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California · Nonprofit

MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ

MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ (California) receives grants from 16 organizations whose IRS filings report $767,224 to it, the largest being SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE ($265,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$907k
Funders on record
16
Grants received
$767k
Net assets
$2.1M
6/16 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 9%
01What it does

What Mountain Parks Foundation of Santa Cruz does

Mission

Provide resources to enrich visitors' experiences by expanding their knowledge and appreciation of the natural and cultural heritage of Henry Cowell Redwoods and Big Basin Redwoods State Parks.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Sales and distribution of educational materials about the natural and cultural history of California State Parks to approximately 2 million park visitors annually. Please Note: The COVID-19 pandemic and the CZU Fire at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and surrounding community, continue to impact the parks. As such, we do not have accurate visitation figures and are using prior reporting period figures.

    $516,710 spent$654,072 earned by the program
    98% of program spending
  2. We provide nature-based programs in Henry Cowell, Fall Creek and Big Basin Redwood State Parks that allow participants to experience health and wellness benefits connected with Nature. This program is a partnership between Mountain Parks Foundation, California State Parks, Stanford University, California State Parks Foundation and Santa Cruz County Parks Rx.

    $12,473 spent$8,191 earned by the program
    2% of program spending
  3. Other program services, not described on the e-filed return.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending

The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $529,183.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20202020 Revenue 100 ($328k) Expenses 100 ($253k) Net assets 100 ($307k)2021 Revenue 179 ($586k) Expenses 150 ($381k) Net assets 168 ($516k)2022 Revenue 198 ($651k) Expenses 182 ($461k) Net assets 229 ($702k)2023 Revenue 231 ($757k) Expenses 206 ($522k) Net assets 478 ($1.5M)2024 Revenue 365 ($1.2M) Expenses 232 ($588k) Net assets 611 ($1.9M)2025 Revenue 276 ($907k) Expenses 254 ($645k) Net assets 683 ($2.1M)
202020212022202320242025
Revenue (276)Expenses (254)Net assets (683)

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $541k to $1.2M (+119%).

$541k
$1.2M
$1.3M
$1.5M
$1.9M
$2.2M
202020212022202320242025
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.

2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.

$75k
’20
$205k
’21
$190k
’22
$235k
’23
$611k
’24
$262k
’25
38
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.

Chief executive

Brenda Holmes

Executive Director

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

202020212022202320242025
Listed8101010911
Joined·+2+2+1+1+2
No longer listed·02120
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 6 funders, grant income fell $221k → $65k.

5 of 16 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% 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 MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 15 of 16 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

MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ leans on a few funders — its largest provides 35% of grant income and the top three 57%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

80% 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 MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ.

35%
largest funder
57%
top three
~6
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 56% · 2018 80% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 60% · 2022 28% · 2023 50% — 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

25% of MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 38% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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

91% of MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ's grant income comes from California funders.

MN
RI
CA

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

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
California out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $207k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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.

04Its place in the field

Organizations like MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ

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

05Profile & governance

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

Where the money goes

90% of spending goes to programs.

Program 90%Management 10%Fundraising 0%

Governance

12
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

97%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

CA

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ: 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.

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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 MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ?
MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ (California) receives grants from 16 organizations whose IRS filings report $767,224 to it, the largest being SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE ($265,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ have?
IRS filings report 16 organizations giving $767,224 in grants to MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ?
SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE is the largest funder on record, with $265,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION OF SANTA CRUZ 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 Mountain Parks Foundation of Santa Cruz →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 16 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