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· Private foundation

Environment Now

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
61
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$175k
Largest
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$8.9MPublic Safety & Disaster$260kInternational$258kCivil Rights$165kAnimals$135kEducation$130kHuman Services$113kArts & Culture$98kOther$0
02FY2024 · 61 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k12 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k44 grants · $1.1M
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $450k
$20,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$33M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE$175,000
CALIFORNIA COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE$120,000
RESTORE THE DELTA$55,000
SAN FRANCISCO BAYKEEPER$50,000
ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND$50,000
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY$45,000
SAVE CALIFORNIA SALMON$45,000
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION$45,000
PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE$40,000
LEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY$40,000
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY$40,000
PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE$40,000
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON$35,000
RIDGES TO RIFFLES INDIGENOUS CONSERVATION GROUP$35,000
CONSERVATION CONGRESS$30,000
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 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 80% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CONSERVATION CONGRESS: $40k → 9%Natural Resources Defense Council: $45k → 10%CALIFORNIA COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE: $120k → 12%RESTORE THE DELTA: $40k → 12%JOHN MUIR PROJECT OF EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $175k → 14%Environmental Defense Center: $40k → 14%LEADERSHIP COUNSEL: $40k → 19%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: $80k → 17%CONSERVATION CONGRESS: $40k → 9%Natural Resources Defense Council: $40k → 10%International Community Foundation: $106k → 11%CALIFORNIA COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE: $115k → 12%JOHN MUIR PROJECT OF EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $175k → 14%LEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY: $40k → 19%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: $60k → 17%INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $80k → 11%CALIFORNIA COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE: $115k → 12%JOHN MUIR PROJECT OF EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $100k → 14%LEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY: $40k → 19%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: $50k → 17%CALIFORNIA COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE: $109k → 12%John Muir ProjectEarth Island Institute: $60k → 14%LEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY: $40k → 19%PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE: $40k → 10%CALIFORNIA COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE: $98k → 12%John Muir ProjectEarth Island Institute: $45k → 14%Center for Biological Diversity: $90k → 10%PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE FOR ITS GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR THE RIGHTS OF NATURE PROJECT: $40k → 10%RESTORE THE DELTA: $60k → 12%JOHN MUIR PROJECT OF EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $45k → 14%SAN FRANCISCO BAYKEEPER: $50k → 10%PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE: $40k → 10%RESTORE THE DELTA: $55k → 12%SAVE CALIFORNIA SALMON: $45k → 18%ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION: $45k → 10%San Diego Coastkeeper: $40k → 11%SAVE CALIFORNIA SALMON: $45k → 18%ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND: $50k → 17%ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND: $50k → 17%WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE FOR BAJA WATERKEEPERS PROJECT: $80k → 17%WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE: $80k → 17%WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR LORETO COASTKEEPER CABO PULMO WATE: $45k → 17%JOHN MUIR PROJECT (EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE): $175k → 10%EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $175k → 10%John Muir ProjectEarth Island Institute: $100k → 10%JOHN MUIR PROJECTEARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $45k → 10%Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation: $1.4M → 14%Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation: $805k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MT
NY
MA
OR
CA
VA
AZ
NC
DC
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 6% of Environment Now’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Environment Nowlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 10% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.6M · 54 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +70% since the first grant, against +43% for those funded once.

54 repeat relationships: 31 still active in FY2024, 23 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

54
61

Total granted

$8.6M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+70%
+43%

Still filing today

80%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $329k 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
EnvironmentAnimalsArts & CultureEducationHealthCrime & LegalOther
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

  • CF
    CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $705k · revenue +127%
  • CC
    California Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance
    6× · 2017–2024 · $597k · revenue +113%
  • NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC
    5× · 2017–2022 · $405k · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • PA
    PACHAMAMA ALLIANCE FOR ITS GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR THE RIGHTS OF NATURE PROJECT
    one grant, 2023 · $78k
  • RF
    ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
  • WA
    WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR LORETO COASTKEEPER CABO PULMO WATE
    one grant, 2023 · $45k
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
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
2
CalWild

The California Wilderness Coalition protects the natural landscapes that make California unique, providing clean air and water, a home to wildlife, and a place for recreation and spiritual renewal.

—
3
California Environmental Justice Alliance

Our mission is to fight against fossil fuel executives and industries that have turned our communities into dumping grounds for toxic waste, poisoning our air, water, lan, and bodies. We organize to oppose giant oil refineries, dirty…

Environment
4
California Wildlife Foundation

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

Animals
5
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
6
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance

To create a california where balancing economic growth and environmental protection is not only a vision, but also a reality.

—
7
The Climate Center

The Climate Center is a climate and energy policy nonprofit working to rapidly reduce climate pollution at scale, starting in California.

Education
8
The Sierra Fund

The Sierra Fund (TSF) is a non-profit organization with a mission to restore ecosystem and community resiliency in the Sierra Nevada.

Environment
9
San Francisco Estuary Institute

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

Environment
10
Environment Now
—
11
Tuolumne River Preservation Trust dba Yosemite Rivers Alliance

At Yosemite Rivers Alliance, we unite conservation and community to protect and restore the three rivers that ?ow through the Yosemite Regionthe Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced.

—
12
Chile-California Council

The Chile-California Council is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to developing and promoting joint endeavors and cooperative relations between Chile and California, as well as individuals, legal entities and other institutions in…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Water Foundation; the most unlike its peers is California Sportfishing Protection Allia. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

83 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. 83 of the 134 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)
33
Early backer (in before they grew)
80/83
Grantees still filing
58/83
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION: $2,192,200 · OtherLEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATIONJOHN MUIR PROJECT OF EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE: $495,000 · OtherJOHN MUIR PROJECT OF EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTEJOHN MUIR PROJECT (EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE): $425,000 · OtherJOHN MUIR PROJECT (EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE)+67 more: $2,030,628 · Other+67 moreCalifornia Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance: $597,000 · EnvironmentCalifornia Coastkeeper dba California Co…NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $405,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCEarth Island Institute Inc: $240,000 · EnvironmentEarth Island Institute IncCONSERVATION CONGRESS: $200,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION CONGRESSWATERKEEPER ALLIANCE INC: $200,000 · EnvironmentWATERKEEPER ALLIANCE INCRESTORE THE DELTA: $180,000 · EnvironmentCRAG LAW CENTER: $170,000 · EnvironmentLOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER: $133,000 · EnvironmentRussian Riverkeeper: $129,200 · Environment+41 more: $1,412,400 · Environment+41 moreCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC: $705,000 · AnimalsAmerican Bird Conservancy: $37,500 · Animals+1 more: $7,500 · AnimalsINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $257,950 · PhilanthropyROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyLIBERTY HILL FOUNDATION: $36,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $244 · PhilanthropyENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION: $115,000 · Crime & LegalENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: $81,000 · Crime & LegalGOLDEN STATE SALMON ASSOCIATION INC: $85,000 · EducationIndian Cultural Organization: $35,000 · EducationAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $20,000 · Education+1 more: $200 · EducationFIREFIGHTERS UNITED FOR SAFETY ETHICS AND ECOLOGY: $125,000 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$5,142,828Environment$3,666,600Animals$750,000Philanthropy$344,194Crime & Legal$196,000Education$140,200Public Safety & Disaster$125,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION: $2,192,200 over 2y, 13% of budgetCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC: $705,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetCalifornia Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance: $597,000 over 6y, 21% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $405,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $257,950 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc: $240,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCONSERVATION CONGRESS: $200,000 over 6y, 45% of budgetWATERKEEPER ALLIANCE INC: $200,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetRESTORE THE DELTA: $180,000 over 5y, 4.9% of budgetCRAG LAW CENTER: $170,000 over 6y, 3.2% of budgetLOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER: $133,000 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetRussian Riverkeeper: $129,200 over 4y, 4.1% of budgetFIREFIGHTERS UNITED FOR SAFETY ETHICS AND ECOLOGY: $125,000 over 6y, 28% of budgetSave California Salmon: $120,000 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetLEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY: $120,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetLOS PADRES FORESTWATCH INC: $117,250 over 7y, 4.9% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION: $115,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetPACIFIC INSTITUTE: $110,000 over 4y, 96% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES: $105,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetSAN DIEGO COASTKEEPER: $100,000 over 3y, 4.4% of budgetBaykeeper: $91,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE RIVER FOUNDATION: $85,600 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetMonterey Coastkeeper: $85,500 over 4y, 29% of budgetGOLDEN STATE SALMON ASSOCIATION INC: $85,000 over 4y, 7.3% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: $81,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetThe Pachamama Alliance: $80,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER INC: $77,000 over 4y, 3.6% of budgetOrange County Coastkeeper: $67,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetHEAL THE BAY: $65,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE EEL RIVER: $60,000 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $55,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBAYORG: $52,500 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEnvironmental Protection Information Center Inc: $50,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetGEOS INSTITUTE: $40,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetGO ALLIANCE: $40,000 over 2y, 29% of budgetWATER FOUNDATION: $38,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSEQUOIA FORESTKEEPER: $37,500 over 4y, 12% of budgetAmerican Bird Conservancy: $37,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetLIBERTY HILL FOUNDATION: $36,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNative American Land Conservancy: $35,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetRIDGES TO RIFFLES INDIGENOUS CONSER: $35,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetIndian Cultural Organization: $35,000 over 3y, 8.1% of budgetPublic Health Institute: $30,078 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES ALLIANCE FOR A NEW ECONOMY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCalifornia Sportfishing Protection Allia: $30,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetCenter for Food Safety: $30,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetKLAMATH FOREST ALLIANCE: $25,000 over 3y, 16% 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.

  • Who funds LEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds California Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Earth Island Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds CONSERVATION CONGRESS ↗
  • Who funds WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds RESTORE THE DELTA ↗
  • Who funds CRAG LAW CENTER ↗
  • Who funds LOS ANGELES WATERKEEPER ↗
  • Who funds Russian Riverkeeper ↗
  • Who funds FIREFIGHTERS UNITED FOR SAFETY ETHICS AND ECOLOGY ↗
  • Who funds Save California Salmon ↗
  • Who funds LEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ↗
  • Who funds LOS PADRES FORESTWATCH INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PACIFIC INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES ↗
  • Who funds SAN DIEGO COASTKEEPER ↗
  • Who funds Baykeeper ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE RIVER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Monterey Coastkeeper ↗
  • Who funds GOLDEN STATE SALMON ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds The Pachamama Alliance ↗
  • Who funds SANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER INC ↗
  • Who funds Orange County Coastkeeper ↗
  • Who funds HEAL THE BAY ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE EEL RIVER ↗
  • Who funds THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC ↗
  • Who funds BAYORG ↗
  • Who funds ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC ↗

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.

PatagoniaorgCA59.7× affinity32 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Patagoniaorg · Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation · The Rose Foundation for Communities the Environment · Resources Legacy Fund · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · Natural Resources Defense Council Inc · Water Foundation · The Marisla Foundation · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Liberty Hill Foundation · California Community Foundation · The California Endowment

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%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
    5get no government money at all
    23report 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 134 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-PF 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 Environment Now’s filings →

    More from the funding graph