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· Public charity

Conservation Law Foundation Inc

Conservation law foundation, inc.

$631k
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$80k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Environment$1.3MCommunity Improvement$291kCivil Rights$119kEducation$100kHealth$98kPublic Benefit$85kHousing & Shelter$30kPublic Safety & Disaster$24kOther$0
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 17 grants below total $615,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $630,750 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $15,750 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 $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $158k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $450k
$30,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$50M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ALTERNATIVES FOR COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT$80,000
PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE OF WESTERN MA$58,750
GREEN ROOTS INC$56,250
GROUNDWORK LAWRENCE INC$53,500
HILLTOWN CDC$51,250
COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION FUND INC$50,000
ACT LAWRENCE$50,000
NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION FUND$50,000
NEW ENGLAND COMMUNITY PROJECT INC$30,000
LIVABLE STREETS ALLIANCE$23,750
BOSTON CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING INC$22,000
THE FOOD BANK OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS INC$21,250
TSNE MISSIONWORKS$20,000
MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION$17,500
WALKMASSACHUSETTS$12,250
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:

Its human-services grants (FY24–25, $32k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%PARTNERS FOR A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY INC: $10k → 11%BOSTON CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING INC: $22k → 16%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

VT
NH
IL
NY
MA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
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.

57%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 9 repeat orgs$890k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +60% since the first grant, against +46% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
13

Total granted

$1.2M
$416k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+60%
+46%

Still filing today

89%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 23% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $474k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentCommunity ImprovementArts & CultureHuman ServicesCivil RightsRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • AL
    AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY
    2× · 2019–2020 · $377k · revenue +129%
  • AF
    ALTERNATIVES FOR COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $117k · revenue +6%
  • EARTHJUSTICE
    3× · 2021–2024 · $112k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • NH
    NEW HAMPSHIRE RIVERS COUNCILgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $225k · revenue +42%
  • TI
    TRANSITMATTERS INC
    one grant, 2022 · $35k
  • LAWRENCE COMMUNITYWORKS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $30k · revenue +46%
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
Conservation Law Foundation Inc

Conservation law foundation, inc. (clf) protects new england's environment for the benefit of all people and future generations. we use the law, science, and markets to create solutions that preserve and restore our natural resources,…

Environment
2
Environmental League of Massachusetts Inc

The organization's mission is to advocate for policy that meets the scale and urgency of our environmental challenges. as a massachusetts-based organization that engages in advocacy across a full spectrum of climate, environmental, and…

Environment
3
Greater Boston Council On Alcoholism Inc
Philanthropy
4
Acadia Center

Acadia Center advances bold, effective, and equitable clean energy solutions for a livable climate and a stronger, more equitable economy.

Environment
5
Fresh Energy

Shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies.

Environment
6
Chinatown Community Land Trust Inc

The chinatown community land trust (chinatown clt) works to stabilize the future of chinatown as a neighborhood for working class families and a regional hub for the chinese community. we work for community control of the land, development…

Arts & Culture
7
Browning the Green Space Inc

We seek to facilitate a just energy transition by putting black and brown communities first, and enabling systems change at the intersection of social, environmental, and economic justice. we are powering a just energy transition in the…

Environment
8
Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation and Affiliates

The southwest boston community development corporation is led by principles of racial equity and inclusion, to alleviate social and economic disparities that impact people's quality of life and future opportunities. it shall be led by and…

Community Improvement
9
Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc

To protect the nature of massachusetts for people and for wildlife through education, land conservation, advocacy, scientific research, and habitat stewardship/restoration.

Environment
10
Sustainable Business Network of Massachu

To engage massachusetts business and community leaders in building economies that are local, green and fair through educational programs, networking, and special events.

Community Improvement
11
Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation Inc Attn Susan Sacco
—
12
A Better City Initiative Inc

Working with our related organization, a better city, inc., we promote the economic growth and enhance the quality of life in the city of boston, boston metropolitan region, and other urban areas, by participating in the planning and…

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greenroots Inc; the most unlike its peers is New Hampshire Rivers Council. 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

29 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 29 of the 37 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
29/29
Grantees still filing
16/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY: $377,365 · EnvironmentAMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETYNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $332,261 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCNEW HAMPSHIRE RIVERS COUNCIL: $225,000 · EnvironmentNEW HAMPSHIRE RIVERS COUNCILEARTHJUSTICE: $111,580 · EnvironmentEARTHJUSTICEGREENROOTS INC: $56,250 · Environment+1 more: $12,500 · EnvironmentALTERNATIVES FOR COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT INC: $116,750 · Community ImprovementALTERNATIVES FOR CO…Groundwork Lawrence Inc: $93,500 · Community ImprovementGroundwork Lawrence…HILLTOWN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $51,250 · Community ImprovementHILLTOWN COMMUNITY …ACT LAWRENCE INC: $50,000 · Community ImprovementACT LAWRENCE INCNEW ENGLAND COMMUNITY PROJECT INC: $30,000 · Community ImprovementNEW ENGLAND COMMUNI…THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $20,000 · Community ImprovementTHIRD SECTOR NEW EN…PARTNERS FOR A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY INC: $58,750 · OtherPARTNERS FOR A HEALT…TRANSITMATTERS INC: $34,500 · OtherTRANSITMATTERS INCLAWRENCE COMMUNITYWORKS INC: $30,000 · OtherLAWRENCE COMMUNITYWO…UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: $25,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF…THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS: $24,640 · OtherTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEE…ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS COUNCIL INC: $22,500 · OtherENVIRONMENTAL BUSINE…THE FOOD BANK OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS INC: $21,250 · OtherTHE FOOD BANK OF WES…CITY OF HOLYOKE: $13,500 · OtherSLINGSHOT: $12,850 · OtherBOSTON CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING INC: $22,000 · OtherBOSTON CENTER FOR IN…LIVABLE STREETS TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE OF BOSTON INC: $23,750 · OtherLIVABLE STREETS TRAN…MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION: $17,500 · Other+7 more: $73,550 · Other+7 moreRACIAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: $69,310 · Civil RightsNEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION FUND INC: $50,000 · Civil RightsPRESERVATION TRUST OF VERMONT INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureKENEY PARK SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT: $12,000 · Arts & CultureCOALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION FUND INC: $50,000 · Public BenefitMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $49,976 · Education
Environment$1,114,956Community Improvement$361,500Other$379,790Civil Rights$119,310Arts & Culture$52,000Public Benefit$50,000Education$49,976

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 budgetAMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY: $377,365 over 2y, 10.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $332,261 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetALTERNATIVES FOR COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT INC: $116,750 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $111,580 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGroundwork Lawrence Inc: $93,500 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetPARTNERS FOR A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY INC: $58,750 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetGREENROOTS INC: $56,250 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetHILLTOWN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $51,250 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $49,976 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRESERVATION TRUST OF VERMONT INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetNEW ENGLAND COMMUNITY PROJECT INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetLAWRENCE COMMUNITYWORKS INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLIVABLE STREETS TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE OF BOSTON INC: $23,750 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS COUNCIL INC: $22,500 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetBOSTON CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING INC: $22,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE FOOD BANK OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS INC: $21,250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION: $17,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetKNOX INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetRE GREEN SPRINGFIELD INC: $12,500 over 1y, 15% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 30% 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.

Boston Foundation IncMA26.5× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Barr Foundation · Point32health Foundation Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · Health Resources in Action Inc · United Way Of Massachusetts Bay Inc · Mass General Brigham Incorporated & Affiliates Group Return · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Inc · Lawrence & Lillian Solomon Foundation Inc · Clean Water Fund · Herman and Frieda L Miller 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 Conservation Law Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Conservation Law Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Act Lawrence Inc: 44% of income from government
  • Keney Park Sustainability Project: 37% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Preservation Trust of Vermont Inc: 29% of income from government
  • Partners for a Healthier Community Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Lawrence Communityworks Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Third Sector New England Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Knox Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Greenroots Inc: 1% of income from government
  • American Littoral Society: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
7report 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 37 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

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