Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation Dossiers
Plinth

· Private foundation

Wild Lives 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.

$2.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
12
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$600k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2017–2024.

Animals$5.6MEnvironment$2.6MPhilanthropy$1.9MEmployment$750kArts & Culture$660kHealth$465kCivil Rights$110kInternational$75kOther$0
02FY2024 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $13k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $455k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.8M
$125,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEO PHILANTHROPY INC$600,000
NEO PHILANTHROPY INC$500,000
SR3 SEALIFE RESPONSE REHABILITATION AND RESEARCH$460,000
NATIONAL PHILANTHRIOPIC TRUST$250,000
WILDLIFE DIRECT INC$130,000
WILDLIFE DIRECT INC$125,000
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ZEITZ MOCAA$100,000
WASHINGTON WILDLIFE FIRST$50,000
WASHINGTON WILDLIFE FIRST$50,000
SAMISH INDIAN NATION$10,000
Individual grant recipient$8,050
SR3 SEALIFE RESPONSE REHABILITATION AND RESEARCH$5,000
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 (FY21–21, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SISTERS UNITED: $30k → 14%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

WA
MT
NY
MA
PA
CA
CO
AZ
DC
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$11M · 12 repeat orgs$897k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +57% since the first grant, against +4% for the ones you funded once.

12 repeat relationships — 5 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
14

Total granted

$11M
$874k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+57%
+4%

Still filing today

83%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $23k 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
AnimalsEnvironmentArts & CultureInternationalPublic BenefitHuman ServicesOther

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

  • SS
    SR3 Sealife Response Rehabilitation and Research
    6× · 2019–2024 · $4.0M · revenue +84% · 51% of their budget
  • NEO Philanthropy Inc
    2× · 2023–2024 · $1.6M · revenue +1%
  • WI
    WILDLIFEDIRECT INC
    6× · 2017–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +86% · 70% of their budget

Funded once

  • SI
    SARARA INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2023 · $200k · revenue -19%
  • NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +108%
  • LB
    LET'S BREAKTHROUGH INC
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue -18%

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
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
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
Rainforest Trust

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

International
4
Wild Earth Allies Inc

Our mission is to protect vital areas of our natural world for the benefit of wildlife, habitats, and people by inspiring collaborative action. Our vision is a world where wildlife and people flourish in healthy ecosystems that sustain us…

Environment
5
Environment Now
—
6
The Nature Conservancy

The mission of the nature conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

—
7
Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities.

Animals
8
The Earth Species Project

The Earth Species Project (ESP) develops frontier AI to amplify the voices of nature, creating new pathways for the transformation of our systemsand ourselves. We envision a relationship with the rest of nature that allows the diversity of…

—
9
Wildlife Alliance Inc

Wildlife alliance is the leader in direct protection of forests and wildlife in tropical asia. our mission is to combat deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and poverty by partnering with local communities and governments.…

Animals
10
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
11
Endangered Species International

Endangered Species International is strongly committed to reversing the trend of human-induced species extinction, saving endangered animals, and preserving wild places.

Animals
12
Rainforest Action Network

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) works toward a world where the rights and dignity of all communities are respected and where healthy forests, a stable climate and wild biodiversity are protected and celebrated.

Environment

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

Your grantees are a median of 21 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%5%<5yr14%24%5–10yr19%19%10–20yr16%43%20–35yr13%5%35–55yr16%5%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%2%<5yr14%23%5–10yr19%42%10–20yr16%16%20–35yr13%16%35–55yr16%1%55yr+

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

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/23
the rest of the field
13%
240,396/1,819,542

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

21 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 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 21 of the 30 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/21
Grantees still filing
14/21
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

SR3 Sealife Response Rehabilitation and Research — $4,013,000 · AnimalsSR3 Sealife Response Rehabilitation and Researc…CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC — $632,871 · AnimalsCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INCSpace for Giants USA Inc — $169,700 · Animals+4 more — $253,279 · AnimalsONE EARTH PHILANTHROPY — $1,500,000 · EnvironmentONE EARTH PHILAN…SARARA INSTITUTE — $200,000 · EnvironmentSARARA INSTITUTEPROTECT ZANGLE COVE — $63,014 · Environment+1 more — $7,322 · EnvironmentSEALIFE RESPONSE REHABILITATION AND RESEARCH — $1,215,000 · OtherSEALIFE RESPONSE …Washington Wildlife First — $200,000 · OtherWashington Wildli…WASHINGTON WILDLIFE FIRST — $100,000 · OtherWASHINGTON WILDLI…LET'S BREAKTHROUGH INC — $100,000 · OtherLET'S BREAKTHROUG…+9 more — $225,050 · Other+9 moreNEO Philanthropy Inc — $1,600,000 · Public BenefitNEO Philanthro…WILDLIFEDIRECT INC — $1,001,900 · InternationalWILDLIFED…+1 more — $25,000 · InternationalAMERICAN FRIENDS OF ZEITZ MOCAA — $520,000 · Arts & CultureAFRICAN CEREMONIES INC — $90,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST — $250,000 · Philanthropy
Animals$5,068,850Environment$1,770,336Other$1,840,050Public Benefit$1,600,000International$1,026,900Arts & Culture$610,000Philanthropy$250,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetSR3 Sealife Response Rehabilitation and Research — $4,013,000 over 6y, 51% of budgetNEO Philanthropy Inc — $1,600,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetONE EARTH PHILANTHROPY — $1,500,000 over 3y, 9.9% of budgetWILDLIFEDIRECT INC — $1,001,900 over 6y, 70% of budgetCENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY INC — $632,871 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF ZEITZ MOCAA — $520,000 over 4y, 63% of budgetNATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST — $250,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSARARA INSTITUTE — $200,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetWashington Wildlife First — $200,000 over 2y, 37% of budgetSpace for Giants USA Inc — $169,700 over 2y, 17% of budgetNEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATION — $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLET'S BREAKTHROUGH INC — $100,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetAFRICAN CEREMONIES INC — $90,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetPROTECT ZANGLE COVE — $63,014 over 2y, 49% of budgetWILD FISH CONSERVANCY — $59,244 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC — $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSISTERS UNITED — $30,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetVITAL VOICES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP INC — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL GRANTMAKERS ASSOCIATION — $7,322 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRACHEL'S NETWORK INC — $7,000 over 1y, 0.5% 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.

The Goldman Sachs Cha…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift FundNY12.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Wild Lives 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
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%your share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • New England Aquarium Corporation — 12% 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
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
typical government reliance, FY20–25

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.

05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Wild Lives Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Wild Lives 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 30 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-PF 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

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 camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home
State money flows
the interactive map of money crossing state lines