California · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS
FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS (California) receives grants from 26 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,106,653 to it, the largest being RESOURCES LEGACY FUND ($300,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.1M
- Funders on record
- 26
- Grants received
- $1.1M
- Net assets
- $24M
What Friends of the Desert Mountains does
Mission
The mission of the Friends of the Desert Mountains is to preserve land, to support education, conservation and research in the coachella valley, and to act as the support organization for the santa rosa & san jacinto mountains national monument.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Land acquisition: since 1987, Friends of the Desert Mountains has been a driving force in protecting the breathtaking landscape of the coachella valley-safeguarding over 63,000 acres of pristine desert. We work hand-in-hand with willing landowners to purchase undeveloped, ecologically vital properties at fair market value. Each acre we conserve helps ensure the success of the coachella valley multiple species habitat conservation plan, protecting the regions rare wildlife and fragile ecosystem for generations to come.
$183,780 spent23% of program spendingEducation: from scenic guided hikes to engaging lectures and interactive presentations, we open eyes and inspire hearts-all at no cost to the public. Our programs are designed for all ages and abilities, connecting people with the deserts rich and natural heritage and empowering them to become stewards of the land. Behind the scenes, we also invest in rigorous training for our team and volunteers, deepening their expertise in conservation science and the unique story of californias desert landscapes.
$348,679 spent43% of program spendingCommunity outreach: we believe that conservation thrives when people care deeply-and they can not care if they dont know. That is why Friends of the Desert Mountains is everywhere: speaking at community events, crafting compelling media stories, and sharing our mission with anyone who will listen-from early morning rotary clubs to local classrooms. Our passionate staff and volunteers are relentless advocates, keeping the importance of public lands and desert preservation at the forefront of community conversations.
$283,673 spent35% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $816,132.
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 2019 to 2020, from $22M to $25M (+12%).
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 2% · 2018 1% · 2019 3% · 2020 23% · 2021 9% · 2022 5% · 2023 31% · 2024 44%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
77% of FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (74% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Tammy Martin
Executive director
Board chair
Dr Robert Reed
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 12 funders, grant income fell $349k → $127k.
8 of 26 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 15% 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 THE DESERT MOUNTAINS’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
FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 27% 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
69% 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 THE DESERT MOUNTAINS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 86% · 2018 67% · 2019 46% · 2020 49% · 2021 32% · 2022 39% · 2023 24% — 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
70% of FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 62% 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
56% of FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $170k 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
FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS is better cushioned than half of the 1,559 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,559 animals nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $399k on record.
- Department of the Interior$399k
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 FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS
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
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
82%
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 THE DESERT MOUNTAINS: 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 THE DESERT MOUNTAINS?
- FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS (California) receives grants from 26 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,106,653 to it, the largest being RESOURCES LEGACY FUND ($300,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS have?
- IRS filings report 26 organizations giving $1,106,653 in grants to FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS?
- RESOURCES LEGACY FUND is the largest funder on record, with $300,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF THE DESERT MOUNTAINS 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 the Desert Mountains →
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 26 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