Minnesota · Nonprofit
HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC
HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC (Minnesota) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $276,753 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($135,900). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $450k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $277k
- Net assets
- $601k
What Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Inc does
Mission
The mission of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is to promote conservation of raptors and other birds in the Western Lake Superior Region through research, education, and stewardship.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Research of migratory birds using banding and counting data collection to study the intensity of bird migration and the distribution, abundance, and migratory pathways of birds in the Western Lake Superior Region. Research also includes grant-funded projects, such as studying effects of environmental toxins and genetics in raptors.
$173,906 spentof which $85,776 as grants$3,615 earned by the program61% of program spendingEducation programs on birds and their environment delivered to birders, school and civic groups, the public and professionals through on-site programs at the Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve and the West Skyline Spring Count. Hawk Ridge also delivers educational outreach programs in person and virtually, and hosts speakers and events, such as the annual Hawk Weekend Festival, to inspire an appreciation for nature, knowledge through science-based research, and the role of birds in the natural world.
$109,006 spentof which $45,013 as grants$95,607 earned by the program38% of program spendingStewardship of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, the first designated Important Bird Area in Minnesota, has a unique natural area for bird migration and other outdoor experiences. Facilities management, stewardship, and preservation of the land, water, and trails at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. Accomplishments include a successful volunteer program dedicated to research, education, and stewardship activities of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory.
$257 spent0% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$0 spent0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $283,169.
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 $121k to $292k (+141%).
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 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 11% · 2021 0% · 2022 0% · 2023 0% · 2024 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
83% of HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC’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
Janelle Long
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 3 funders, grant income rose $12k → $17k.
3 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 60% 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 HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC’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
HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 49% of grant income and the top three 84%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
79% 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 HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 83% · 2020 98% · 2021 43% · 2022 59% · 2023 68% — 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.
Where its funders are
60% of HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $109k that is directly attributable, 59% of it comes from funders outside Minnesota, across 3 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $167k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 6,435 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 6,435 animals nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY 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 Minnesota
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
74% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
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 HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY 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 HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC?
- HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC (Minnesota) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $276,753 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($135,900). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $276,753 in grants to HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $135,900 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Minnesota. 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 Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory →
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 6 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