Washington · Nonprofit
BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY
BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY (Washington) receives grants from 22 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,574,498 to it, the largest being THE PJA FOUNDATION ($525,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.7M
- Funders on record
- 22
- Grants received
- $1.6M
- Net assets
- $5.8M
What Bellevue Botanical Garden Society does
Mission
Perpetuate and further enhance the bellevue botanical garden as a learning resource in partnership with the city of bellevue. Through our efforts, we are able to enhance the physical aspects of the garden such as ada compliance, shelters, benches, and facilities. Our staff leads all educational aspects for the garden from youth to adults, supports interpretive efforts both through signage and docent and greeter programs.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
We started a new program called visitor services. This program assumes the oversight of the docents as well as launching our new greeter program. This takes a volunteer led program and provides paid staff direction and support while expanding services through the greeter program.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Garden d'lights program: see schedule o.
$335,351 spent$367,797 earned by the program34% of program spendingMembership program: our membership program is designed to cultivate new donors and support for the garden. As a free admission garden that is open to the public year-round, we have learned that membership is not about gaining free access, but that sense of supporting this space for the community.
$159,161 spent16% of program spendingOur adult education program offers a selection of horticultural, gardening, nature, and wellness focused curriculum. We utilize technology to provide hybrid lectures, webinars, and symposia to increase access to our content. We provided 55 adult learning opportunities reaching 2031 individuals through in-person and hybrid programs.
$150,908 spent$58,710 earned by the program15% of program spendingGarden development program: the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society and city of bellevue are guided by a master plan and partner to develop the bellevue botanical garden into a resource of regional and international renown. Our garden development committee reviews and approves garden projects. Efforts can be funded by restricted giving from donors as well as board designated expenses.
$143,554 spentof which $63,176 as grants15% of program spendingChildren's program: our youth and children's program have been a hallmark of our organization for over 30 years. Notably our living lab program serves the bellevue school district. Living lab is a free 2-hour program to public, private and home schoolers for grades kindergarten through 5th. 47 class sessions, 42 class days offered, 40 class days filled, 8 days had 2 groups simultaneously on the same day, two of those afternoons were off-site at a preschool. One day had two curriculums for a spring break camp (paid). 2,036 students were served by our living lab programs for the 2023-2024 fy. In addition to living lab, we offer a preschool level program called kids in the garden as well as a youth and children's workshops that provide a range of curriculum focused on outdoor activities, horticulture, gardening, and art. 846 youth were served through these program elements. The bulk of our expense is the paid educators who execute the program.
$147,233 spent15% of program spendingCommunity events: our annual arts in the garden invites the community to come together to view outdoor garden art and offerings from local vendors. This is a 2-and-a-half-day event every august and is entering its 15th year.
$3,621 spent$12,276 earned by the program0% of program spendingVisitor engagement is a new program that was slated to start in the 2023-2024 fy. It was delayed and was initiated in the 2024-2025 fy.
$48,288 spent5% of program spending
The 7 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $988,116.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $3.7M to $4.9M (+31%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
51% of BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Joseph Abken
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 13 funders, grant income rose $13k → $143k.
7 of 22 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 44% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 33% of grant income and the top three 69%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
45% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 89% · 2018 81% · 2019 75% · 2020 72% · 2021 73% · 2022 67% · 2023 52% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
58% of BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
98% of BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY's grant income comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $697k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 1,074 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,074 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
74%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY?
- BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY (Washington) receives grants from 22 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,574,498 to it, the largest being THE PJA FOUNDATION ($525,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 22 organizations giving $1,574,498 in grants to BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY?
- THE PJA FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $525,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 22 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing