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Wilburforce Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Wilburforce Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$19M
Granted FY2024still arriving
225
Grants FY2024still arriving
20
States reached
$800k
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$65MPhilanthropy$6.9MAnimals$4.9MEducation$4.6MScience & Tech$2.1MArts & Culture$995kCommunity Improvement$835kCivil Rights$790kOther$0
02FY2024 · 225 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k14 grants · $54k
  • $10k–50k60 grants · $1.8M
  • $50k–250k142 grants · $14M
  • $250k+9 grants · $3.9M
$50,000
Median grant
20
States reached
$153M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY$800,000
TOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY$800,000
TOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY$800,000
MAKEWAY FOUNDATION$264,000
NEW VENTURE FUND$250,000
GRAND CANYON TRUST$250,000
HEART OF THE ROCKIES INITIATIVE$250,000
YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON CONSERVATION INITIATIVE$250,000
NEW VENTURE FUND$250,000
WILDLANDS NETWORK$240,000
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY$225,000
THE GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA$210,000
SKY ISLAND ALLIANCE$200,000
COAST CONSERVATION ENDOWMENT FUND FOUNDATION$200,000
CANADIAN PARKS AND WILDERNESS SOCIETY$200,000
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.

US giving: 81% of grant dollars ($71M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 19% that went abroad ($16M) is mapped below.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $260k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 54% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%BEAVER INSTITUTE: $50k → 12%BEAVER INSTITUTE: $10k → 12%BEAVER INSTITUTE: $5k → 12%TIDES CENTER: $75k → 10%RURAL UTAH PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $30k → 8%RURAL UTAH PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $30k → 8%RURAL UTAH PROJECT EDUCATION FUND: $10k → 8%STEWARDSHIP UTAH FOUNDATION: $50k → 8%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

AK
WA
ID
MT
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
KY
VA
AZ
NM
NC
DC
GA
FL

Beyond the US: 19% of all-years giving ($16M)

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

grant dollars sentlessmore
Canada$16M · 198 grants
Mexico$20k · 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 8% of Wilburforce Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Wilburforce Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 19% 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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$78M · 155 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

155 repeat relationships: 131 still active in FY2024, 24 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

155
58

Total granted

$78M
$1.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+26%

Still filing today

75%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $508k 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
EnvironmentAnimalsEducationArts & CultureCivil RightsPhilanthropyOther
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

  • TR
    TOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $8.0M · revenue +37% · 97% of their budget
  • YT
    YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.7M · revenue +44%
  • SI
    SKY ISLAND ALLIANCE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +48% · 30% of their budget

Funded once

  • TC
    THE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE
    one grant, 2021 · $175k · revenue -14%
  • WU
    WILD UTAH PROJECT DBA SAGELAND COLLABORATIVE
    one grant, 2021 · $120k
  • AL
    AMERICAN LANDS PROJECTgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $100k · revenue +105% · 40% of their budget
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
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.

—
2
Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Support ecosystem-based wildlife management by increasing public awareness of wildlife issues, responding to information requests, advocating for science-based wildlife habitat management through proposal and comment submissions, and…

Environment
3
Washington Wild

Washington wild protects and restores wild lands and waters in washington state through advocacy, education and civic engagement.

Animals
4
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
5
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
6
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
7
Conservation Legacy

Conservation legacy engages future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation's lands through community-based service.in 2024, conservation legacy engaged 2,524 participants who completed over 1.5 million service hours on public…

Youth Development
8
Cascades Carnivore Project

Our mission is to study and restore carnivore populations at risk of extinction and the mountain ecosystems they call home through innovative science, strong partnerships and local community action.

Science & Tech
9
Council of Western State Foresters

The council of western state foresters (cwsf) promotes the conservation, protection, and sustainable management of forests for today and generations to come by leading collective action, fostering learning, facilitating resource sharing,…

Environment
10
Cowiche Canyon Conservancy

Protecting our shrub-steppe and connecting people to this vanishing landscape.

—
11
Wildlife Conservation Network Inc

Connect conservationists and supporters, deploy resources to the field, provide conservationists with tools and support they need to succeed.

Animals
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wildearth Guardians; the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. 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

161 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. 161 of the 230 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.

8
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
43
Early backer (in before they grew)
160/161
Grantees still filing
113/161
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $3,345,000 · EnvironmentTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETYNEW VENTURE FUND: $3,200,300 · EnvironmentNEW VENTURE FUNDYELLOWSTONE TO YUKON: $1,697,000 · EnvironmentYELLOWSTONE TO YUKONSKY ISLAND ALLIANCE: $1,447,500 · EnvironmentHEART OF THE ROCKIES INITIATIVE: $1,230,000 · EnvironmentTHE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC: $1,075,000 · Environment+62 more: $18,109,955 · Environment+62 moreMAKEWAY FOUNDATION: $4,369,000 · OtherMAKEWAY FOUNDATIONCANADIAN PARKS AND WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $2,896,000 · OtherCANADIAN PARKS AND WILDERNESS SOCIETYUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: $1,625,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $1,237,000 · Other+92 more: $22,690,771 · Other+92 moreTOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY: $7,963,338 · Community ImprovementTOGETHER RI…SPRUCE ROOT INC: $481,000 · Community ImprovementSPRUCE ROOT…+1 more: $50,000 · Community ImprovementDefenders of Wildlife: $1,075,000 · AnimalsTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $935,000 · AnimalsTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $657,000 · AnimalsWILD SALMON CENTER: $655,000 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation Society: $610,000 · AnimalsENDANGERED SPECIES COALITION: $530,000 · AnimalsMONTANA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $445,000 · AnimalsIdaho Wildlife Federation: $374,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $310,000 · AnimalsWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $275,000 · Animals+6 more: $702,000 · AnimalsROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $2,631,419 · PhilanthropyTHE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $175,000 · PhilanthropyTHE CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY INC: $150,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $205,000 · PhilanthropyCompass Science Communication Inc: $1,392,250 · Science & TechConservation Science Partners Inc: $1,290,000 · Science & TechSOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY NORTH AMERICA INC: $310,000 · Science & TechCONSULTATIVE GROUP ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC Biodiversity Funders Grp: $115,000 · Science & TechWild Earth Society Incorporated: $1,380,500 · Arts & CultureINSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM & NATURAL RESOURCES: $495,000 · Arts & CultureMONTANA FREE PRESS: $250,000 · Arts & CultureNational Association of Tribal Historic Officers Inc: $145,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $175,000 · Arts & Culture
Environment$30,104,755Other$32,817,771Community Improvement$8,494,338Animals$6,568,000Philanthropy$3,161,419Science & Tech$3,107,250Arts & Culture$2,445,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY: $7,963,338 over 5y, 97% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $3,345,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $3,200,300 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $2,631,419 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetYELLOWSTONE TO YUKON: $1,697,000 over 5y, 10% of budgetSKY ISLAND ALLIANCE: $1,447,500 over 5y, 30% of budgetCompass Science Communication Inc: $1,392,250 over 5y, 34% of budgetWild Earth Society Incorporated: $1,380,500 over 5y, 10% of budgetConservation Science Partners Inc: $1,290,000 over 5y, 19% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $1,237,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetHEART OF THE ROCKIES INITIATIVE: $1,230,000 over 5y, 31% of budgetTHE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC: $1,075,000 over 5y, 3.0% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $1,075,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $955,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $935,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetHEADWATERS ECONOMICS INC: $870,000 over 5y, 6.9% of budgetConservation Lands Foundation: $840,000 over 5y, 4.6% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $786,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetWESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $751,000 over 5y, 5.3% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $750,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION: $734,500 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetRESOURCE MEDIA: $718,000 over 5y, 4.1% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $700,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetOutdoor Alliance: $697,500 over 5y, 19% of budgetEcoAdapt: $692,500 over 5y, 14% of budgetTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $657,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetWILD SALMON CENTER: $655,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetSITKA CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $636,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetFRIENDS OF NEVADA WILDERNESS: $625,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $610,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetKLAMATH-SISKIYOU WILDLANDS CENTER: $600,000 over 5y, 14% of budgetFRIENDS OF CEDAR MESA: $552,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetENDANGERED SPECIES COALITION: $530,000 over 5y, 15% of budgetWILDEARTH GUARDIANS: $510,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetIDAHO CONSERVATION LEAGUE INC: $509,650 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetUtah Dine Bikeyah: $505,000 over 4y, 20% of budgetNEW MEXICO WILDERNESS ALLIANCE: $505,000 over 5y, 5.3% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM & NATURAL RESOURCES: $495,000 over 4y, 20% of budgetOREGON NATURAL DESERT ASSOCIATION: $490,000 over 5y, 6.2% of budgetSPRUCE ROOT INC: $481,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE: $480,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetCONSERVATION NW: $475,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $475,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $470,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMONTANA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $445,000 over 5y, 13% of budgetBACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS: $430,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetSageland Collaborative: $426,845 over 4y, 23% of budgetNUESTRA TIERRA CONSERVATION PROJECT: $420,000 over 5y, 16% 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 TOGETHER RISING AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds NEW VENTURE FUND ↗
  • Who funds ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC ↗
  • Who funds YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON ↗
  • Who funds SKY ISLAND ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds Compass Science Communication Inc ↗
  • Who funds Wild Earth Society Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds Conservation Science Partners Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HEART OF THE ROCKIES INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds THE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds Defenders of Wildlife ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds TROUT UNLIMITED INC ↗
  • Who funds HEADWATERS ECONOMICS INC ↗
  • Who funds Conservation Lands Foundation ↗
  • Who funds SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN RIVERS INC ↗
  • Who funds GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION ↗
  • Who funds RESOURCE MEDIA ↗
  • Who funds THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC ↗
  • Who funds Outdoor Alliance ↗
  • Who funds EcoAdapt ↗
  • Who funds THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds WILD SALMON CENTER ↗
  • Who funds SITKA CONSERVATION SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF NEVADA WILDERNESS ↗
  • Who funds Wildlife Conservation Society ↗
  • Who funds KLAMATH-SISKIYOU WILDLANDS CENTER ↗

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.

PatagoniaorgResources Legacy FundWestern Conservation …The Wilderness SocietyThe Pew Charitable Tr…The Nature ConservancyThe William & Flora H…National Forest Found…The Kendeda FundTortuga Charitable Fo…The New-Land Foundati…Doris Duke Charitable…
PatagoniaorgCA98.7× affinity62 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Patagoniaorg · Resources Legacy Fund · Western Conservation Foundation · The Wilderness Society · The Pew Charitable Trusts · The Nature Conservancy · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · National Forest Foundation · The Kendeda Fund · Tortuga Charitable Foundation · The New-Land Foundation Inc · Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Inc

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 Wilburforce Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wilburforce Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 130%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • High Desert Partnership: 100% of income from government
  • Willamette Partnership: 76% of income from government
  • Wild Salmon Center: 49% of income from government
  • Compass Science Communication Inc: 29% of income from government
  • Oregon Natural Desert Association: 9% of income from government
  • Bark: 2% of income from government
  • Oregon Natural Resources Council Fund Oregon Wild: 2% of income from government
  • The Center for Effective Philanthropy Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Oregon State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
13get no government money at all
22report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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 Wilburforce Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Wilburforce 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 230 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 Wilburforce’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