Skip to content
Parks California at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Parks California

As california state parks' statutory non-profit partner, we have a clear mission - to help strengthen parks and inspire all people to experience these extraordinary places.

$5.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
82
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$300k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$2.9MEnvironment$2.4MRecreation & Sports$1.3MEmployment$1.2MYouth Development$532kEducation$440kScience & Tech$257kHousing & Shelter$175kOther$0
02FY2024 · 82 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k6 grants · $38k
  • $10k–50k44 grants · $1.3M
  • $50k–250k29 grants · $3.3M
  • $250k+3 grants · $835k
$38,150
Median grant
3
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CITY OF CRESCENT CITY$300,000
FERNANDEO TATAVIAM BAND OF MISSION INDIANS$285,192
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD$250,000
SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE$190,100
FILAM ARTS (THE ASSOCIATION FOR ADVANCEMENT OF FILIPINO AMERICAN ARTS & CUL$180,000
COASTAL CORRIDOR ALLIANCE$175,000
SEMILLAS SOCIEDAD CIVIL (AIUPNA)$150,000
BEAR YUBA LAND TRUST$150,000
AMAH MUTSUN LAND TRUST$150,000
APAPA (ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN PUBLIC AFFAIRS)$150,000
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION$150,000
CIVICORPS$149,863
TREEPEOPLE$149,604
HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION$147,598
SIERRA NEVADA ALLIANCE$146,724
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 (FY20–24, $370k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%REDWOOD COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY: $15k → 18%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $148k → 14%YOUTH TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATION: $11k → 8%SHAW 4 COMMUNITY: $50k → 12%MIGHTY COMMUNITY ADVOCACY: $46k → 19%PUKUU CULTURAL COMMUNITY SERVICES: $15k → 14%PUKUU CULTURAL COMMUNITY SERVICE: $15k → 14%PUKUU CULTURAL COMMUNITY SERVICES: $15k → 14%HEARTS FOR SIGHT FOUNDATION: $18k → 14%UNITED AMERICAN INDIAN INVOLVEMENT INC: $22k → 14%UNITED AMERICAN INDIAN INVOLVEMENT INC: $15k → 14%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.
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 9% of Parks California’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 97% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 93%.

Parks Californialessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 5.3% 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.

52%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.1M · 46 repeat orgs$4.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +59% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down; 55 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
40

Total granted

$5.1M
$907k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+26%

Still filing today

93%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 30% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.8M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesCommunity 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

  • ST
    SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $631k · revenue +64%
  • GG
    GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY
    4× · 2021–2024 · $385k · revenue +74%
  • FT
    FERNANDENO TATAVIAM BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
    2× · 2023–2024 · $320k · revenue +104%

Funded once

  • GF
    GROWERS FIRST INC
    one grant, 2023 · $42k · revenue -45%
  • PS
    PLACER SHERIFFS ACTIVITIES LEAGUE
    one grant, 2023 · $42k · revenue +2% · 73% of their budget
  • SIERRA HEALTH FOUNDATION CENTER FOR HEALTH PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
    one grant, 2023 · $35k · revenue +19%
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
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
2
Sonoma Mountain Institute
Environment
3
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin

To protect and sustain the unique lands, waters, and biodiversity of west marin.

Environment
4
Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation dba River La

Engage.Protect.Enhance.Weareonamissiontobringpeople,water,andnaturetogetherwhilepursuingasustainablerevitalization of the Los Angeles River corridor.

Community Improvement
5
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
6
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
7
LandPaths

LandPaths' mission is to foster a love of the land in Sonoma County. LandPaths creates ways for people to experience the beauty, understand the value, and assist in healing the land in their local communities.

Environment
8
CalWild

The California Wilderness Coalition protects the natural landscapes that make California unique, providing clean air and water, a home to wildlife, and a place for recreation and spiritual renewal.

—
9
Sierra Foothill Conservancy

Protect, manage and preserve lands and wildlife having unique natural resources and cultural qualities within and near the foothills of the sierra nevada range.

Environment
10
California Coastkeeper dba California Coastkeeper Alliance

California Coastkeeper Alliance unites Waterkeeper programs statewide to fight for swimmable, fishable, and drinkable waters for all Californians.

Environment
11
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
12
Point Reyes National Seashore Association

The Official Partner to the Point Reyes National Seashore Since 1964, Point Reyes National Seashore Association focuses on three priorities: Youth Education & access, environmental conservation and building a broad community for the people…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (See) Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mighty Community Advocacy. 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

114 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. 114 of the 141 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
29
Early backer (in before they grew)
114/114
Grantees still filing
79/114
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $630,650 · EnvironmentSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUEGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $384,700 · EnvironmentGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSE…Amah Mutsun Land Trust: $236,728 · EnvironmentAmah Mutsun Land TrustTREEPEOPLE INC: $184,604 · EnvironmentTREEPEOPLE INCCoastal Corridor Alliance: $175,000 · EnvironmentCoastal Corridor AllianceBear Yuba Land Trust: $150,000 · EnvironmentSIERRA NEVADA ALLIANCE: $146,724 · EnvironmentThe Stewardship Network: $127,648 · EnvironmentSAN JOAQUIN RIVER PARKWAY & CONSERVATION TRUST: $107,531 · Environment+18 more: $699,818 · Environment+18 moreCITY OF CRESCENT CITY: $300,000 · OtherCITY OF CRESCENT CITYCITY OF BAKERSFIELD: $250,000 · OtherCITY OF BAKERSFIELDCOMPUTER USING EDUCATORS: $243,450 · OtherCOMPUTER USING EDUCATORSSAN JOAQUIN COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION: $150,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS: $146,160 · OtherSanta Monica Mountains Fund: $141,000 · OtherCOMPUTER USING EDUCATORS (CUE): $140,000 · OtherSEMILLAS SOCIEDAD CIVIL: $150,000 · OtherAsian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs - Community Education Foundation: $150,000 · Other+56 more: $1,958,137 · Other+56 moreFERNANDENO TATAVIAM BAND OF MISSION INDIANS: $320,192 · Arts & CultureFERNANDENO T…ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FILIPINO AMERICAN: $180,000 · Arts & CultureASSOCIATION …MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO: $127,185 · Arts & CultureMEDIA ARTS C…ARTS CONNECTION: $98,500 · Arts & CultureARTS CONNECT…Project Bandaloop: $75,000 · Arts & CultureProject Band…Rhythmix Cultural Works: $52,000 · Arts & CulturePlayhouse Arts: $38,150 · Arts & Culture+11 more: $217,773 · Arts & Culture+11 moreCIVICORPS: $149,863 · Youth DevelopmentCIVICORPSCITY OF DREAMS: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentCITY OF D…ADVENTURE RISK CHALLENGE: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentADVENTURE…MEWATER FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $86,505 · Youth DevelopmentMEWATER F…OUTSIDE THE LENS: $84,721 · Youth DevelopmentOUTSIDE T…HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $70,000 · Youth DevelopmentHOMEBOY I…Literacy for Environmental Justice: $60,000 · Youth DevelopmentLiteracy …OUTDOOR OUTREACH: $57,250 · Youth DevelopmentOUTDOOR O…UN MAR DE COLORES: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentUN MAR DE…PLACER SHERIFFS ACTIVITIES LEAGUE: $42,000 · Youth DevelopmentBoys & Girls Clubs of Fresno Inc: $30,708 · Youth Development+1 more: $27,420 · Youth DevelopmentCRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY: $296,500 · Recreation & SportsCity Surf Project: $81,000 · Recreation & SportsCOMMUNITY NATURE CONNECTION: $73,381 · Recreation & SportsSierra State Parks Foundation: $61,725 · Recreation & SportsBIG CITY MOUNTAINEERS: $47,088 · Recreation & SportsLOS ANGELES RIVER STATE PARK PARTNERS: $44,250 · Recreation & Sports+3 more: $40,828 · Recreation & SportsSIERRA INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT: $224,001 · Science & TechCOMPUTER-USING EDUCATORS INC: $164,450 · Science & TechHispanic Access Foundation: $147,598 · Human ServicesSHAW 4 COMMUNITY: $50,000 · Human ServicesMIGHTY COMMUNITY ADVOCACY: $46,340 · Human ServicesPUKUU CULTURAL COMMUNITY SERVICES: $45,334 · Human ServicesUNITED AMERICAN INDIAN INVOLVEMENT INC: $36,852 · Human ServicesHEARTS FOR SIGHT FOUNDATION: $17,622 · Human ServicesRedwood Community Action Agency: $15,000 · Human Services+1 more: $10,772 · Human Services
Environment$2,843,403Other$3,628,747Arts & Culture$1,108,800Youth Development$858,467Recreation & Sports$644,772Science & Tech$388,451Human Services$369,518

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 budgetSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE: $630,650 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetGOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $384,700 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetFERNANDENO TATAVIAM BAND OF MISSION INDIANS: $320,192 over 2y, 13% of budgetCRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY: $296,500 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetAmah Mutsun Land Trust: $236,728 over 4y, 5.1% of budgetSIERRA INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT: $224,001 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetTREEPEOPLE INC: $184,604 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCoastal Corridor Alliance: $175,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetCOMPUTER-USING EDUCATORS INC: $164,450 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetSEMILLAS SOCIEDAD CIVIL: $150,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetBear Yuba Land Trust: $150,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetAsian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs - Community Education Foundation: $150,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetCIVICORPS: $149,863 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetHispanic Access Foundation: $147,598 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetSIERRA NEVADA ALLIANCE: $146,724 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetSanta Monica Mountains Fund: $141,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetThe Stewardship Network: $127,648 over 2y, 7.7% of budgetMEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO: $127,185 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetSAN JOAQUIN RIVER PARKWAY & CONSERVATION TRUST: $107,531 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetLOWELL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $105,348 over 2y, 16% of budgetCITY OF DREAMS: $100,000 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetADVENTURE RISK CHALLENGE: $100,000 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetARTS CONNECTION: $98,500 over 1y, 11% of budgetMEWATER FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $86,505 over 3y, 17% of budgetVENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY: $85,084 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetExploring New Horizons: $85,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetOUTSIDE THE LENS: $84,721 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetAMERICAN RIVER CONSERVANCY: $81,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetCity Surf Project: $81,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetProject Bandaloop: $75,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetLAND TOGETHER DBA INSIGHT GARDEN PROGRAM: $75,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetTuolumne River Preservation Trust dba Yosemite Rivers Alliance: $75,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY NATURE CONNECTION: $73,381 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetOrange County Coastkeeper: $73,200 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetDance Brigade: $71,106 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $70,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEarth Discovery Institute: $63,260 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetSierra State Parks Foundation: $61,725 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetLiteracy for Environmental Justice: $60,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetSonoma Ecology Center: $58,650 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetOUTDOOR OUTREACH: $57,250 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetRhythmix Cultural Works: $52,000 over 1y, 8.3% of budgetCITY HEIGHTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $51,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetYOUTH MENTORING ACTION NETWORK: $50,892 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetMID-CITY COMMUNITY ADVOCACY NETWORK: $50,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetUN MAR DE COLORES: $50,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetSHAW 4 COMMUNITY: $50,000 over 1y, 63% of budgetMOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ: $47,265 over 2y, 4.3% 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.

California State Park…Justice OutsideThe California Endowm…The Joseph and Vera L…Resources Legacy FundPatagoniaorgSave the Redwoods Lea…The California Wellne…The San Francisco Fou…East Bay Community Fo…Clif Family FoundationThe David and Lucile …
California State Parks FoundationCA56.9× affinity25 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California State Parks Foundation · Justice Outside · The California Endowment · The Joseph and Vera Long Foundation · Resources Legacy Fund · Patagoniaorg · Save the Redwoods League · The California Wellness Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · East Bay Community Foundation · Clif Family Foundation · The David and Lucile Packard 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 Parks California funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Parks California. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%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
    53report 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 141 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 Parks California’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