California · Nonprofit
INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION
INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION (California) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,026,171 to it, the largest being CONRAD N HILTON FOUNDATION ($420,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.1M
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $1.0M
- Net assets
- $225k
What Institute for Ecological Civilization does
Mission
Ecociv promotes long-term solutions for the well-being of people and the planet.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
(1) ecocivs work in water security is centered around the w12+ programs, which are five distinct, yet complementary programs that address the challenges to global water security. Administered jointly by the u.s.-based nonprofit Institute for Ecological Civilization (ecociv) and the south african-based nonprofit save our schools npo (sos) since 2019, w12+ continues to 1) connect local leaders with access to information about proven water security solutions, 2) to incubate pilot projects that push the boundaries of those approaches, and 3) provide capacity building for local, regional, country-specific and other organizations working to achieve water security across the globe. We added 24 globally relevant case studies to the w12+ blueprint and held 7 convenings with over 120 participants. (2) economies should respond to the needs of people and the planet, rather than people and the planet serving the economy. A wellbeing economy is one that promotes the flourishing of life in all its forms. It is an alternative to the radical concentration of wealth, exploitation of workers, and degradation of the planet that we find in current economic systems. An economy that works for all people…
$812,802 spent$391,433 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $812,802.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 2021 to 2022, from $458k to $350k (−23%).
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: 2021 8% · 2022 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
66% of INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 5 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.
Board chair
Steven Knapp
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 7 funders, grant income rose $87k → $459k.
6 of 12 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 INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION’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
INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 68%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 46% · 2021 100% · 2022 61% · 2023 48% — broadly stable.
“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
100% of INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% 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
62% of INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $149k 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
INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 11,752 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,752 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION
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
70% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
32%
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 INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION: 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 INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION?
- INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION (California) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,026,171 to it, the largest being CONRAD N HILTON FOUNDATION ($420,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $1,026,171 in grants to INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION?
- CONRAD N HILTON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $420,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like INSTITUTE FOR ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION 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 Institute for Ecological Civilization →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2020–2024), and the filings of 12 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