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Friends of Acadia at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Friends of Acadia

Friends of Acadia preserves, protects, and promotes stewardship of the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality, and distinctive cultural resources of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and future generations.

$10M
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$9.1M
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$18MRecreation & Sports$1.2MEducation$321kCommunity Improvement$108kScience & Tech$15k
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $52k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $75k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $311k
  • $250k+3 grants · $9.7M
$15,058
Median grant
5
States reached
$97M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Acadia National Park$9,056,616
Schoodic Institute at Acadia$364,721
Downeast Transportation$297,000
Maine Department of Transportation$225,000
Appalachian Mountain Club$86,301
American Conservation Experience$27,699
Student Conservation Association$19,075
University of Maine$15,058
College of the Atlantic$13,000
Holden Elementary School$7,500
Ellsworth School Department$7,500
Day Mountain Regional Middle School$7,500
Teens Take on Climate Inc$7,500
Sheepscot Valley RSU 12$7,500
Easton School Department$7,500
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 11%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 1% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Appalachian Mountain Club: $86k → 16%Black People Who Hike: $7k → 12%Teens Take on Climate Inc: $8k → 14%Student Conservation Association: $19k → 7%Sheepscot Valley RSU 12: $8k → 9%Maine Natural History Observatory: $10k → 11%Day Mountain Regional Middle School: $8k → 14%Orono Middle School: $10k → 15%Easton School Department: $8k → 15%Student Conservation Association: $14k → 7%Maine Natural History Observatory: $7k → 11%University of Maine: $15k → 15%Student Conservation Association: $9k → 7%Downeast Transportation: $297k → 11%University of Maine: $15k → 15%Downeast Transportation: $297k → 11%University of Maine Controllers Office: $15k → 15%Downeast Transportation: $228k → 11%Downeast Transportation: $209k → 11%Downeast Transportation: $199k → 11%Downeast Transportation: $198k → 11%Downeast Transportation: $198k → 11%Holden Elementary School: $8k → 11%Ellsworth School Department: $8k → 11%Acadia National Park: $9.1M → 11%Acadia National Park: $1.1M → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia: $365k → 11%Acadia National Park: $995k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia: $202k → 11%Acadia National Park: $954k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $146k → 11%Acadia National Park: $766k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $139k → 11%Acadia National Park: $739k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $51k → 11%Acadia National Park: $682k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $49k → 11%Acadia National Park: $625k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $48k → 11%College of the Atlantic: $28k → 11%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $28k → 11%College of the Atlantic: $13k → 11%Summer Residents Association: $108k → 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.
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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$19M · 9 repeat orgs$255k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against -99% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
3

Total granted

$19M
$124k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
-99%

Still filing today

67%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $131k 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
EnvironmentArts & CultureHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • DT
    DOWNEAST TRANSPORTATION INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.6M · revenue +37%
  • TS
    THE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $42k · revenue +25%
  • COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $41k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • SR
    SUMMER RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT INC
    one grant, 2020 · $108k · revenue -99%
  • OM
    Orono Middle School
    one grant, 2023 · $10k
  • BL
    Blackpeoplewhohike LLC
    one grant, 2022 · $7k
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
Midcoast Conservancy

The mission of Midcoast Conservancy is to protect vital lands and waters on a scale that matters and to inspire wonder and action on behalf of all species and the Earth.

Environment
2
Adirondack Mountain Club Inc

Adk is the only non-profit organization in new york state dedicated to the conservation, preservation, and responsible recreational use of the new york state forest preserve and other parks, wild lands, and waters vital to our members and…

Environment
3
Massachusetts Association of Conservatio

The organization represents 14 conservation districts. it is committed to build on partnerships with the state and federal government to protect and conserve the commonwealth's natural resources.

Environment
4
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust

To preserve and protect land surrounding the appalachian trail in maine for public benefit.

Environment
5
The Adirondack Council Inc

The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…

Environment
6
Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve

The mission of the mount desert land & garden preserve is to conserve and share the beauty of our historic lands and gardens.

—
7
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc

The nantucket conservation foundation owns, protects, and stewards over 9,000 acres of land and coastal shoreline, conserves nantucket's rare and significant natural resources, and engages in impactful ecological research to inform…

Environment
8
Amazon Conservation Association

Amazon conservation unites science, people, and innovation to protect the amazon - the greatest wild forest on earth. as guardians of the most iconic forest on the planet, we bring together the power of the latest science and technology…

Environment
9
Great Pond Mountain Conservation Tr

Conserving land, water and wildlife habitat for the communities of northwest hancock county. protecting our legacy of: abundant wildlife habitat and biodiversity clean water rural character and scenic beauty working forests and farms…

—
10
Wildcoast

The mission of wildcoast is to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems and address climate change through natural solutions. our staff is dedicated to conserving threatened and endangered coastlines and wildlife in california and mexico.…

Environment
11
American Conservation Coalition Inc

The american conservation coalition inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to building the conservative environmental movement.

Environment
12
Coastal Mountains Land Trust

We conserve land permanently to benefit the natural and human communities of western the Penobscot Bay region.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Student Conservation Association Inc; the most unlike its peers is College of the Atlantic. 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 19 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
8/9
Grantees still filing
5/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKS: $14,926,258 · OtherNATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKSDOWNEAST TRANSPORTATION INC: $1,626,597 · OtherDOWNEAST TRANSPORTATION INCMaine Department of Transportation: $1,225,000 · OtherMaine Department of Transportation+10 more: $183,036 · OtherSCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $1,028,736 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountain Club: $86,301 · Environment+2 more: $45,959 · EnvironmentSUMMER RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT INC: $107,500 · Housing & ShelterMAINE NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATORY: $16,997 · Arts & Culture
Other$17,960,891Environment$1,160,996Housing & Shelter$107,500Arts & Culture$16,997

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 budgetDOWNEAST TRANSPORTATION INC: $1,626,597 over 7y, 6.5% of budgetSCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $1,028,736 over 8y, 7.5% of budgetSUMMER RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT INC: $107,500 over 1y, 11% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $86,301 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC: $42,489 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $41,480 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Conservation Experience: $38,459 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMAINE NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATORY: $16,997 over 2y, 5.0% of budgetTEENS TAKE ON CLIMATE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.9% 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 DOWNEAST TRANSPORTATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ↗
  • Who funds SUMMER RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT INC ↗
  • Who funds Appalachian Mountain Club ↗
  • Who funds THE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC ↗
  • Who funds American Conservation Experience ↗
  • Who funds MAINE NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATORY ↗
  • Who funds TEENS TAKE ON CLIMATE 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.

The Nature ConservancyFidelity Investments …
The Nature ConservancyVA13.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Nature Conservancy · 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 Friends of Acadia funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Friends of Acadia. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of 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 19 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 Friends of Acadia’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