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· Public charity

Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds

The organization has been formed for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes, with a particular focus on working to protect pa's water and watersheds.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
59
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$81k
Largest
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Environment$5.5MEducation$1.1MScience & Tech$109kAnimals$101kRecreation & Sports$66kHealth$55kArts & Culture$36kFood & Nutrition$36kOther$0
02FY2025 · 59 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $94k
  • $10k–50k39 grants · $829k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $362k
$18,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$2.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TROUT UNLIMITED INC$80,973
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$66,429
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY$58,773
GRANTS LESS THAN 500000$55,404
PENNSYLVANIA COUNCIL OF TROUT UNLIM$50,000
CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY$50,000
MOUNTAIN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION INC$48,000
WILDLANDS CONSERVANCY INC$40,000
AMERICAN RIVERS$36,000
PENNSYLVANIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL$35,000
EASTERN PA COALITION FOR ABANDONED$34,845
CLEARWATER CONSERVANCY OF CENTRAL P$31,500
WESTERN PA COALITION FOR ABANDONED$29,680
HERITAGE CONSERVANCY$28,900
TROUT UNLIMITED$27,578
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 (FY19–19, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%PITTSBURGH CONSERVATION CORPS: $15k → 11%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

NY
IN
PA
CA
KY
WV
VA
MD
SC
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.0M · 62 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

62 repeat relationships: 36 still active in FY2025, 26 since wound down; 22 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

62
42

Total granted

$6.0M
$749k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+13%

Still filing today

82%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $388k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentEducationAnimalsCommunity ImprovementArts & CulturePhilanthropyOther
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

  • WP
    WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY
    8× · 2018–2025 · $467k · revenue +52%
  • TU
    TROUT UNLIMITED INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $461k · revenue +133%
  • CC
    CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC
    6× · 2017–2025 · $263k · revenue +198%

Funded once

  • W
    WECONSERVEPAgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $83k · revenue +94%
  • GL
    GRANTS LESS THAN 5000
    one grant, 2023 · $59k
  • HC
    HEADWATERS CHARITABLE TRUSTgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $34k · revenue +138%
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
Central Pennsylvania Conservancy Inc

The mission of Central Pennsylvania Conservancy (CPC) is to acquire, preserve, and protect local land and natural resources in a five-county, South-Central PA region. Our vision is to create a local network of permanently protected and…

Environment
2
West Creek Conservancy

Our mission is to enrich the lives of all people in northeast ohio by conserving natural habitats, restoring the ecological value of our region's lands and waters, and expanding opportunities to connect people from all cultures to…

Environment
3
French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Inc

To preserve, steward, and connect people to the land in northern chester county pennsylvania. see additional information on schedule o.french & pickering is recognized as a leader in regional land conservation, the organization is…

Environment
4
Chalfant Run-Thompson Run Watershed Association

Clean up waterways in the western pa region increase habitat for specific native wildlife

—
5
Allegheny County Conservation District

The Allegheny County Conservation District is an urban conservation district that engages and leads through partnerships, innovation, and implementation to conserve, promote, and improve Allegheny Countys natural resources.

Environment
6
Chagrin River Watershed Partners Inc

Preserving and enhancing the scenic and environmental quality of the ecosystem of the chagrin river, lake erie and other ohio watersheds in a manner which assures a sustainable future for people, plants and animals.

Human Services
7
Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy

Founded in 1995 to coordinate the completion of the great allegheny passage, a 150-mile non-motorized path connecting pittsburgh and cumberland, maryland, the great allegheny passage conservancy promotes the great allegheny passage and…

Environment
8
Earth Conservancy

Earth conservancy is a nonprofit organization committed to the reclamation and return of over 16,000 acres of former coal company-owned land to the region. it collaborates with local communities, government agencies, education…

Environment
9
Upper Mcmichael Creek Conservancy

Conservation efforts to study and maintain high quality, clean water on portions of the mcmichael creek in monroe county, pa, and education programming in stream biology and ecology.

Environment
10
Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County

To promote, support, and sustain the stewardship, education and conservation activities undertaken by the lancaster county conservation district.

Environment
11
Montgomery Creek Preserve
Philanthropy
12
Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Inc

Promote soil & water conservation programs of pennsylvania's conservation districts

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wildlands Conservancy Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Foundation for Sustainable Forests Inc. 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

103 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. 103 of the 128 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.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
35
Early backer (in before they grew)
99/103
Grantees still filing
65/103
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $467,368 · EnvironmentWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCYCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $263,000 · EnvironmentCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INCENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT: $218,500 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECTWESTERN PA COALITION FOR ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION: $178,319 · EnvironmentPENNSYLVANIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC: $176,000 · EnvironmentMOUNTAIN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION INC: $175,500 · EnvironmentCLEAN STREAMS FOUNDATION INC: $171,535 · EnvironmentSTREAM RESTORATION INCORPORATED: $169,516 · EnvironmentPENNENVIRONMENT RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER INC: $152,867 · Environment+54 more: $2,040,101 · Environment+54 moreWEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $683,681 · EducationWEST VIRGINIA UNIV…JUNIATA COLLEGE: $154,758 · EducationJUNIATA COLLEGELYCOMING COLLEGE: $89,000 · EducationLYCOMING COLLEGESAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: $84,426 · EducationSAINT FRANCIS UNIV…SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY: $83,100 · EducationSUSQUEHANNA UNIVER…BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE: $46,704 · Education+4 more: $69,591 · Education+4 morePENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: $149,172 · OtherPENNSYLVANIA STAT…TROUT UNLIMITED: $87,318 · OtherTROUT UNLIMITEDGRANTS LESS THAN 5000: $59,477 · OtherGRANTS LESS THAN 500000: $55,404 · OtherKEYSTONE CONSERVATION TRUST: $45,000 · OtherAULTMAN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION FOR RESTORING THE ENVIRONMENT: $39,500 · OtherFOOD & WATER WATCH: $46,000 · Other+37 more: $657,547 · Other+37 moreTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $461,473 · AnimalsTROUT UNL…NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $54,650 · AnimalsNATIONAL …Pennsylvania Trout Inc: $50,000 · AnimalsPennsylva…THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $20,000 · Animals+1 more: $8,000 · AnimalsIUP RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $107,498 · Science & TechThe Foundation for Sustainable Forests Inc: $34,900 · PhilanthropyHEADWATERS CHARITABLE TRUST: $34,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER JOHNSTOWN: $15,000 · PhilanthropyPITTSBURGH COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION: $51,000 · Arts & CultureHERITAGE CONSERVANCY INC: $28,900 · Arts & Culture
Environment$4,012,706Education$1,211,260Other$1,139,418Animals$594,123Science & Tech$107,498Philanthropy$83,900Arts & Culture$79,900

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 budgetWEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $683,681 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $467,368 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $461,473 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $263,000 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT: $218,500 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetWESTERN PA COALITION FOR ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION: $178,319 over 6y, 22% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC: $176,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetMOUNTAIN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION INC: $175,500 over 8y, 2.9% of budgetCLEAN STREAMS FOUNDATION INC: $171,535 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetSTREAM RESTORATION INCORPORATED: $169,516 over 5y, 4.4% of budgetJUNIATA COLLEGE: $154,758 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPENNENVIRONMENT RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER INC: $152,867 over 5y, 6.1% of budgetTHE CLEARWATER CONSERVANCY OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA INC: $121,500 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $108,700 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTUBMILL TROUT CLUB UNLIMITED: $108,500 over 7y, 78% of budgetIUP RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $107,498 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetSTEWARDS OF THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA INC DBA LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVERKEEPER ASS: $103,000 over 6y, 13% of budgetWILDLIFE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: $89,200 over 8y, 4.0% of budgetLYCOMING COLLEGE: $89,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: $84,426 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY: $83,100 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWATERKEEPERS CHESAPEAKE INC: $80,500 over 5y, 5.5% of budgetCITIZENS COAL COUNCIL: $77,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA COALITION FOR ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION: $75,345 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetTHREE RIVERS WATERKEEPER: $69,500 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetFRACTRACKER ALLIANCE: $59,500 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetCITIZENS FOR PENNSYLVANIA'S FUTURE: $58,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetPotomac Riverkeeper Network: $56,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetNORTHCENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $55,700 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $54,650 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAUDUBON SOCIETY OF WESTERN PA: $54,100 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetPITTSBURGH COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION: $51,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetPennsylvania Trout Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 26% of budgetFRENCH CREEK VALLEY CONSERVANCY: $49,500 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetALLEGHENY LAND TRUST: $48,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSHAMOKIN CREEK RESTORATION ALLIANCE: $47,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetBRIDGEWATER COLLEGE: $46,704 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD & WATER WATCH: $46,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetKEYSTONE CONSERVATION TRUST: $45,000 over 3y, 25% of budgetWILDLANDS CONSERVANCY INC: $40,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCONEMAUGH VALLEY CONSERVANCY INC: $40,000 over 3y, 5.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE PITTSBURGH URBAN FOREST: $37,800 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetMIDDLE SUSQUEHANNA RIVERKEEPER ASSOCIATION INC: $36,500 over 2y, 21% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR TOMORROW: $36,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetThe Foundation for Sustainable Forests Inc: $34,900 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetWASHINGTON COUNTY WATERSHED ALLIANC: $34,220 over 2y, 13% of budgetHEADWATERS CHARITABLE TRUST: $34,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION: $32,000 over 2y, 1.0% 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 WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds TROUT UNLIMITED INC ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN PA COALITION FOR ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION ↗
  • Who funds PENNSYLVANIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds MOUNTAIN WATERSHED ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CLEAN STREAMS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds STREAM RESTORATION INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds JUNIATA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds PENNENVIRONMENT RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CLEARWATER CONSERVANCY OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN RIVERS INC ↗
  • Who funds TUBMILL TROUT CLUB UNLIMITED ↗
  • Who funds IUP RESEARCH INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds STEWARDS OF THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA INC DBA LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVERKEEPER ASS ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds LYCOMING COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds WECONSERVEPA ↗
  • Who funds SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds WATERKEEPERS CHESAPEAKE INC ↗
  • Who funds CITIZENS COAL COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA COALITION FOR ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION ↗
  • Who funds THREE RIVERS WATERKEEPER ↗
  • Who funds FRACTRACKER ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds CITIZENS FOR PENNSYLVANIA'S FUTURE ↗
  • Who funds Potomac Riverkeeper Network ↗
  • Who funds NORTHCENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION ↗
  • Who funds AUDUBON SOCIETY OF WESTERN PA ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds Pennsylvania Trout Inc ↗
  • Who funds FRENCH CREEK VALLEY CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds ALLEGHENY LAND TRUST ↗

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.

Richard King Mellon FoundationPA63.8× affinity31 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Richard King Mellon Foundation · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · The Pittsburgh Foundation · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · Pennsylvania Trout Inc · Community Foundation of Greater Johnstown · The Heinz Endowments · Pennsylvania Environmental Council Inc · Eqt Foundation · Hillman Family Foundations · C F Holdship Charitable Trust · Weconservepa

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 27%
  • Center for Watershed Protection Inc: 64% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Conservancy Inc: 27% of income from government
  • Oyster Recovery Partnership Inc: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
41report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds?

Find your warmest path to Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds 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 128 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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