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· Public charity

The Outdoor Foundation

The foundation is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes related to outdoor recreation activites and education, including the preservation of the natural environment, addressing issues of the outdoor industry and promoting participation.

$662k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$115k
Largest
01What you fund
0199% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172024.

Environment$3.5MRecreation & Sports$1.5MYouth Development$565kAnimals$339kPhilanthropy$286kPublic Benefit$205kHuman Services$187kEducation$80kOther$0
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $192k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $465k
$25,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$1.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WILDERNESS INQUIRY$115,400
DETROIT PARKS COALITION$100,000
SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION$100,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$100,000
CHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST$50,000
MAINE AUDUBON$25,000
RIVER CITY OUTDOORS$25,000
RIVERSPORT FOUNDATION$25,000
WEST ATLANTA WATERSHED ALLIANCE INC$25,000
CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS$25,000
THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION$25,000
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION$25,000
CHILDREN AND NATURE NETWORK$16,812
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $426k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE NEW YORK FOUNDLIG: $15k → 17%RIVERSPORT FOUNDATION: $105k → 16%YMCA OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT: $101k → 21%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE OF MILWAUKEE: $6k → 17%YAKUTAT TLINGI TRIBE NON-PROFIT: $14k → 12%THE SHELTOWEE TRACE ASSOCIATION: $6k → 24%THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING: $12k → 17%RIVERSPORT FOUNDATION: $52k → 16%RIVERSPORT FOUNDATION: $31k → 16%BETTIES360: $5k → 12%WOMEN'S WILDERNESS INSITITUTE: $5k → 12%RIVERSPORT FOUNDATION: $26k → 16%YMCA OF SAN FRANCISCO: $23k → 10%RIVERSPORT FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

AK
ME
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
AR
TN
NC
DC
OK
LA
AL
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$4.7M · 26 repeat orgs$1.4M to everyone else

26 repeat relationships — 9 still active in FY2024, 17 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
84

Total granted

$4.7M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+66%
+85%

Still filing today

96%
85%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $117k 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
EnvironmentRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentEducationArts & CultureOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • NP
    NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2018 · $724k · revenue +244%
  • NW
    NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $329k · revenue +37%
  • SP
    SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $302k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit
    one grant, 2022 · $101k · revenue +16%
  • SC
    SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $28k · revenue -55%
  • RO
    REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY
    one grant, 2020 · $25k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust leads and inspires action to conserve and enhance the landscape of the Mountains to Sound Greenway, ensuring a long-term balance between people and nature.

Environment
2
The Wildlands Conservancy

The Wildlands Conservancy's dual mission is to preserve the beauty and biodiversity of the earth and to provide programs so that children may know the wonder and joy of nature.

Environment
3
Naturebridge

To connect young people to the wonder and science of the natural world, igniting self-discovery and inspiring stewardship of our planet.

Environment
4
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
5
Washington Trails Association

Washington trails association is on a mission to connect everyone to the outdoors and build a community that gives back to trails and public lands.

6
Whatcom Land Trust

The mission of the Whatcom Land Trust is to preserve and protect wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural and open space lands in Whatcom County for future generations by securing interests in land and promoting land stewardship.

Environment
7
Natural Resources Foundation of

To protect wisconsin's lands, waters, and wildlife by providing funding, leading partnerships, and connecting all people with nature.

8
The Adirondack Council Inc

The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…

Environment
9
Tuolumne River Preservation Trust dba Yosemite Rivers Alliance

At Yosemite Rivers Alliance, we unite conservation and community to protect and restore the three rivers that ?ow through the Yosemite Regionthe Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced.

10
Greater Yellowstone Coalition

Greater yellowstone coalition works with all people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the greater yellowstone ecosystem, now and for future generations.

Environment
11
The Wetlands Conservancy Inc

Founded in 1981, the wetlands conservancy is dedicated to working in partnership with communities statewide to permanently protect, conserve and restore oregon's greatest wetlands.

Environment
12
Western Rivers Conservancy

Western rivers conservancy's mission is to protect outstanding river ecosystems in the western united states. continued on schedule o.we acquire land to conserve critical habitat, provide public access for compatible use and enjoyment, and…

Environment

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wildlands Trust Inc and the most unlike its peers is River City Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyLand Conservation Organizat…Ymca Community CentersYouth Development CentersNative Hawaiian Community D…At-Risk Youth MentoringEnvironmental Advocacy Orga…Public University Foundatio…Faith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Community Arts OrganizationsYouth Sports Booster Organi…
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 28 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%2%<5yr14%1%5–10yr19%25%10–20yr16%34%20–35yr13%20%35–55yr16%19%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%2%<5yr14%5%5–10yr19%10%10–20yr16%22%20–35yr13%37%35–55yr16%25%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 2% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.9% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.9%1/114
the rest of the field
13%
240,395/1,819,451

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

102 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 102 of the 114 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
51
Early backer (in before they grew)
100/102
Grantees still filing
86/102
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION — $724,200 · OtherNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATIONCITY OF GRAND RAPIDS — $486,000 · OtherCITY OF GRAND RAPIDSTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY — $300,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYCHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST — $300,000 · OtherCHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST+47 more — $757,012 · Other+47 moreTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND — $265,590 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LANDWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC — $250,750 · EnvironmentWILDERNESS INQUIRY INCTHORNE ECOLOGICAL INSTITUTE — $231,114 · EnvironmentTHORNE ECOLOGICAL INSTITUTEMaine Audubon Society — $229,499 · EnvironmentMaine Audubon SocietyWest Atlanta Watershed Alliance — $214,410 · EnvironmentWest Atlanta Watershed Allian…+32 more — $623,975 · Environment+32 moreRIVERSPORT FOUNDATION — $489,000 · Human ServicesRIVERSPORT …YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit — $101,000 · Human ServicesYMCA of Met…NEW YORK FOUNDLING — $27,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO — $23,200 · Human Services+5 more — $35,700 · Human ServicesTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $485,000 · PhilanthropyTHE SAN D…QUIMBY FAMILY FOUNDATION — $110,000 · PhilanthropyQUIMBY FA…+1 more — $10,000 · PhilanthropySEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION — $302,000 · Recreation & SportsDETROIT PARKS COALITION — $100,000 · Recreation & SportsEducation Without Walls — $25,000 · Recreation & SportsNew York-New Jersey Trail Conference Inc — $23,000 · Recreation & SportsFRIENDS OF KENILWORTH AQUATIC GARDENS — $21,000 · Recreation & SportsCatalyst Sports Inc — $20,000 · Recreation & Sports+5 more — $41,800 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION — $328,500 · Animals+1 more — $10,000 · AnimalsRIVER CITY FOUNDATION — $326,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$2,567,212Environment$1,815,338Human Services$675,900Philanthropy$605,000Recreation & Sports$532,800Animals$338,500Food & Nutrition$326,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION — $724,200 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetRIVERSPORT FOUNDATION — $489,000 over 6y, 2.9% of budgetTHE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION — $485,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION — $328,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetRIVER CITY FOUNDATION — $326,000 over 4y, 7.0% of budgetSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION — $302,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY — $300,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST — $300,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND — $265,590 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC — $250,750 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetTHORNE ECOLOGICAL INSTITUTE — $231,114 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetMaine Audubon Society — $229,499 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetWest Atlanta Watershed Alliance — $214,410 over 3y, 13% of budgetQUIMBY FAMILY FOUNDATION — $110,000 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetYMCA of Metropolitan Detroit — $101,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDETROIT PARKS COALITION — $100,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetYADKIN RIVER GREENWAY COUNCIL — $50,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetTIMUCUAN PARKS FOUNDATION INC — $49,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club — $49,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCE INC — $47,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetCONSERVATION LEGACY — $44,800 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOUTDOOR OUTREACH — $38,400 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetFriends of Saguaro National Park — $32,500 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetMISSISSIPPI PARK CONNECTION — $30,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION — $28,075 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK FOUNDLING — $27,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Youth Connection Inc — $25,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetEducation Without Walls — $25,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetFriends of Katahdin Woods & Waters — $25,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetGOLDEN HILLS RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT — $25,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetFORD'S THEATRE SOCIETY — $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGroundwork Richmond Inc — $25,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetWHIDBEY CAMANO LAND TRUST — $24,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBIG BEND NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION INC — $24,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetWILDLANDS TRUST INC — $24,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetWILD RIVERS CONSERVANCY OF THE ST CROIX & NAMEKAGON — $24,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO — $23,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNew York-New Jersey Trail Conference Inc — $23,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetFRESHWATER LAND TRUST — $22,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF KENILWORTH AQUATIC GARDENS — $21,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetURBAN ECOLOGY CENTER INC — $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPROJECT AVARY INC ALTERNATIVE VENTURES FOR AT RISK YOUTH — $20,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetNAHANT MARSH EDUCATION CENTER — $20,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR KIDS — $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetAMERICAN YOUTHWORKS — $19,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

National Park FoundationDC62.1× affinity30 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Park Foundation · National Recreation Foundation Incorporated · Patagoniaorg · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Rei Cooperative Action Fund · The Nature Conservancy · National Environmental Education and Training Foundation Inc · Clif Family Foundation · National Park Trust Inc · Justice Outside · National Forest Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Outdoor Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 50%1%4%8%15%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 60%
  • Chesapeake Bay Trust100% of income from government
  • Siuslaw Watershed Council Inc100% of income from government
  • Raritan Headwaters Association94% of income from government
  • Rock Creek Conservancy Inc60% of income from government
  • Isles Inc21% of income from government
  • Shorerivers Inc13% of income from government
  • Wildlands Trust Inc5% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
30report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
4rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 114 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph