Arizona · Nonprofit
Natural History Institute
Natural History Institute (Arizona) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,204,947 to it, the largest being GWYDION FUND FOR WILD NATURE ($900,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $391k
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $1.2M
- Net assets
- $171k
What Natural History Institute does
Mission
Natural History Institute is organized to provide leadership and resources for a revitalized practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and humanities to promote the health and well-being of humans and the rest of the natural world.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Community Nature Education Inspiring Stewardship Through LearningThis program advances NHI's mission by connecting people with nature through hands-on experiences and expert-led lectures. In 2024, the Speaker Series and community workshops served 533 individuals through 38 programs, with a total in-person attendance of 1,888, including adults, senior citizens, and 2 lifelong learners. Activities included in-person talks, field studies, and interactive workshops designed to foster environmental literacy and inspire stewardship of the Mogollon Highlands. Each presentation was live-streamed and recorded, reaching a national audience with 91,300 views on YouTube.
$229,545 spent$60,435 earned by the program97% of program spendingArt Gallery and Exhibitions Blending Art and NatureThe NHI Art Gallery presented four free contemporary exhibitions in 2024, each featuring one public artist talk and one hands-on workshop. 4th Friday Art Walks provided additional opportunities for the public to meet artists and engage with artwork. Open five days a week, the gallery attracts hundreds of visitors and integrates artistic and scientific perspectives to educate the public about regional ecology and culture, providing free access to high-quality exhibitions and creative experiences.
$4,679 spent$5,068 earned by the program2% of program spendingMogollon Highlands Science Initiative Research, Collections, and ConservationThis initiative advances scientific understanding and conservation of the Mogollon Highlands ecoregion. In 2024, NHI conducted research, educational programming, and community engagement around the Wild and Scenic Upper Verde River, Walnut Creek Center for Education and Research, and other critical habitats. Activities included field studies, ecological monitoring, and scientific collections. The initiativepromotes evidence-based stewardship and long-term protection of regional ecosystems.
$2,760 spent1% of program spendingOther Program Services Nature Nios CollaborationNHI participated in 12 Nature Nios events, a community collaboration providing free nature education to children and families.
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $236,984.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 $349k to $140k (−60%).
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: 2020 13% · 2021 16% · 2022 16% · 2024 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
83% of Natural History Institute’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 7 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $40k → $286k.
3 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 3% 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 Natural History 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
Natural History Institute leans on a few funders — its largest provides 75% of grant income and the top three 96%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 97% · 2020 86% · 2021 77% · 2022 93% · 2023 87% — 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
80% of Natural History Institute's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 56% 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
Natural History Institute draws 79% of its grant income from funders outside Arizona, across 5 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $38k 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
Natural History Institute's funding base is broadening — from 1 funders to 5 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like Natural History 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 Arizona
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
62% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
34%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Natural History 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.
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 Natural History Institute?
- Natural History Institute (Arizona) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,204,947 to it, the largest being GWYDION FUND FOR WILD NATURE ($900,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Natural History Institute have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $1,204,947 in grants to Natural History Institute, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Natural History Institute?
- GWYDION FUND FOR WILD NATURE is the largest funder on record, with $900,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Natural History Institute find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Arizona. 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 Natural History Institute →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 9 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