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The Ricketts Conservation Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Ricketts Conservation Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$216k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$56k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Environment$1.6MEducation$452kAnimals$193kArts & Culture$54kScience & Tech$20kRecreation & Sports$1k
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k4 grants · $160k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $56k
$45,469
Median grant
2
States reached
$4.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
University of Montana$55,693
Friends of the Bridger-Teton$48,000
University of Colorado - Denver$45,469
Wyoming Wetlands Society$41,666
Sublette County Conservation District$25,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 41% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 8%The Peregrine Fund: $20k → 8%The Greater Yellowstone Coalition: $163k → 10%Cornell University: $301k → 16%American Forests: $110k → 14%University of Colorado - Denver: $45k → 10%Trout Unlimited: $100k → 7%Wyoming Wetlands Society: $250k → 5%Sublette County Conservation District: $25k → 8%Cornell University: $151k → 16%Rocky Mountain Bird Conservatory dba Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: $48k → 10%Wyoming Wetlands Society: $250k → 5%Rocky Mountain Bird Conservatory dba Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: $33k → 10%Wyoming Wetlands Society: $250k → 5%Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory dba Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: $15k → 10%Wyoming Wetlands Society: $250k → 5%Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory dba Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: $5k → 10%Friends of the Bridger-Teton: $48k → 5%Wyoming Wetlands Society: $42k → 5%Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative: $2k → 5%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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 6 repeat orgs$489k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +39% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
7

Total granted

$1.8M
$416k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+39%

Still filing today

50%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 66% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $73k 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
EnvironmentAnimalsEducationOther
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

  • WW
    Wyoming Wetland Society
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.0M · revenue -4% · 80% of their budget
  • Cornell University
    2× · 2020–2021 · $452k · revenue +46%
  • UO
    University of Colorado - Denver
    3× · 2020–2024 · $100k

Funded once

  • GY
    GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION
    one grant, 2023 · $163k · revenue -47%
  • American Forestsgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $110k · revenue +47%
  • TU
    TROUT UNLIMITED INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +81%
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
Climate Conservation Dba Center for Large Landscape Conservation

We bring science, policy, and proven solutions directly to communities working to restore the integrity and natural connectivity of the landscapes in which they live. (see schedule o)

Environment
2
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
3
Wild Earth Society Incorporated

Wildlands Network works to reconnect, restore and rewild North America so that life-in all its diversity-can thrive.

Arts & Culture
4
Washington Forest Law Center

Dedicated to protecting the world's natural environment on behalf of the public by serving as a public interest law firm. refer to schedule o, part iii, line 4a, for list of litigated cases or advocacy work.

—
5
Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership
Environment
6
Swan Valley Connections

Maintain the swan valley's unique natural resources and ensure that a vibrant human community can sustain itself through stewardship, education, economic viability, and conservation on public and private lands.

Environment
7
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
8
Wild Salmon Rivers

To conserve functioning salmon/steelhead eco-system at watershed levels, integrate angling activities with basic scientific research, collect raw data, monitor environmental functions, salmon/steelhead population dynamics, public…

Environment
9
Wood River Land Trust Co

The wood river land trust's mission is to protect and sustain the treasured landscapes and life-giving waters of the wood river valley and to inspire love for this special place for generations to come.

Environment
10
Blackfoot Challenge Inc

The mission of The Blackfoot Challenge is to coordinate efforts that will conserve and enhance the natural resources and rural way of life in the Blackfoot Watershed for present and future generations.

Environment
11
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
12
Idaho Conservation League Inc

Icl's mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Yellowstone Coalition; the most unlike its peers is Wyoming Wetland Society. 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

9 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. 9 of the 15 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
6/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Wyoming Wetland Society: $1,041,666 · EnvironmentWyoming Wetland SocietyGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION: $162,750 · EnvironmentGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITIONAmerican Forests: $109,860 · EnvironmentAmerican ForestsFRIENDS OF THE BRIDGER-TETON: $48,000 · EnvironmentCornell University: $451,749 · EducationCornell UniversityUniversity of Colorado - Denver: $99,869 · OtherUniversity of…University of Montana: $92,224 · OtherUniversity of…SUBLETTE COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT: $25,000 · OtherSUBLETTE COUN…University of Colorado: $20,000 · OtherUniversity of…THE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $20,000 · OtherTHE PEREGRINE…Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory dba Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: $20,000 · OtherRocky Mountai…+2 more: $3,000 · OtherTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $100,000 · AnimalsTROUT UNL…ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIRD OBSERVATORY: $81,000 · AnimalsROCKY MOU…
Environment$1,362,276Education$451,749Other$280,093Animals$181,000

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 budgetWyoming Wetland Society: $1,041,666 over 5y, 80% of budgetCornell University: $451,749 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION: $162,750 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetAmerican Forests: $109,860 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN BIRD OBSERVATORY: $81,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE BRIDGER-TETON: $48,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNorthern Rockies Conservation Cooperative: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Amazonsmile Foundation
Amazonsmile FoundationWA2.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Ricketts Conservation Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ricketts Conservation Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%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
    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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Ricketts Conservation Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Ricketts Conservation Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 15 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 Ricketts Conservation’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
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    The regranting layer
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    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