Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF THE OSA
FRIENDS OF THE OSA (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,431,265 to it, the largest being GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION ($2,904,251). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 33
- Grants received
- $8.4M
- Net assets
- $25M
What Friends of the Osa does
Mission
To promote land stewardship, to enhance the scientific understanding of tropical ecosystems and apply learning to conservation, to provide education and training for future generations and to enhance the quality of life for local communities living on the osa.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Conservation science - conservation science is made up of six different programs that support science and research of tropical ecosystems and long-term conservation of the osa. These programs include extensive monitoring of sea turtles, endemic birds, monkeys, reptiles and mammals, and provide a research facility for scientists and students to study the osa's ecosystems and conduct research. Ridge to reef restoration & regenerative farming - this program restores landscapes across the region, engaging hundreds of local landowners through education, outreach and tree planting initiatives. The program focuses on rare, threatened and native species, and builds capacity throughout communities via educational workshops and sustainable livelihood development with a goal of building more resilient communities for people and nature.mangrove restoration - this program works directly with multiple local community organizations to restore the terraba sierpe national wetland, costa rica's largest protected mangrove system. This program incorporates workshops and training, capacity building, sustainable livelihood development, and direct restoration.wildlife monitoring - this program aims to…
$1,646,807 spentof which $1,414,629 as grants49% of program spendingLand stewardship - this program engages in the purchase of intact rainforest land that would otherwise be sold for development that could destroy the fragile ecosystems. This program includes an extensive reforestation effort that will restore the land with native trees, identification and cultivation of native tree species, and the creation of an interactive trail system. This program also strives to protect the area from continued and growing environmental threats.
$1,190,739 spentof which $1,039,320 as grants35% of program spendingCommunity outreach and citizen science - this program supports local organizations in their effort to protect wildlife and engage the osa communities in improving their local environment. This program also includes environmental education activities with local schools; and the empowerment of local communities through training and economic incentives to protect the ecosystems.ridge to reef youth club - this program engages hundreds of the nation's most rural and impoverished youth with the goal of immersing them in nature. Through hands-on field trips in a plethora of ecosystems, students are educated and empowered to protect their natural resources.
$533,144 spentof which $433,050 as grants16% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,370,690.
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 2023 to 2024, from $16M to $26M (+61%).
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: 2022 6% · 2023 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of FRIENDS OF THE OSA’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 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
Dr Andrew Whitworth
Executive director
Board chair
Erin Lebbin
Chairman and president
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $224k → $2.5M.
15 of 33 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 FRIENDS OF THE OSA’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 THE OSA has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 34% 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
30% 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 OSA.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 89% · 2018 100% · 2019 84% · 2020 60% · 2021 59% · 2022 52% · 2023 33% — 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
46% of FRIENDS OF THE OSA's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 45% 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
FRIENDS OF THE OSA draws 95% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 11 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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 OSA runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 329 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 329 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding FRIENDS OF THE OSA receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $592k on record.
- Department of the Interior$391k
- National Science Foundation$201k
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 OSA
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 Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
92% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
60%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Associacion Conservacion Osa · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FRIENDS OF THE OSA: 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 OSA?
- FRIENDS OF THE OSA (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,431,265 to it, the largest being GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION ($2,904,251). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF THE OSA have?
- IRS filings report 33 organizations giving $8,431,265 in grants to FRIENDS OF THE OSA, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF THE OSA?
- GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,904,251 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF THE OSA find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. 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 Osa →
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 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