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The Butler Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Butler Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$538k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$196k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$1.9MHealth$475kEducation$422kAnimals$216kArts & Culture$204kReligion$117kScience & Tech$25kRecreation & Sports$15k
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $9k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $74k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $456k
$50,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$6.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JOCOTOCO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION$196,290
MASS EYE & EAR ASSOCIATES$100,000
EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$58,750
Individual grant recipient$50,850
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NH$50,000
THE PHOENIX CONSERVANCY$28,500
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN$25,000
VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE$20,000
IGLESIA EVANGELICA JESUS DE NAZARET$9,105
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.

US giving: 88% of grant dollars ($3.0M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 12% that went abroad ($421k) is mapped below.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 60% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MASS EYE & EAR ASSOCIATES: $100k → 16%PEREGRINE FUND: $25k → 8%FORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $35k → 24%ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSERVANCY: $20k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: $25k → 10%EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $75k → 13%CHELAN-DOUGLAS LAND TRUST: $25k → 9%THE PHOENIX CONSERVANCY: $29k → 20%RAINFOREST TRUST: $63k → 6%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NH: $50k → 7%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $118k → 11%JOCOTOCO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $196k → 19%NH AUDUBON: $51k → 7%NH PUBLIC TELEVISION: $97k → 9%ELAINE CONNERS CENTER FOR WILDLIFE: $63k → 9%ENFIELD SHAKER MUSEUM: $30k → 10%MASS EYE & EAR ASSOCIATES: $95k → 16%FORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $35k → 24%EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $59k → 13%RAINFOREST TRUST: $60k → 6%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NH: $50k → 7%VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE: $20k → 9%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $110k → 11%JOCOTOCO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $100k → 19%AUDUBON SOCIETY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: $50k → 7%NH PUBLIC TELEVISION: $68k → 9%ELAINE CONNERS CENTER FOR WILDLIFE: $30k → 9%MASS EYE & EAR INFIRMARY: $73k → 16%EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $52k → 13%RAINFOREST TRUST: $45k → 6%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NH: $25k → 7%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $64k → 11%JOCOTOCO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $70k → 19%AUDUBON SOCIETY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: $20k → 7%NH PUBLIC TELEVISION: $68k → 9%MASS EYE & EAR ASSOCIATES: $65k → 16%EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $29k → 13%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NH: $25k → 7%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $45k → 11%JOCOTOCO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: $65k → 19%MASS EYE & EAR ASSOCIATES: $54k → 16%EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $29k → 13%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $39k → 11%MASS EYE & EAR INFIRMARY: $50k → 16%EARTH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $29k → 13%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $25k → 11%MASS EYE & EAR ASSOCIATES: $38k → 16%FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST: $19k → 11%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

VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
WI
MA
CT
VA
MD
NM
GA

Beyond the US: 12% of all-years giving ($421k)

2 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Ecuador$397k · 6 grants
United Kingdom$24k · 1 grant
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
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 19% of The Butler Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Butler Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 31% 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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.0M · 22 repeat orgs$423k to everyone else

22 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2024, 14 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
9

Total granted

$3.0M
$398k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+122%

Still filing today

45%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k 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
EnvironmentInternationalHealthArts & CultureEducationAnimalsOther
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

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $449k · revenue +287% · 62% of their budget
  • VI
    VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $106k · revenue +55%
  • FP
    FORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE
    2× · 2018–2019 · $70k · revenue +84%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $150k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $130k
  • CL
    CHELAN-DOUGLAS LAND TRUST
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -20%
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
The Mountain Institute Inc

Advance the well- being of mountain people and conservation of mountain environments.

—
2
Volcan Mountain Foundation

The Volcan Mountain Foundation's mission is to preserve Volcan Mountain Range in its natural state for all generations.

—
3
Wildlife Conservation Society

The wildlife conservation society (wcs) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Animals
4
Midcoast Conservancy

The mission of Midcoast Conservancy is to protect vital lands and waters on a scale that matters and to inspire wonder and action on behalf of all species and the Earth.

Environment
5
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
6
California Institute of Environmental Studies

The institute is dedicated to scientific research, the results of which are used to promote public awareness and education in the areas of conservation biology and ecology,including the wise use of natural resources.

Animals
7
Pinchot Institute for Conservation

The pinchot institute for conservation is a public benefit non-profit corporation. we are passionate about protecting nature and creating breakthroughs that result in more sustaianable ecosystems and economies. the institute is…

Environment
8
Fundacion Cordillera Tropical

Conservation of natural resources

International
9
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
10
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
11
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
12
Piscataquog Land Conservancy

The Piscataquog Land Conservancy is a nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1970. Its purpose is to conserve the natural and scenic environment of the Piscataquog, Souhegan and Nashua River watershed communities of southern…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Archaeological Conservancy; the most unlike its peers is Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates Inc. 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

17 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. 17 of the 32 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/17
Grantees still filing
12/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST INC: $448,527 · OtherFRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST INCIndividual grant recipient: $232,359 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $150,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NH: $150,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN NHIndividual grant recipient: $130,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIGLESIA EVANGELICA JESUS DE NAZARET: $117,105 · OtherIGLESIA EVANGELICA JESUS DE NAZARETELAINE CONNERS CENTER FOR WILDLIFE: $114,450 · OtherELAINE CONNERS CENTER FOR WILDLIFEIndividual grant recipient: $72,850 · OtherFORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $70,000 · OtherENFIELD SHAKER MUSEUM: $61,096 · Other+9 more: $178,620 · Other+9 moreMASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR ASSOCIATES INC: $352,000 · HealthMASSACHUSETTS E…MASSACHUSETTS EYE & EAR INFIRMARY: $123,333 · HealthMASSACHUSETTS E…EARTH University Foundation Inc: $281,944 · InternationalEARTH Universi…RAINFOREST TRUST: $167,000 · InternationalRAINFOREST TRU…Jocotoco Conservation Foundation: $431,290 · EducationJocotoco Conse…VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE INC: $106,446 · EnvironmentAudubon Society of New Hampshire: $70,000 · EnvironmentPHOENIX CONSERVANCY: $38,500 · EnvironmentCHELAN-DOUGLAS LAND TRUST: $25,250 · EnvironmentCAPITOL LAND TRUST: $20,200 · Environment+1 more: $5,000 · EnvironmentJOHN HAY ESTATE AT THE FELLS: $34,850 · AnimalsChosen Vale Inc Enfield Shaker Museum: $25,600 · Arts & Culture
Other$1,725,007Health$475,333International$448,944Education$431,290Environment$265,396Animals$34,850Arts & Culture$25,600

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 budgetFRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST INC: $448,527 over 6y, 62% of budgetJocotoco Conservation Foundation: $431,290 over 4y, 7.8% of budgetEARTH University Foundation Inc: $281,944 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetRAINFOREST TRUST: $167,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS EYE & EAR INFIRMARY: $123,333 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE INC: $106,446 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetFORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $70,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetAudubon Society of New Hampshire: $70,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetPHOENIX CONSERVANCY: $38,500 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetJOHN HAY ESTATE AT THE FELLS: $34,850 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetCHELAN-DOUGLAS LAND TRUST: $25,250 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCAPITOL LAND TRUST: $20,200 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSustainable Woodstock Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 3.1% 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 FRIENDS OF MINDO CLOUD FOREST INC ↗
  • Who funds Jocotoco Conservation Foundation ↗
  • Who funds MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR ASSOCIATES INC ↗
  • Who funds EARTH University Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds RAINFOREST TRUST ↗
  • Who funds MASSACHUSETTS EYE & EAR INFIRMARY ↗
  • Who funds VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE INC ↗
  • Who funds FORT PECK COMMUNITY COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Audubon Society of New Hampshire ↗
  • Who funds PHOENIX CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds JOHN HAY ESTATE AT THE FELLS ↗
  • Who funds Chosen Vale Inc Enfield Shaker Museum ↗
  • Who funds CHELAN-DOUGLAS LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds THE PEREGRINE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds CAPITOL LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds Sustainable Woodstock Inc ↗

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.

New Hampshire Charita…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
New Hampshire Charitable FoundationNH14.9× affinity5 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 The Butler Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Butler Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Vermont Institute of Natural Science Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
2report 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 32 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 Butler’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