Massachusetts · Nonprofit
BIRDSCARIBBEAN
BIRDSCARIBBEAN (Massachusetts) receives grants from 17 organizations whose IRS filings report $480,319 to it, the largest being MIGHTYCAUSE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($121,574). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $984k
- Funders on record
- 17
- Grants received
- $480k
- Net assets
- $742k
What Birdscaribbean does
Mission
To promote the scientific study and conservation of Caribbean birds and their habitats.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
CARIBBEAN WATERBIRD CENSUS AND CONSERVATION The Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) is a long-term survey of Caribbean wetlands that provides critical data on Bird poplations and habitat usage, identifies threats, and raises awareness of the value of wetlands. These surveys, valuable year-round, contribute to our understanding of how both the resident and migratory species use Caribbean welands and beaches. CWC data is essential to ascertain the most effective interventions to protect wetland species. To ensure consistency, BirdsCaribbean promotes the use of the CWC protocol through eBird Caribbean and organizes a focused regional census each winter. In 2023, we celebrated the 14th annual CWC count, with dedicated partners across the Caribbean surveying waterbirds in our beautiful wetlands. This year, we encouraged special efforts to locate wintering Piping Plovers, a Near Threatended migratory species, and many participants did just that- along with spotting a variety of other stunning birds during the three-week count.
$131,054 spentof which $81,885 as grants$136,431 earned by the program22% of program spendingLANDBIRD MONITORING BirdsCaribbeans Landbird Landbird Monitoring (CLM) Network continues to expand, enhacing our understanding of Caribbean landbirds through standardized survey protocols. The CLM Network aims to: provide training in bird identification and use the standardized survey protocols, offer resources to set up landbird monitoring programs, and cultivate a community of landbird monitors accross the Caribbean. A key milestone in 2023 was advancements in St. Vincent. After the devastating 2021 La Soufrire Volcano eruption, assessing the impact on wildlife was difficult due to limited baseline data on the islands forest birds and a lack monintoring capacity on the island. In January 2023, thanks to funding from the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP,) and BirdsCaribbeans supporters, we held a Caribbean Landbird Monitoring Training Workshop. This event helped us build local capacity for standarized forest bird monitoring and launch a long-term monitoring program on St. Vincent
$95,245 spentof which $27,167 as grants$138,928 earned by the program16% of program spendingNAMED AWARD FUNDS BirdsCaribbean offers grants from three dedicated funds that honor individuals who have made significant contributions to bird conservation, particularly in the Caribbean. These are the David S. Lee Fund for Caribbean bird conservation (focused on applied research), the Betty Peterson Conservation Fund (focused on community engagement), and the newly established James A. Kushland Research and Conservation Fund (focused on waterbirds). In 2023, we awarded $74,500 in grants to support ten more exciting projects across six Caribbean contries, promoting the study and conservation of avifuana. Our grant agreements include robust reporting mechanisms and many of our awardees publish their findings in the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology and contribute to our blog.
$70,216 spentof which $62,841 as grants$17,000 earned by the program12% of program spendingOther programs
$311,560 spentof which $42,393 as grants$263,416 earned by the program51% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $608,075.
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 2021 to 2022, from $538k to $738k (+37%).
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 42% · 2018 26% · 2019 40% · 2020 28% · 2021 21% · 2022 24% · 2023 28% · 2024 17%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
81% of BIRDSCARIBBEAN’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (86% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 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
Lisa Sorenson
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 4 funders, grant income fell $89k → $25k.
7 of 17 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 26% 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 BIRDSCARIBBEAN’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
BIRDSCARIBBEAN has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 25% 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
73% 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 BIRDSCARIBBEAN.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 57% · 2018 47% · 2019 37% · 2020 65% · 2021 25% · 2022 70% · 2023 68% — growing more concentrated.
“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
30% of BIRDSCARIBBEAN's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 53% 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
BIRDSCARIBBEAN draws 97% of its grant income from funders outside Massachusetts, across 9 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $125k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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
BIRDSCARIBBEAN runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 6,435 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 6,435 animals nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Government funding BIRDSCARIBBEAN receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.5M on record.
- Department of the Interior$1.1M
- Department of Agriculture$445k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like BIRDSCARIBBEAN
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 Massachusetts
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
85% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
98%
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 BIRDSCARIBBEAN: 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 BIRDSCARIBBEAN?
- BIRDSCARIBBEAN (Massachusetts) receives grants from 17 organizations whose IRS filings report $480,319 to it, the largest being MIGHTYCAUSE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($121,574). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does BIRDSCARIBBEAN have?
- IRS filings report 17 organizations giving $480,319 in grants to BIRDSCARIBBEAN, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of BIRDSCARIBBEAN?
- MIGHTYCAUSE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $121,574 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like BIRDSCARIBBEAN find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Massachusetts. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 17 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