· Private foundation
National Recreation Foundation Incorporated
Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k4 grants · $17k
- $10k–50k56 grants · $1.1M
- $50k–250k15 grants · $1.3M
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| THE ASPEN INSTITUTEFORUM FOR COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS | $160,000 |
| CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY | $101,000 |
| MUDDY SNEAKERS | $100,000 |
| YMCA OF GREATER SEATTLE | $100,000 |
| CHICAGO TRAINING CENTER | $100,000 |
| FRIENDS OF MOMENTUM BIKE CLUBS | $100,000 |
| CHEYENNE RIVER YOUTH PROJECT | $100,000 |
| IRONWOOD TREE EXPERIENCE | $97,000 |
| REFUGEE EDUCATION & ADVENTURE CHALLENGE | $75,000 |
| BEYOND THE BALL | $75,000 |
| CHICAGO VOYAGERS | $75,000 |
| GRAND CANYON YOUTH | $70,000 |
| GARDENEERS | $60,000 |
| BRUSHWOOD CENTER AT RYERSON WOODS | $50,000 |
| FAMILIES IN NATURE | $50,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $2.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 74% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +28% for those funded once.
140 repeat relationships: 50 still active in FY2025, 90 since wound down; 24 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $460k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- MSMuddy Sneakers Inc6× · 2020–2025 · $408k · revenue +65%
- LSLAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION USA4× · 2017–2021 · $400k · revenue +103%
- GSGIRL SCOUTS OF GREATER LOS ANGELES6× · 2019–2024 · $375k · revenue +2%
Funded once
- PLPARA LA NATURALEZA INCgraduatedone grant, 2021 · $140k · revenue +27%
- NYNEW YORK CITY OUTWARD BOUND CENTER INC DBA NYC OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOLSone grant, 2017 · $100k · revenue -6%
- CECRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY HORIZONS-UPWARD BOUNDone grant, 2017 · $100k
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.
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.
Our mission is to uplift the well-being of the community through experiential nature-based programs. By providing hands-on environmental education to urban youth and adults, we empower leaders and cultivate a connection to the natural…
To create equitable access to nature in all communities and inspire a diverse new generation of environmental leaders.
Wild Whatcom's mission is to foster lifelong connections with nature and community through outdoor exploration and service.
To connect young people to the wonder and science of the natural world, igniting self-discovery and inspiring stewardship of our planet.
To guide and mentor young adults using education, job skills training, life skills development, and community service to help them become productive citizens.
Yampatika's mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through education. They fulfil that mission by developing environmental learning opportunities that serve the children and adults of Northwest Colorado.
To broaden the nature of a liberal arts education; teach critical thinking about social & environmental issues; foster understanding of & respect for natural & human communities; & cultivate a sense of place that encourages personal,…
We strive to encourage environmental awareness, leadership, diversity, self-confidence, and knowledge of the outdoors. We help to build a sense of community, which may not otherwise be found in an urban environment.
Hills to Climb supports organizations serving urban youth populations, by providing inspirational, immersive and high quality outdoor experiences in a camp setting.
Big sky youth empowerment creates a transformative community where vulnerable teenagers experience belonging, purpose, and well-being through group mentorship, adventure, and connection with the natural world. our vision is that byep teens…
White Pine Programs' mission is to host shared outdoor experiences that awaken curiosity, build personal resilience, and cultivate caring relationships with self, community, and the natural world.
Ecorise Youth Innovations inspires a new generation of leaders to design a sustainable future for all. Our school-based programs empower youth to tackle real-world challenges in their schools and communities by teaching sustainability,…
How this is measured
265 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. 265 of the 333 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
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
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 Muddy Sneakers Inc ↗
- Who funds LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION USA ↗
- Who funds GIRL SCOUTS OF GREATER LOS ANGELES ↗
- Who funds Jubilee Consortium ↗
- Who funds CHILDREN & NATURE NETWORK ↗
- Who funds THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF GREATER SEATTLE (6871) ↗
- Who funds JACKIE JOYNER KERSEE FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds CAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds SOS OUTREACH ↗
- Who funds Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities Foundation ↗
- Who funds HARLEM GROWN INC ↗
- Who funds GRAND CANYON YOUTH INC ↗
- Who funds SAIL MAINE ↗
- Who funds LATINO THEATER COMPANY ↗
- Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
- Who funds GARDENEERS ↗
- Who funds SANTA CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY ↗
- Who funds DETROIT HORSE POWER ↗
- Who funds BEYOND THE BALL NFP ↗
- Who funds Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge (REACH) ↗
- Who funds Grow Home Inc ↗
- Who funds RIPPLEFFECT INC ↗
- Who funds YOUTH OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE ↗
- Who funds DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE INCORPORATED ↗
- Who funds FRIENDS OF MOMENTUM BIKE CLUBS ↗
- Who funds MERCY NEIGHBORHOOD MINISTRIES INC ↗
- Who funds CHEYENNE RIVER YOUTH PROJECT INC ↗
- Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST ↗
- Who funds Chicago Training Center ↗
- Who funds PARA LA NATURALEZA INC ↗
- Who funds TFK Chicago Voyagers ↗
- Who funds DETROIT HIVES INC ↗
- Who funds GEORGIA FIRST ROBOTICS INC ↗
- Who funds Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation dba River LA ↗
- Who funds Chicago Youth Centers ↗
- Who funds COMMUNITY INITIATIVES ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Rei Cooperative Action Fund · National Park Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Turner Foundation Inc · Justice Outside · Clif Family Foundation · The Outdoor Foundation · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA · Swantz Family Foundation · The Wilderness Society · Resources Legacy Fund
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization National Recreation Foundation Incorporated funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from National Recreation Foundation Incorporated. Bigger dots raise more.
- Connecticut Institute for Communities Inc: 57% of income from government
- Solar Youth Inc: 19% of income from government
- Sea Research Foundation Inc: 8% of income from government
- Chesapeake Arts Center Inc: 7% of income from government
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston Inc: 2% of income from government
- Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida I: 1% of income from government
- Chill Foundation: 0% of income from government
How this is measured
Play a game based on National Recreation’s filings →