal
Environment$674,752Other$218,700Arts & Culture$215,000Animals$192,998Recreation & Sports$132,643Science & Tech$20,710Education$18,620Crime & Legal$15,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCALIFORNIA MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION: $154,998 over 5y, 3.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $115,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATURE COLLECTIVE: $103,227 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetWISHTOYO FOUNDATION DBA WISHTOYO CHUMASH FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetSUSTAINABLE SOLANO INC: $90,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetGREEN CITIES FUND INC: $90,000 over 2y, 28% of budgetCOLOR THE WATER: $90,000 over 2y, 57% of budgetBAY FOUNDATION OF MORRO BAY: $65,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetOrange County Coastkeeper: $45,070 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY: $42,643 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetMonterey Coastkeeper: $41,990 over 2y, 17% of budgetNATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION: $39,200 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetWILDCOAST: $37,400 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetSAVE OUR SHORES: $37,400 over 2y, 5.0% of budgetSANTA MONICA BAY RESTORATION FOUNDATION: $34,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetOCEANS UNMANNED INC: $30,000 over 2y, 7.3% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc: $25,950 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER FARALLONES ASSOCIATION: $25,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCOASTAL ECOSYSTEMS INSTITUTE OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $24,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetLAGUNA CANYON FOUNDATION: $22,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE DUNES: $21,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetALTASEA AT THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES: $20,710 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $18,620 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHEAL THE BAY: $16,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY: $13,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL BIRD RESCUE: $7,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSIUSLAW WATERSHED COUNCIL INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCalifornia Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance: $7,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNORTON BAY INTER-TRIBAL WATERSHED COUNCIL: $6,000 over 1y, 7.2% 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.

Resources Legacy FundPatagoniaorgThe Marisla FoundationThe Annenberg Foundat…Orange County Communi…National Fish and Wil…The Keith Campbell Fo…The Schmidt Family Fo…Environment NowDorrance Family Found…The Rose Foundation f…California Community …
Resources Legacy FundCA31.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Resources Legacy Fund · Patagoniaorg · The Marisla Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Environment Now · Dorrance Family Foundation · The Rose Foundation for Communities the Environment · California Community 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 Coastal Quest funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Coastal Quest. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 100%
  • Siuslaw Watershed Council Inc: 100% of income from government
  • National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: 88% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
13report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Coastal Quest?

Find your warmest path to Coastal Quest through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 34 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 Coastal Quest’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