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· Public charity

National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation.

$12M
Granted FY2025still arriving
222
Grants FY2025still arriving
41
States reached
$999k
Largest
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 2025.

Environment$18MAnimals$11MRecreation & Sports$2.2MEducation$1.9MPublic Benefit$860kArts & Culture$703kFood & Nutrition$647kCommunity Improvement$568kOther$0
02FY2025 · 222 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 222 grants below total $7,493,464, the rows itemized in this filing. The $12,167,696 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $4,674,232 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k61 grants · $427k
  • $10k–50k137 grants · $2.6M
  • $50k–250k18 grants · $1.8M
  • $250k+6 grants · $2.6M
$14,133
Median grant
41
States reached
$641M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DUCKS UNLIMITED INC$999,421
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION$420,000
MONTANA AUDUBON SOCIETY$344,175
ALABAMA AUDUBON$292,567
AUDUBON OF KANSAS$286,955
SAN DIEGO AUDUBON SOCIETY$269,835
BUENA VISTA AUDUBON SOCIETY$236,306
US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE$218,378
WIDGEON LAND COMPANY$199,590
TREASURER VA TECH$127,720
TULARE COUNTY RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT$123,750
SADDLEBACK RANCH$102,500
PROSPECT PARK ALLIANCE$95,860
BUTTE LODGE OUTING CLUB INC$95,681
CITY OF ORANGE BEACH$94,419
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 (FY17–25, $307k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 70% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%COBBS CREEK COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CTR: $15k → 10%Plumas Audubon Society: $6k → 13%COBBS CREEK COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CTR: $14k → 10%Plumas Audubon Society: $29k → 13%Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Ctr: $12k → 10%Plumas Audubon Society: $25k → 13%Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Educ: $12k → 10%Plumas Audubon Society: $25k → 13%PLUMAS AUDUBON SOCIETY: $8k → 13%PLUMAS AUDUBON SOCIETY: $8k → 13%Cobbs Creek Com Environmental Edu Ctr: $21k → 22%COBBS CREEK COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CTR: $15k → 22%COBBS CREEK COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CTR: $14k → 22%COBBS CREEK COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CTR: $14k → 22%Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Edu Ctr: $12k → 22%SKAGWAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERV: $40k → 9%HEALTHY COMMUNITY SERVICES: $38k → 23%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

AK
ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $1.3M on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 4 regions, $1.3M to organizations and $11k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

South America$783k · 58% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: GENERAL SUPPORT

North America (Canada and Mexico)$281k · 21% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: GENERAL SUPPORT

Central America and the Caribbean$205k · 15% · 4 grants · 1 person

Stated purpose: GENERAL SUPPORT

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$81k · 6% · 2 grants

Stated purpose: GENERAL SUPPORT

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

62%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$23M · 202 repeat orgs$14M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +55% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

202 repeat relationships: 123 still active in FY2025, 79 since wound down; 93 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

202
173

Total granted

$23M
$12M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+5%

Still filing today

66%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.2M 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
EnvironmentAnimalsEducationArts & CultureRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • DU
    Ducks Unlimited Inc
    5× · 2018–2025 · $1.7M · revenue +97%
  • AA
    ALABAMA AUDUBON
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.4M · revenue +166% · 39% of their budget
  • SD
    San Diego Bird Alliance
    9× · 2017–2025 · $938k · revenue +84%

Funded once

  • EP
    EAST PARK LEADERSHIP AND CONSERVATION CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $4.3M · revenue -84%
  • HH
    HUNT HILL NATURE CENTER INC
    one grant, 2017 · $1.3M · revenue -39%
  • NA
    NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ACTION FUND
    one grant, 2019 · $798k · revenue -12% · 50% of their budget
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
Maine Audubon Society

Maine Audubon works to conserve Maine's wildlife and habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation, and action. We are helping the people of Maine become the nation's most informed and effective stewards of wildlife and…

Environment
2
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
3
National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. (continued on schedule o).

Environment
4
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
5
Sacajawea Audubon Society

The mission of the Sacajawea Audubon Society is to build on an interest in birds to promote the conservation of our natural environment through enjoyment, education and action.

—
6
Waterbird Society

The waterbird society is composed of biologists, researchers, conservationists, students, and others interested in the behavior, ecology, and conservation of waterbirds. the organization is administered by officers and council members…

—
7
Nature Collective

Nature collective's mission is to drive a passion for nature for all. we think inclusively and diversely when serving those devoid of nature those who remember nature and want to connect back to it and those who have an affinity with…

Environment
8
National Ecological Observatory Network Inc
Recreation & Sports
9
Salem Audubon Society

To promote the appreciation of nature and respect for natural places, focusing on birds and other wildlife, and fostering environmental responsibility with programs connecting people with nature.

Environment
10
Illinois Audubon Society

To promote the perpetuation and appreciation of native flora and fauna of illinois and the habitats that support them.

Environment
11
Santa Barbara Audubon Society

Santa barbara audubon society protects area birdlife and habitat and connects people with birds through education, conservation, and science.

Environment
12
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to promote sustainability in the Bay Area and beyond by engaging communities in avian science, habitat restoration, and education.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Florida Audubon Society Inc; the most unlike its peers is William S Pardee Trust. 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

265 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. 265 of the 474 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.

20
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
89
Early backer (in before they grew)
259/265
Grantees still filing
167/265
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EAST PARK LEADERSHIP AND CONSERVATION CENTER: $4,341,140 · EnvironmentEAST PARK LEADERSHIP AND CONSERVATION CENTERDucks Unlimited Inc: $1,684,137 · EnvironmentDucks Unlimited IncALABAMA AUDUBON: $1,423,034 · EnvironmentALABAMA AUDUBONSan Diego Bird Alliance: $938,248 · EnvironmentBUENA VISTA AUDUBON SOCIETY: $894,436 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ACTION FUND: $798,296 · Environment+76 more: $8,775,779 · Environment+76 moreSTATE OF UTAH GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: $721,250 · OtherSTATE OF UTAH GOVERNOR'S OFFICE O…PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION: $679,942 · OtherPENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSIONFL DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION: $471,883 · OtherMiddle-Snake-Tamarac Rvrs Watershed Dstrct: $420,462 · OtherHOLT RANCH: $402,575 · OtherState of Arizona: $400,000 · OtherCITY OF ORANGE BEACH: $361,295 · Other+83 more: $6,655,661 · Other+83 moreHUNT HILL NATURE CENTER INC: $1,264,130 · AnimalsCENTER FOR AQUATIC SCIENCES: $316,556 · AnimalsTHE INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS: $178,745 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF THE HEINZ WILDLIFE REFUGE: $155,145 · AnimalsBirdability: $150,000 · AnimalsTucson Audubon Society: $111,021 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $91,901 · Animals+1 more: $44,877 · AnimalsPROSPECT PARK ALLIANCE INC: $747,920 · Recreation & SportsAPPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $107,247 · Recreation & SportsFargo Park District Foundation: $45,627 · Recreation & SportsTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $155,982 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationRUST COLLEGE: $86,800 · EducationCOLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $85,000 · EducationTHOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY: $85,000 · EducationMOREHOUSE COLLEGE: $51,775 · EducationGEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · EducationPartnership for Responsible Growth Inc: $50,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $41,689 · EducationTHE FUND FOR THE WATER WORKS: $165,000 · Arts & CultureHERITAGE CONSERVANCY INC: $149,316 · Arts & CultureIndependence Seaport Museum: $113,098 · Arts & CultureVENTURA AUDUBON SOCIETY: $66,049 · Arts & CultureNative Peoples Action Community Fund: $50,000 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureJilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center: $40,000 · Arts & CultureLower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development: $354,500 · Public Safety & Disaster
Environment$18,855,070Other$10,113,068Animals$2,312,375Recreation & Sports$900,794Education$706,246Arts & Culture$633,463Public Safety & Disaster$354,500

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $1,684,137 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetALABAMA AUDUBON: $1,423,034 over 9y, 39% of budgetSan Diego Bird Alliance: $938,248 over 9y, 13% of budgetBUENA VISTA AUDUBON SOCIETY: $894,436 over 5y, 52% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ACTION FUND: $798,296 over 1y, 50% of budgetPROSPECT PARK ALLIANCE INC: $747,920 over 9y, 0.8% of budgetMONTANA AUDUBON: $568,634 over 9y, 24% of budgetLower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development: $354,500 over 6y, 29% of budgetCENTER FOR AQUATIC SCIENCES: $316,556 over 9y, 4.2% of budgetBUFFALO AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $308,953 over 9y, 19% of budgetAUDUBON OF KANSAS INC: $286,955 over 1y, 16% of budgetNEW YORK CITY BIRD ALLIANCE INC: $277,046 over 9y, 3.2% of budgetCONNECTICUT AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $251,380 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetLOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC: $245,258 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetBIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON INC: $231,176 over 9y, 0.9% of budgetDELAWARE NATURE SOCIETY INC: $218,832 over 8y, 2.2% of budgetBirds Georgia Corporation: $211,994 over 9y, 5.9% of budgetFLORIDA AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $208,500 over 9y, 7.2% of budgetPOCONO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER INC: $206,085 over 9y, 2.1% of budgetDetroit Bird Alliance: $204,969 over 9y, 21% of budgetTHE CLIMATE GROUP INC: $195,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $192,033 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIANS FOR CLEAN WATER AND SAFE PARKS SPONSORED BY CONSERVATION GROUPS: $185,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetTHE INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS: $178,745 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetTHE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC: $167,984 over 8y, 1.2% of budgetTHE FUND FOR THE WATER WORKS: $165,000 over 9y, 3.1% of budgetCHESAPEAKE AUDUBON SOCIETY: $156,295 over 9y, 7.3% of budgetWILDLIFE INFORMATION CENTER INC: $156,151 over 8y, 5.3% of budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $155,982 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE HEINZ WILDLIFE REFUGE: $155,145 over 9y, 44% of budgetCOASTAL EXPEDITIONS FOUNDATION: $152,500 over 3y, 41% of budgetBERKS NATURE: $152,341 over 9y, 0.9% of budgetOSPREY WILDS ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER: $150,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetHERITAGE CONSERVANCY INC: $149,316 over 9y, 0.9% of budgetTHE JOHN BARTRAM ASSOCIATION: $144,725 over 8y, 1.8% of budgetThe Schuylkill Center For Environmental Education: $140,517 over 9y, 1.2% of budgetSCHUYLKILL RIVER GREENWAY ASSOCIATION: $139,899 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetAMERICAN CONSERVATION COALITION INC: $132,600 over 2y, 8.8% of budgetGolden Gate Bird Alliance Prev Golden Gate Audubon Society Inc: $131,799 over 9y, 3.1% of budgetCobbs Creek Community Environmental: $128,248 over 9y, 58% of budgetD&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST INC: $126,447 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetBIRDS CONNECT SEATTLE: $125,108 over 9y, 2.6% of budgetThe Community Foundation of Utah: $125,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTOOKANY TACONY FRANKFORD WATERSHED PARTN ERSHIP: $123,562 over 7y, 4.8% of budgetNEW JERSEY CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $121,828 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE: $120,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetCHICAGO BIRD ALLIANCE: $116,095 over 9y, 14% of budgetTravis Audubon Society Inc: $114,643 over 9y, 3.2% 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.

  • Who funds EAST PARK LEADERSHIP AND CONSERVATION CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Ducks Unlimited Inc ↗
  • Who funds ALABAMA AUDUBON ↗
  • Who funds HUNT HILL NATURE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds San Diego Bird Alliance ↗
  • Who funds BUENA VISTA AUDUBON SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ACTION FUND ↗
  • Who funds PROSPECT PARK ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds MONTANA AUDUBON ↗
  • Who funds Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR AQUATIC SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds BUFFALO AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds AUDUBON OF KANSAS INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW YORK CITY BIRD ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTICUT AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds BIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON INC ↗
  • Who funds DELAWARE NATURE SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds Birds Georgia Corporation ↗
  • Who funds FLORIDA AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds POCONO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Detroit Bird Alliance ↗
  • Who funds THE CLIMATE GROUP INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIANS FOR CLEAN WATER AND SAFE PARKS SPONSORED BY CONSERVATION GROUPS ↗
  • Who funds THE INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS ↗
  • Who funds THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE FUND FOR THE WATER WORKS ↗

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.

National Fish and Wildlife FoundationDC53.7× affinity76 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · National Wildlife Federation · Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated · Patagoniaorg · Resources Legacy Fund · Independence Seaport Museum · Natural Resources Defense Council Inc · United States Energy Foundation · Schumann Robert F Fdn-Main · The Trust for Public Land · The Pew Charitable Trusts

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 National Audubon Society Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from National Audubon Society Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • New Haven - Urban Resources Initiative Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Vermont Youth Conservation Corps Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Delaware Nature Society Inc: 13% of income from government
  • Manomet Inc: 12% of income from government
  • D&r Greenway Land Trust Inc: 9% of income from government
  • New Haven Ecology Project Inc: 9% of income from government
  • The Watershed Institute Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Connecticut Audubon Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Bird Alliance of Oregon Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
39report 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.

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 474 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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