Florida · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC
FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC (Florida) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,605,958 to it, the largest being THE BAUMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($600,000). 18 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.3M
- Funders on record
- 33
- Grants received
- $1.6M
- Net assets
- $853k
What Friends of Mounts Botanical Garden Inc does
Mission
Mission: to inspire and educate through nature.vision: we envision our public garden as a nationally acclaimed attraction for residents and visitors alike. Its cultural, social and educational activities will draw attendees to enjoy, appreciate and learn from this oasis of tranquil beauty.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
With a mission to nurture meaningful connections with nature through immersive experiences and educational offerings, mounts botanical garden (mbg) is the oldest and largest public garden in the palm beaches. The 20-acre tropical oasis is home to 25 display garden areas featuring a collection of over 7,000 species of tropical and subtropical botanicals. Mbg welcomed nearly 70,000 and 2,275 member households over the fiscal year. During the fiscal year, mbg completed a new 5-year strategic plan to serve as a roadmap to the future, guiding where the garden is going in the years to come, and outlines how it will get there. This included a refreshed mission to nurture meaningful connections with nature through immersive experiences and educational offerings, and updated vision to be the go-to destination to discover, enjoy, and be moved by nature. Mbg also embarked on the development of a new brand identity to elevate its image to best align with the palm beaches high caliber of tourism, and art and culture organizations. In addition, mbg's master plan efforts are well underway as it reimagines mounts as a garden for the next generation.uniquely setting mbg apart from other gardens,…
$822,552 spent$442,785 earned by the program58% of program spendingAs a cornerstone to its mission, mbg is known as a teaching and learning garden, providing a wide array of educational learning opportunities for all ages designed to cultivate wonder and appreciation for the natural world. Over 240 public programs, classes, workshops, and guided tours took place this past year, attracting 4,300 adult participants in classes and tours. The garden's wide array of programming includes horticulture and gardening, art and culture, and health and wellness. In addition to adult programming, mbg offers a robust spectrum of youth programming. As the official field trip provider for the palm beach county school district, all county 3rd graders, teachers, and chaperones have the opportunity to explore, learn, and connect with nature at mbg. Over 15,000 students and children visited the garden during the fiscal year, plus nearly an additional 1,500 students through various additional youth programs.
$418,503 spent$80,306 earned by the program30% of program spendingMbg's seasonal plant sale festivals and major exhibits continue to be the garden's most popular events, attracting more than 11,000 attendees throughout the year. Held in february, april, september, and november, the four seasonal plant sales feature top growers from throughout florida displaying and selling a wide variety of ornamentals, orchids, succulents, cactus, bonsai, butterfly/native plants, shrubs, fruit trees, herbs, garden accessories, baskets, fine crafts, and more. In addition, speakers and authors who are experts in their respective fields conduct fun and informative presentations on gardening and horticulture. The festivals also feature live music, food vendors, arts and crafts, and lawn games.mbg expanded its offering events, including a successful summerfest family fun weekend that drew more than 1,000 visitors, and its 1st orchid symposium in partnership with the orchid society of the palm beaches drew a sell-out of 150 attendees.to complement its lush tropical landscape, mbg houses a number of permanent exhibits and collections. The 'moai at mounts botanical garden' exhibit reconnects visitors to the ancient rapa nui culture of easter island, and the story of…
$175,344 spent$418,866 earned by the program12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,416,399.
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 2017 to 2018, from $410k to $737k (+80%).
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: 2018 3% · 2019 3% · 2020 10% · 2021 9% · 2022 4% · 2023 6% · 2024 3% · 2025 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
46% of FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC’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. 2 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
James May
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 18 funders, grant income rose $245k → $260k.
6 of 33 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 29% 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 FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 33 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
FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 37% of grant income and the top three 71%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
31% 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 FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 65% · 2018 73% · 2019 91% · 2020 43% · 2021 56% · 2022 76% · 2023 58% — 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
53% of FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 55% 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
94% of FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC's grant income comes from Florida funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $472k 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
FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC's funding base is broadening — from 5 funders to 18 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,074 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN 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 Florida
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
64% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
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 FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN 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 FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC?
- FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC (Florida) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,605,958 to it, the largest being THE BAUMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($600,000). 18 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC have?
- IRS filings report 33 organizations giving $1,605,958 in grants to FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC, 18 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC?
- THE BAUMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $600,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Florida. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Friends of Mounts Botanical Garden →
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 33 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