How much does Wyss Foundation give?

Wyss Foundation reported 124 itemized grants totaling $140,992,919, out of $149,392,735 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2023 IRS filing. It funded between 86 and 120 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.

What does Wyss Foundation fund?

By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2023, its largest causes are Environment (16%), Science & Tech (10%), Recreation & Sports (7%).

Who are Wyss Foundation's largest grantees?

By total granted over FY2020 to FY2023: African Parks Foundation of America ($54M), The Conservation Fund a Nonprofit Corporation ($26M), The Trust for Public Land ($19M).

Does Wyss Foundation fund new organizations?

In FY2023, 18% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.

Does Wyss Foundation accept unsolicited applications?

Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

Which funders back the same organizations as Wyss Foundation?

Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Resources Legacy Fund, Western Conservation Foundation, Patagoniaorg.

Where is Wyss Foundation based?

Wyss Foundation is based in DC.

Foundation Dossiers

Washington, D.C. · Private foundation

Wyss 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.

$149M
Granted FY2023: 124
Itemized grants FY2023: 120
Organizations funded FY2023: 18%
First-time grantees FY2023

Read the full brief

Itemized, FY2023: $141M; The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
Median grant, FY2023: $200,000
Largest grant, FY2023: $24,064,756
Organizations funded a year: 86 to 120; FY2020 to FY2023
States reached, FY2023: 32
Total assets, FY2023: $1.7B
Applications: Preselected organizations only; Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 18% of the organizations Wyss Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 5% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6.5M went to new ones.

RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

EnvironmentPublic BenefitInternationalArts & CultureHuman ServicesAnimalsOther

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.

The numbers by year

Fiscal year	Organizations funded	To those organizations	First-time grantees
FY2023	120	$127M	18%
FY2022	86	$141M	30%
FY2021	109	$105M	28%
FY2020	100	$97M	n/a

98% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$126MScience & Tech$81MRecreation & Sports$57MEducation$57MPhilanthropy$41MAnimals$37MHuman Services$36MPublic Benefit$18MOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2023, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Grantee	Total granted	Years	Share of their budget
African Parks Foundation of America	$53,611,930	4	64%
The Conservation Fund a Nonprofit Corporation	$25,867,241	3	5%
The Trust for Public Land	$19,232,350	4	4%
Frankfurt Zoological Society - US Inc	$11,679,000	4	31%
Oceana Inc	$9,730,000	4	8%
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities	$9,500,000	4	9%
Resources Legacy Fund	$7,955,000	4	6%
New York University	$6,544,362	2	0%
Rewild	$5,435,000	2	7%
Children's Hospital Los Angeles	$4,000,000	4	0%

Show all 125 grantees

All grantees of Wyss Foundation by total granted
Grantee	Total granted	Years	Share of their budget
African Parks Foundation of America	$53,611,930	4	64%
The Conservation Fund a Nonprofit Corporation	$25,867,241	3	5%
The Trust for Public Land	$19,232,350	4	4%
Frankfurt Zoological Society - US Inc	$11,679,000	4	31%
Oceana Inc	$9,730,000	4	8%
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities	$9,500,000	4	9%
Resources Legacy Fund	$7,955,000	4	6%
New York University	$6,544,362	2	0%
Rewild	$5,435,000	2	7%
Children's Hospital Los Angeles	$4,000,000	4	0%
The Grand Canyon Trust Inc	$4,000,000	4	15%
Center for Responsible Lending	$3,912,500	3	27%
The Wilderness Society	$3,624,700	2	5%
Conservation Lands Foundation	$3,225,000	2	22%
Georgetown University	$2,840,000	4	0%
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund	$2,527,000	2	37%
The Pew Charitable Trusts	$2,334,000	4	0%
Sheriff's Meadow Foundation	$2,174,993	2	11%
Thomas Jefferson University	$2,000,000	4	0%
Demos a Network for Ideas and Action Ltd	$1,650,000	3	8%
Open Space Institute Inc	$1,595,000	4	24%
Pams Foundation Inc	$1,500,000	4	34%
Public Private Strategies Institute	$1,400,000	2	13%
Teton Youth and Family Services	$1,375,000	3	23%
Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Teton Area	$1,300,000	2	21%
Regents of the University of Michigan	$1,240,532	4	n/a
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund	$1,170,000	4	1%
One22 Inc	$1,100,000	3	11%
National Health Law Program Inc	$1,100,000	4	3%
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy	$1,000,000	2	23%
National Park Trust Inc	$800,000	4	8%
The University of Montana Foundation	$789,319	4	1%
The Center for Advanced Defense Studies	$750,000	3	2%
The Campaign Legal Center Inc	$750,000	1	3%
Constitutional Accountability Center	$725,000	3	13%
Island Autism Group Inc	$555,000	2	37%
Greater Yellowstone Coalition	$500,000	1	4%
Society of Family Planning	$500,000	2	28%
Sierra Club Foundation	$420,000	4	0%
Mental Health & Recovery Services of Jackson Hole	$420,000	3	7%
World Health Dental Organization	$400,000	4	60%
Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust	$400,000	1	3%
Advocates for Youth	$400,000	1	4%
Oregon Natural Desert Association	$382,500	4	7%
Rosie's Place Inc	$380,000	3	1%
The Arc of the United States	$380,000	1	4%
Northern Arizona University Foundation	$358,775	4	0%
Museum of Fine Arts	$350,000	1	0%
Greater Boston Food Bank Inc	$350,000	1	0%
Attention Inc	$300,000	3	4%
Water Foundation	$300,000	1	2%
On the Rise Inc	$275,000	3	7%
Brookline Food Pantry Inc	$275,000	2	6%
University of Colorado Foundation	$263,345	4	0%
Roxbury Stone House Inc	$240,000	3	3%
Pennsylvania Home of the Sparrow	$230,000	3	8%
St John's Health Foundation	$225,000	1	n/a
Rainforest Trust	$219,000	1	0%
A Better Balance Inc	$215,000	1	7%
Hopephl	$210,000	3	2%
American Academy of Arts & Sciences	$200,000	1	1%
Unidosus	$200,000	1	0%
Wyoming Outdoor Council	$200,000	2	5%
New Mexico Wildlife Federation	$187,500	2	9%
Conservation Colorado Education Fund	$187,500	2	3%
Good Samaritan Mission	$180,000	3	11%
New Mexico Wilderness Alliance	$180,000	2	3%
Montana Wilderness Association	$175,000	2	3%
Meals on Wheels of Chester County	$170,000	3	13%
Chester County Food Bank	$170,000	3	1%
Safe Harbor of Chester County Inc	$165,000	3	6%
Ecoflight	$162,500	4	6%
Women's Lunch Place Inc	$160,000	2	2%
Philabundance	$160,000	3	0%
Hole Food Rescue	$160,000	3	6%
The Arc of Chester County	$160,000	3	0%
Good Neighbors Inc	$155,000	3	8%
Abby Kelley Foster House Inc	$155,000	3	4%
Idaho Conservation League Inc	$152,800	2	3%
The Wilderness Land Trust	$150,000	2	7%
Friends of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund	$150,000	1	15%
Martha's Vineyard Community Services Inc	$150,000	1	1%
Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona Inc	$150,000	3	7%
Family Promise of Philadelphia	$145,000	2	7%
Lord's Pantry of Downingtown	$145,000	3	3%
Victory Programs Inc	$140,000	3	0%
Casa Myrna Vazquez Inc	$140,000	3	1%
CalWild	$120,000	2	9%
Oregon Desert Land Trust	$120,000	2	3%
Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project	$120,000	2	7%
Wilderness Workshop	$120,000	2	3%
The Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance	$120,000	2	27%
Hispanic Access Foundation	$120,000	2	1%
The Conservation Alliance	$120,000	2	3%
Four Corners School of Outdoor Educ	$100,000	4	4%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc	$100,000	1	0%
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Inc	$100,000	1	1%
Friends Association for the Care and Pro	$75,000	3	2%
Friends of the Owyhee	$70,000	1	23%
California Environmental Voters Education Fund	$70,000	1	3%
Dolores River Boating Advocates	$70,000	1	15%
Partners In Island Education Inc	$70,000	2	20%
California Native Plant Society	$70,000	1	1%
The West Virginia Land Trust Inc	$70,000	1	2%
Continental Divide Trail Coalition	$60,000	1	3%
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center	$60,000	1	1%
Community Rowing Inc	$55,000	2	1%
American Rivers Inc	$52,800	1	0%
The Salvation Army Ivy Residence Inc	$50,000	2	3%
Special Olympics Pennsylvania Inc	$50,000	3	0%
Vineyard Conservation Society Inc	$45,000	3	3%
Rocky Mountain Field Institute Inc	$40,000	3	1%
Volunteer English Program in Chester County Pennsylvania	$30,000	2	7%
Mass General Brigham Incorporated	$25,000	1	n/a
Transplant Foundation	$25,000	1	1%
Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy Inc	$20,000	1	20%
River Arts of Morrisville Inc	$20,000	3	2%
Carriage Town Ministries	$20,000	1	1%
Friends of Cedar Mesa	$20,000	1	2%
Featherstone Center for the Arts Inc	$15,000	2	1%
Studios on the Park Inc	$15,000	1	3%
Mass General Brigham Incorporated	$15,000	1	0%
Foundation for the Performing Arts Center	$10,000	1	1%
Whyy Inc	$5,000	1	0%
Martha's Vineyard Cancer Support Group	$5,000	1	5%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 53 recipients with no EIN on record ($255M), not named here.

Wyss Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 9 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 122 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured

Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 122.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Resources Legacy FundCA50.7× affinity24 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Resources Legacy Fund · Western Conservation Foundation · Patagoniaorg · The Wilderness Society · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Conservation Lands Foundation · Wilburforce Foundation · The Pew Charitable Trusts · National Forest Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · Chester County Community Foundation · New Venture Fund

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.

Compare Wyss Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Wyss Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Wyss 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.

About Wyss Foundation

How much does Wyss Foundation give?: Wyss Foundation reported 124 itemized grants totaling $140,992,919, out of $149,392,735 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2023 IRS filing. It funded between 86 and 120 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.
What does Wyss Foundation fund?: By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2023, its largest causes are Environment (16%), Science & Tech (10%), Recreation & Sports (7%).
Who are Wyss Foundation's largest grantees?: By total granted over FY2020 to FY2023: African Parks Foundation of America ($54M), The Conservation Fund a Nonprofit Corporation ($26M), The Trust for Public Land ($19M).
Does Wyss Foundation fund new organizations?: In FY2023, 18% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Wyss Foundation accept unsolicited applications?: Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Wyss Foundation?: Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Resources Legacy Fund, Western Conservation Foundation, Patagoniaorg.
Where is Wyss Foundation based?: Wyss Foundation is based in DC.