California · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC
FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC (California) receives grants from 50 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,426,415 to it, the largest being RJA FOUNDATION ($374,475). 34 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $760k
- Funders on record
- 50
- Grants received
- $1.4M
- Net assets
- $1.6M
What Friends of Robinson Gardens Inc does
Mission
The virginia robinson gardens is a unique historic estate, a cultural jewel that transports the visitor back to the birthplace of beverly hills. Built in 1911, it was once the residence of retail giants virginia and harry robinson. The friends of robinson gardens volunteer their time and resources to raise funds for the maintenance of the beautiful six-acre property, which contains five breathtaking display gardens, mansion and pool pavilion, and to fulfill mrs. Robinson's intention, expressed through her will and gift of the estate to the county of los angeles, that her estate be open to the public for its enjoyment and education. The friends also provide educational classes for the community and school children's tours with special emphasis on children from low-income areas.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Restoration - the organization raises money for the restoration and maintenance of the virginia robinson gardens estate. During the fiscal year that ended june 30, 2025, the organization funded the reupholstery of the chairs in the dining room and the armchairs and sofa in the library, the repairs to several historic balustrades and walls along the great lawn, and the restoration of the marble ionic column side tables in the billiard room and the marble fireplace in the library. The wood baseboards of the french doors to the back terrazzo terrace were refinished, stained, and sealed. Damaged by a windstorm in january 2025, the pink candelabra in the loggia was (miraculously) restored by a specialty craftsman. The organization provided underwriting for the restoration of the fern garden next to the waterfall in the king palm forest as well as several visits by a landscaping company to augment the work of the county gardeners in the cutting rose garden, the italian terrace garden, and the king palm forest. Annual tree trimming and servicing of water features throughout the estate, replacement of the kitchen faucet in the main house, installation of a new automatic earthquake…
$239,872 spent41% of program spendingMembership - the organization is a dues-based membership with six levels of increasingly higher dues requirements and benefits. There are events for all members, including an annual membership luncheon. The higher-level members receive invitations to special tours and lectures, out-of-town museums, historic estates, and botanical gardens, and an annual thank-you dinner.
$155,851 spent27% of program spendingChildren's outreach programs - during the 2024 - 2025 school year, which corresponds to the organization's fiscal year, the organization delivered 6,000 units of its children's science program to students in the third and fourth grades, primarily in title one schools and group homes. This was an increase of 2,000 units over the prior year. The program consists of three modules: nutrition and healthy you, plants and our world, and the ecosystem of a pond & development of the frog. The program has been enthusiastically received by students and teachers who love the interactive activities and brightly colored graphics and videos.
$133,991 spent23% of program spendingEducation lectures and other public programming- in coordination with the county of los angeles, the organization provides the community programming available at robinson gardens. Programs include art instruction, how-to gardening classes, health & wellness topics, and lectures on landscape design, interior design, the arts, jewelry, and the history and culture of southern california. There is also a well-attended book club which meets every other month. Programming on during the week and on saturdays has become very popular. Introductory botanical watercolor, yoga, and happiness classes were particularly well-attended.
$48,894 spent$80,489 earned by the program8% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $578,608.
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 2018 to 2019, from $1.1M to $1.3M (+22%).
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.
72% of FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 17 funders to 15 funders, grant income rose $108k → $152k.
10 of 50 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 36% 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 ROBINSON GARDENS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 50 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 ROBINSON GARDENS INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% 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
36% 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 ROBINSON GARDENS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 24% · 2018 26% · 2019 26% · 2020 59% · 2021 55% · 2022 22% · 2023 33% — 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
31% of FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 68% 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
72% of FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $513k arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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 ROBINSON GARDENS INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 2,433 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,433 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS 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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
87% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
79%
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 ROBINSON GARDENS 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 ROBINSON GARDENS INC?
- FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC (California) receives grants from 50 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,426,415 to it, the largest being RJA FOUNDATION ($374,475). 34 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC have?
- IRS filings report 50 organizations giving $1,426,415 in grants to FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC, 34 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC?
- RJA FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $374,475 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Robinson Gardens →
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 50 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