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Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation Inc

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.

$337k
Granted FY2024still arriving
27
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$50k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$1.1MArts & Culture$543kAnimals$359kScience & Tech$31kEducation$20kHousing & Shelter$5kRecreation & Sports$3k
02FY2024 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k13 grants · $53k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $234k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$10,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$7.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC$50,000
ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC$30,000
THE WILD CENTER$25,000
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$25,000
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC$20,000
ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC$20,000
PAUL SMITHS COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES$20,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY - ADIRONDACK CHAPTER$15,000
ADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INC$15,000
ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC$15,000
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY$15,000
CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC$12,000
ONONDAGA AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ONONDAGA AUDUBON SOCI$12,000
EARTHPLACE THE NATURE DISCOVERY CENTER INC$10,000
NANTUCKET MARIA MITCHELL ASSOC$5,000
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 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 90% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $20k → 8%CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC: $21k → 9%ADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INC: $21k → 13%PAUL SMITHS COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: $20k → 16%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $21k → 17%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $50k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $30k → 16%CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC: $20k → 9%ADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 13%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $20k → 17%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $31k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $26k → 16%CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC: $20k → 9%ADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INC: $20k → 13%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $20k → 17%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $30k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $25k → 16%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $20k → 17%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $30k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $25k → 16%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $25k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $25k → 16%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $25k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $20k → 16%ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE INC: $20k → 17%ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $40k → 13%AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $31k → 17%ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $36k → 13%NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $31k → 16%AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $30k → 17%ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $35k → 13%NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $30k → 16%AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $30k → 17%ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $35k → 13%NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $30k → 16%AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $25k → 17%AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $30k → 13%NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $25k → 16%AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $25k → 17%ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $25k → 13%NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $25k → 16%AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $25k → 17%NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $25k → 16%THE WILD CENTER: $25k → 16%NATURE CONSERVANCY - ADIRONDACK CHAPTER: $25k → 13%NATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCY INC: $21k → 17%NATURE CONSERVANCY - ADIRONDACK CHAPTER: $21k → 13%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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.9M · 14 repeat orgs$152k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +62% since the first grant, against -8% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
3

Total granted

$1.9M
$65k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+62%
-8%

Still filing today

86%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $87k 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 & CultureScience & TechInternationalEducationOther
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

  • TA
    THE ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $241k · revenue +49%
  • WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $231k · revenue +62%
  • NH
    NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS
    8× · 2017–2024 · $211k · revenue +42%

Funded once

  • AW
    AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +54%
  • THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue -8%
  • EA
    EcoHealth Alliance Inc
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue -26%
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
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
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
The Quebec-Labrador Foundation Inc

The program mission of the quebec-labrador foundation u.s. is defined by a regional component (new england and eastern canada), and an international component, which ties our regional model to a global conservation network. qlf's program…

Philanthropy
4
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
5
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
6
The Nature Conservancy

The mission of the nature conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

—
7
The Norman Bird Sanctuary Trust

Our mission is to spark people's curiosity to explore, steward, and find peace and joy in nature. in service to this, norman bird sanctuary inspires, builds, and engages a community of stewards who preserve, protect, enjoy, and learn from…

Animals
8
New Jersey Audubon Society

The new jersey audubon society is a privately supported, not-for-profit, statewide membership organization. (see schedule o for details).

Environment
9
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
10
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
11
National Ecological Observatory Network Inc

To enable understanding and forecasting of the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on continental-scale ecology by providing support for infrastructure and consistent methodologies to support research and…

Recreation & Sports
12
Nature and Culture International

Nature and culture international conserves biologically diverse landscapes in latin america, in concert with local cultures, for the well-being of the planet.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Adirondack Council Inc; the most unlike its peers is Smithsonian Institution. 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

28 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. 28 of the 31 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/28
Grantees still filing
15/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $241,000 · EnvironmentTHE ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INCWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $231,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INCADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INC: $121,000 · EnvironmentADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INCNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $93,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCCARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC: $85,000 · EnvironmentCARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INCNATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCY INC: $63,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCY INC+6 more: $53,000 · Environment+6 moreNATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $211,000 · Arts & CultureNATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE AD…American Museum of Natural History: $196,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican Museum of Natural Histo…SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $181,000 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $181,000 · AnimalsAtlantic Salmon…WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $45,000 · AnimalsWILDLIFE CONSER…AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · AnimalsAFRICAN WILDLIF…EcoHealth Alliance Inc: $20,000 · AnimalsEcoHealth Allia…+2 more: $6,000 · AnimalsNATURE CONSERVANCY - ADIRONDACK CHAPTER: $146,000 · OtherNATURE CONSERV…NORTHERN NEW YORK AUDUBON INC: $90,000 · OtherNORTHERN NEW Y…ONONDAGA AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ONONDAGA AUDUBON SOCI: $12,000 · Other+3 more: $13,000 · OtherTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $20,000 · InternationalPAUL SMITHS COLLEGE: $20,000 · EducationNANTUCKET SHELLFISH ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 · Science & TechADIRONDACK PUBLIC OBSERVATORY INC: $1,000 · Science & Tech
Environment$887,000Arts & Culture$588,000Animals$277,000Other$261,000International$20,000Education$20,000Science & Tech$6,000

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 budgetTHE ADIRONDACK COUNCIL INC: $241,000 over 8y, 1.9% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $231,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKS: $211,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetAmerican Museum of Natural History: $196,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $181,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $181,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetADIRONDACK LAND TRUST INC: $121,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $93,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES INC: $85,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetNATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCY INC: $63,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $45,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $23,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAUL SMITHS COLLEGE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEcoHealth Alliance Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEARTHPLACE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNANTUCKET LAND & WATER COUNCIL INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNANTUCKET SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetNANTUCKET SHELLFISH ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetNEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNANTUCKET CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE TO PROTECT NANTUCKET SOUND INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNANTUCKET MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION IN: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMarine Mammal Alliance Nantucket: $5,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetCENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetADIRONDACK PUBLIC OBSERVATORY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetADIRONDACK CENTER FOR LOON CONSERVATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

Boston Foundation IncCommunity Foundation …Meyer & Jean Steinber…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Vanguard Charitable E…The Pfizer Foundation…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Boston Foundation IncMA18.2× affinity7 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Community Foundation for Nantucket Inc · Meyer & Jean Steinberg Family Foundation Inc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile 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 Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • EcoHealth Alliance Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association in: 9% of income from government
  • Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
4report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation Inc 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 31 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 Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation’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