New York · Nonprofit
BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC
BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC (New York) receives grants from 181 organizations whose IRS filings report $19,961,889 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($5,596,000). 106 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 55% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 181
- Grants received
- $20M
- Net assets
- $9.0M
What Billion Oyster Project Inc does
Mission
Billion oyster project's ("bop") mission is to restore oyster reefs to new york harbor through public education initiatives.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Billion oyster project co-creates oyster reef habitats through interdisciplinary partnerships and hands-on collaboration with new yorkers. Restoration program services include (I) building structures for oyster restoration by engaging technical, educational and volunteer networks; (ii) restoring oysters to new york harbor through aquaculture and other restoration activities; (iii) restoring reef habitats to the harbor by installing reef structures that promote self-sustaining oyster populations; and (iv) diverting mollusk shells from the waste stream to create a source of cured shell for restoration purposes through restaurant, state, and industry partnerships.
$2,892,677 spentof which $5,000 as grants$18,717 earned by the program41% of program spendingBillion oyster project fosters stewardship of new york harbor's urban estuary through community-focused environmental actions. Community engagement program services include (I) providing opportunities for volunteers to create materials for restoration during public and corporate days of service; (ii) developing place-based learning centers (field stations) that provide waterfront access and oyster restoration-related engagement activities; (iii) conducting community-based research that improves understanding of reef development, performance, and water quality; and (iv) improving conditions in new york harbor by advocating for policies that matter to the health and well-being of people and oysters.
$1,583,627 spentof which $50,000 as grants$3,108 earned by the program23% of program spendingBillion oyster project builds a community of schools and teachers who use and contribute to bop's field-based curriculum to enrich students' educational experience. Education program services include (I) publishing free, field-based curricula written for public school teachers through the lens of oyster restoration; (ii) providing opportunities for teachers and students to work and learn alongside bop staff; (iii) supporting new york harbor school as a model of providing bipoc and/or low-income students with a pathway to post- secondary and life-long career opportunities, and promoting the growth of a network of harbor schools; and (iv) offering professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly in disadvantaged schools.
$1,222,334 spentof which $15,000 as grants$75,047 earned by the program18% of program spendingWater front; harbor school; science & research
$1,280,900 spentof which $27,000 as grants$5,042 earned by the program18% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $6,979,538.
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 2024 to 2025, from $5.3M to $9.4M (+78%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 39% · 2018 44% · 2019 49% · 2020 43% · 2021 42% · 2022 19% · 2023 13% · 2024 6% · 2025 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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
Peter Malinowski
President and CEO
Board chair
Ronny Krishana
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 12 funders to 95 funders, grant income rose $211k → $3.9M.
23 of 181 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 55% 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 BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 181 funders by total. 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
BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
59% 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 BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 33% · 2018 20% · 2019 21% · 2020 31% · 2021 24% · 2022 32% · 2023 25% — 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
56% of BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC'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
55% of BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $9.0M that is directly attributable, 67% of it comes from funders outside New York, across 27 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $11M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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
BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 3,794 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,794 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC
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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC: 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 BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC?
- BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC (New York) receives grants from 181 organizations whose IRS filings report $19,961,889 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($5,596,000). 106 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 55% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC have?
- IRS filings report 181 organizations giving $19,961,889 in grants to BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC, 106 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC?
- NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST is the largest funder on record, with $5,596,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like BILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 181 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing