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March Conservation Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

March Conservation Fund

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.

$4.8M
Granted FY2024still arriving
79
Grants FY2024still arriving
15
States reached
$595k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Animals$8.9MEnvironment$5.2MEducation$1.8MPhilanthropy$1.7MArts & Culture$645kHuman Services$376kRecreation & Sports$298kHealth$279kOther$0
02FY2024 · 79 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k27 grants · $61k
  • $10k–50k25 grants · $487k
  • $50k–250k22 grants · $2.0M
  • $250k+5 grants · $2.3M
$25,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$78M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY$594,981
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK$550,000
POINT BLUE CONSERVATION SCIENCE$452,640
FRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL$360,248
CORNELL UNIVERSITY$348,266
RAINFOREST TRUST$225,000
VANGUARD CHARITABLE$200,000
GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY$139,640
JOCOTOCO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION$121,000
UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION$102,400
MANDAI NATURE FUND$100,000
RESOURCES LEGACY FUND$100,000
Individual grant recipient$100,000
AUDUBON CALIFORNIA$88,964
WILDAID$75,492
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 (FY17–24, $380k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $15k → 13%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $11k → 13%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $10k → 13%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $10k → 13%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $10k → 13%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $10k → 13%THE BIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $10k → 13%HAIGHT ASHBURY FOOD PROGRAM: $500 → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $65k → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $60k → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $50k → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $50k → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $40k → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $20k → 10%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $15k → 10%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

ID
MT
IL
NY
MA
RI
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
KS
TN
NC
DC
HI
AL
TX
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 8% of March Conservation Fund’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

March Conservation Fundlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.2% 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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$18M · 87 repeat orgs$185k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +45% for those funded once.

87 repeat relationships: 66 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

87
8

Total granted

$18M
$43k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+45%

Still filing today

71%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $141k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentAnimalsEducationArts & CultureInternationalHuman ServicesOther
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

  • AB
    American Bird Conservancy
    7× · 2017–2024 · $3.4M · revenue +54%
  • WC
    WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $1.8M · revenue +253%
  • PR
    POINT REYES BIRD OBSERVATORY
    7× · 2017–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +158%

Funded once

  • TS
    TERRA SAVIA ANIMAL SANCTUARY
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
  • AS
    ANSHEI SPHARD BETH EMETH CONGREGATI
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • ZD
    ZEN DEN WEB DESIGN
    one grant, 2019 · $5k
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 International Foundation

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

Environment
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
Rainforest Foundation Inc

The purpose of rainforest foundation us is to support indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights.

Environment
4
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
5
California Wildlife Foundation

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

Animals
6
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
7
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
8
California Institute for Biodiversity

Create and publish educational materials, conduct professional development, promote awareness, and sponsor research on the spectacular biological diversity of the State of CA.

Education
9
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
10
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
11
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
12
Greater Farallones Association

Gfa works in partnership with and on behalf of the greater farallones and cordell bank national marine sanctuaries to preserve, monitor, research, educate about and enhance these invaluable marine resources.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The San Francisco Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Cultural Fire Management Council. 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

78 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. 78 of the 111 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)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
78/78
Grantees still filing
64/78
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

American Bird Conservancy: $3,395,100 · AnimalsAmerican Bird ConservancyWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $1,802,700 · AnimalsWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INCPOINT REYES BIRD OBSERVATORY: $1,402,571 · AnimalsPOINT REYES BIRD OBSERVATORYFRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,189,957 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC+5 more: $493,283 · Animals+5 moreGLOBAL CONSERVATION: $574,900 · EnvironmentGLOBAL CONSERVATIO…ISLAND CONSERVATION: $535,000 · EnvironmentISLAND CONSERVATIO…PLANET INDONESIA: $337,425 · EnvironmentPLANET INDONESIAGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $292,625 · EnvironmentGOLDEN GATE NATION…APPALACHIAN VOICES: $240,000 · EnvironmentAPPALACHIAN VOICESRainforest Action Network: $226,000 · EnvironmentRainforest Action …RESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $200,000 · EnvironmentRESOURCES LEGACY F…AUDUBON CANYON RANCH INC: $185,476 · EnvironmentAUDUBON CANYON RAN…Cultural Fire Management Council: $125,000 · EnvironmentCLIMATE RIDE INC: $116,292 · Environment+16 more: $445,865 · Environment+16 moreJOCOTOCO FOUNDATION: $308,415 · OtherJOCOTOCO FOUNDA…MANDAI NATURE FUND: $278,000 · OtherMANDAI NATURE F…AUDUBON CALIFORNIA: $248,030 · OtherAUDUBON CALIFOR…The Pacific Forest Trust Incorporated: $220,000 · OtherThe Pacific For…EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTENATURE IN THE CIT: $142,500 · OtherUCSC FOUNDATION: $126,481 · OtherORIENTAL BIRD CLUB: $125,742 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $125,000 · OtherSan Francisco Early Music Society: $121,500 · OtherCORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY: $106,012 · OtherSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $140,000 · Other+43 more: $794,884 · Other+43 moreCornell University: $1,356,062 · EducationCornell Unive…Jocotoco Conservation Foundation: $321,000 · EducationJocotoco Cons…UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $256,480 · EducationUC SANTA CRUZ…UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $245,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF…THE WATERSHED RESEARCH & TRAINING CENTER: $100,000 · Education+4 more: $46,500 · EducationVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $1,039,000 · PhilanthropyVANGUARD C…TIDES FOUNDATION: $317,981 · PhilanthropyTIDES FOUN…THE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $300,000 · PhilanthropyTHE SAN FR…JUSTICE OUTSIDE: $200,000 · PhilanthropyJUSTICE OU…+3 more: $21,650 · PhilanthropyRAINFOREST TRUST: $883,384 · International+2 more: $20,500 · InternationalJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $300,450 · Human ServicesBIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $76,000 · Human Services+1 more: $3,500 · Human Services
Animals$8,283,611Environment$3,278,583Other$2,736,564Education$2,325,042Philanthropy$1,878,631International$903,884Human Services$379,950

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 Bird Conservancy: $3,395,100 over 7y, 2.9% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $1,802,700 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetPOINT REYES BIRD OBSERVATORY: $1,402,571 over 7y, 2.8% of budgetCornell University: $1,356,062 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,189,957 over 5y, 7.6% of budgetVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM: $1,039,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetRAINFOREST TRUST: $883,384 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetGLOBAL CONSERVATION: $574,900 over 6y, 6.8% of budgetISLAND CONSERVATION: $535,000 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetPLANET INDONESIA: $337,425 over 6y, 11% of budgetJocotoco Conservation Foundation: $321,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $317,981 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $300,450 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $292,625 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetWILDAID INC: $258,108 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetUC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION: $256,480 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $245,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAPPALACHIAN VOICES: $240,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetRainforest Action Network: $226,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetThe Pacific Forest Trust Incorporated: $220,000 over 4y, 2.6% of budgetRESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $200,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJUSTICE OUTSIDE: $200,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetAUDUBON CANYON RANCH INC: $185,476 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetTHE INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS: $166,750 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $140,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCultural Fire Management Council: $125,000 over 3y, 8.6% of budgetSan Francisco Early Music Society: $121,500 over 7y, 4.0% of budgetCLIMATE RIDE INC: $116,292 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetTHE WATERSHED RESEARCH & TRAINING CENTER: $100,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $85,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $85,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBIRD SCHOOL PROJECT: $76,000 over 7y, 12% of budgetBay Nature Institute dba Bay Nature Bay Nature Magazine: $69,960 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO JAZZ ORGANIZATION: $50,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMendocino Land Trust: $45,000 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetTHE JEWISH HOME AND SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetOUTWARD BOUND CALIFORNIA: $40,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $37,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetREWILD: $35,925 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Climate Center: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTETON REGIONAL LAND TRUST INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC: $22,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetORGANIZATION FOR TROPICAL STUDIES INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetEARTH LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE CLIFTON INSTITUTE INC: $17,500 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetRARE: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% 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 American Bird Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds POINT REYES BIRD OBSERVATORY ↗
  • Who funds Cornell University ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds RAINFOREST TRUST ↗
  • Who funds GLOBAL CONSERVATION ↗
  • Who funds ISLAND CONSERVATION ↗
  • Who funds PLANET INDONESIA ↗
  • Who funds Jocotoco Conservation Foundation ↗
  • Who funds TIDES FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds THE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds WILDAID INC ↗
  • Who funds UC SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds APPALACHIAN VOICES ↗
  • Who funds Rainforest Action Network ↗
  • Who funds The Pacific Forest Trust Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds RESOURCES LEGACY FUND ↗
  • Who funds JUSTICE OUTSIDE ↗
  • Who funds AUDUBON CANYON RANCH INC ↗
  • Who funds THE INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS ↗
  • Who funds SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ↗
  • Who funds Cultural Fire Management Council ↗
  • Who funds San Francisco Early Music Society ↗
  • Who funds CLIMATE RIDE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WATERSHED RESEARCH & TRAINING CENTER ↗
  • Who funds EARTHJUSTICE ↗

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 San Francisco Fou…Marin Community Found…Silicon Valley Commun…Gordon E and Betty I …Resources Legacy FundThe Nature ConservancyThe Schmidt Family Fo…The David and Lucile …The Maxwellhanrahan F…Mary a Crocker TrustThe William & Flora H…The James Irvine Foun…
The San Francisco FoundationCA29.7× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Francisco Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · Resources Legacy Fund · The Nature Conservancy · The Schmidt Family Foundation · The David and Lucile Packard Foundation · The Maxwellhanrahan Foundation · Mary a Crocker Trust · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · The James Irvine 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 March Conservation Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from March Conservation Fund. 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 →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    21report 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 111 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 March 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