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South Carolina · Nonprofit

LIFETIDES INSTITUTE

LIFETIDES INSTITUTE (South Carolina) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $38,000 to it, the largest being MILTON AND FANNIE BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($20,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$239k
Funders on record
2
Grants received
$38k
Net assets
$239k
2/2 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 21%
01What it does

What Lifetides Institute does

Mission

The Lifetides Institute provides adult and youth education programs that promote the environmental historical and cultural heritage of the lowcountry region of south carolina. It hosts adult education programs through road scholar providing direct exposure to tidal marshlands and ecological systems and their associated plant and animal habitats.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Instructing adult participants about the identification life histories and ecology of bird species occurring in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina

    $0 spent$102,877 earned by the program
    0% of program spending

  2. Instructing adult participants about the history food and techniques of barbecue in South Carolina and especially the Lowcountry region

    $0 spent$72,511 earned by the program
    0% of program spending

  3. Instructing adult participants about how to safely kayak in the diverse range of habitats within the Lowcountry region of South Carolina

    $0 spent$63,939 earned by the program
    0% of program spending

  4. Other expenses to domestic individual

    $70 spent
    0% of program spending

  5. Expenses for outside contracting of the Instructors to address each of LifeTides education programs

    $89,654 spent
    29% of program spending

  6. Office expenses for LifeTides Institute program operations

    $3,055 spent
    1% of program spending

  7. Information technology for web presence Internet service and telecommunications

    $3,060 spent
    1% of program spending

  8. Occupancy costs for the accommodation of participants for each of the three programs: BBQ Birding and Kayaking

    $14,956 spent
    5% of program spending

  9. Insurance expenses i.e. Liability vehicle

    $4,572 spent
    1% of program spending

  10. Occupancy rent utilities and maintenance expenses for program operations

    $57,842 spent
    19% of program spending

  11. Printing publications subscriptions and filing fees

    $797 spent
    0% of program spending

  12. Food Supplies for all Road Scholar programs in FY 2024

    $36,207 spent
    12% of program spending

  13. Travel and Meetings

    $365 spent
    0% of program spending

  14. Payments toward land acquisition for conducting youth education programs in the South Carolina Lowcountry

    $98,456 spent
    32% of program spending

The 14 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $309,034.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($142k) Expenses 100 ($144k) Net assets 100 ($66k)2020 Revenue 21 ($29k) Expenses 43 ($61k) Net assets 274 ($182k)2021 Revenue 44 ($63k) Expenses 21 ($30k) Net assets 320 ($212k)2022 Revenue 27 ($38k) Expenses 22 ($32k) Net assets 330 ($219k)2023 Revenue 140 ($199k) Expenses 76 ($110k) Net assets 465 ($309k)2024 Revenue 168 ($239k) Expenses 214 ($309k) Net assets 360 ($239k)
201720202021202220232024
Revenue (168)Expenses (214)Net assets (360)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $219k to $309k (+41%).

$67k
$182k
$212k
$219k
$309k
$259k
201720202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

3% of LIFETIDES INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (88% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 4,629 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.

−$2k
’17
−$32k
’20
$33k
’21
$7k
’22
$89k
’23
−$70k
’24
4.9
months of
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

John T Herron

Chair

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $3k → $8k.

Funder
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
'25*
total
funders
1
2
2
2
2
1

From the IRS filings of LIFETIDES INSTITUTE’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

LIFETIDES INSTITUTE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 53% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

53%
largest funder
100%
top three
~2
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 100% · 2021 63% · 2022 63% · 2023 63% — 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

LIFETIDES INSTITUTE draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside South Carolina, across 1 state in all.

NY

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’20
’21
’22
’23
South Carolina out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

LIFETIDES INSTITUTE's funding base is broadening — from 1 funders to 2 as grant income climbed.

Operating margin−29% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve4.9mo · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)8% · below the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,264 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024

Organizations like LIFETIDES INSTITUTE

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 South Carolina

The Legacy Foundation of SC75%Adaptive Expeditions75%Lowcountry Land Trust Inc75%Proactive Parenting Initiative74%South Carolina Land Trust Network74%Lakes and Bridges Charter School Inc74%Boys Farm Inc74%Central Sc Habitat for Humanity74%

Nationally

Living Education Collective77%Bainbridge Island Land Trust76%Coastal Plains Institute Inc76%Natures Educators76%The Land Alliance Inc76%Gulf of Maine Institute Inc76%Bigfish Learning Community76%Cultures Edge75%
05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

100% of spending goes to programs.

Program 100%Management 0%Fundraising 0%

Governance

6
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy–Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

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

SC

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LIFETIDES INSTITUTE: 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 LIFETIDES INSTITUTE?
LIFETIDES INSTITUTE (South Carolina) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $38,000 to it, the largest being MILTON AND FANNIE BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($20,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does LIFETIDES INSTITUTE have?
IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $38,000 in grants to LIFETIDES INSTITUTE, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of LIFETIDES INSTITUTE?
MILTON AND FANNIE BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $20,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like LIFETIDES INSTITUTE find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in South Carolina. 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 Lifetides Institute →

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 2 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