Pennsylvania · Nonprofit
Natural Lands Trust Inc
Natural Lands Trust Inc (Pennsylvania) receives grants from 136 organizations whose IRS filings report $36,249,558 to it, the largest being WYNCOTE FOUNDATION ($11,857,093). 88 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $27M
- Funders on record
- 136
- Grants received
- $36M
- Net assets
- $338M
What Natural Lands Trust Inc does
Mission
Saves open space, cares for nature, and connects people to the outdoors. (See schedule O)
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Saving Open SpaceNatural Lands is unique among the region's conservation organizations because of our large network of nature preserves. We know these lands will be protected and cared for forever.Our network currently includes 40+ nature preserves and Stoneleigh:a natural garden, across two states and 13 counties, totaling more than 23,600 acres. Many times,the land we save remains in private ownership but we place it under a conservation easement, which is a legally binding agreement that permanently limits a property's use and binds all present and future owners of the land. We currently hold 494 conservation restrictions on more than 28,000 acres. We monitor these properties regularly to ensure the terms of the easements are being upheld. We also help other organizations and government entities acquire open space. We do this most often for state parks and forests, and townships. We also help our partners manage the land they own using smart, sustainable, tried-and-true practices. And we help townships raise money for open space, revise their zoning codes to help them retain open space during development, develop park master plans, and build trail systems.
$12,017,170 spentof which $4,631,096 as grants$633,559 earned by the program59% of program spendingCaring for NatureWe love saving land, but we think it's just the first step. In fact, our commitment to caring for nature is one of the reasons why Natural Lands owns so much land (and is always acquiring more): so we can actively enrich and restore our preserves, balancing the needs of nature and her visitors. Our land stewardship programs include: returning former farm fields to forests by planting thousands of trees; exploring and employing an array of techniques to control the spread of invasive plants on our preserves; improving water quality of the creeks that meander through our preserves by planting trees and shrubs along them; and re-establishing once plentiful habitats by transforming retired farm fields to grasslands, restoring man-made ponds to wetlands, and supporting growing woodlands by controlling invasive plants and deer.
$5,486,606 spent$875,827 earned by the program27% of program spendingConnecting People to the Outdoors...and to Each OtherThe future of conservation requires that there be passionate nature-lovers to carry on our work. That's why we're committed to creating opportunities for joy and discovery in the outdoors for everyone. Our nature preserves and public garden are open for everyone to visit, and are always free. In addition to places for exploration, our preserves allow us to host myriad events every year catering to different people with different interests. We also encourage people to develop a deeper connection to Natural Lands and, by extension, our preserves through our Force of Nature volunteer program. Force of Nature volunteers learn valuable land management and conservation strategies, hone outreach and leadership skills, and meet great people. In addition, we are committed to ensuring equitable access to nature to urbanized communities in our region.
$2,892,890 spent$196,677 earned by the program14% of program spendingConservation Efforts
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $20,396,666.
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 2020 to 2021, from $288M to $315M (+9%).
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 35% · 2018 26% · 2019 22% · 2020 18% · 2021 11% · 2022 33% · 2023 25% · 2024 30% · 2025 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
88% of Natural Lands Trust Inc’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 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
Susan P Mucciarone
Chairperson
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2018 and FY2019 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 26 funders to 65 funders, grant income rose $909k → $3.7M.
23 of 136 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 Natural Lands Trust Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 136 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
Natural Lands Trust Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 33% of grant income and the top three 61%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
47% 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 Natural Lands Trust Inc.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 55% · 2018 23% · 2019 68% · 2020 63% · 2021 74% · 2022 53% · 2023 36% — 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
47% of Natural Lands Trust Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 65% 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
89% of Natural Lands Trust Inc's grant income comes from Pennsylvania funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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 Lands Trust Inc holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 210 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding Natural Lands Trust Inc receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.9M on record — $336k federal, $2.6M state.
- Department of the Interior$336k
- TRUST FUND$2.0M
- BOND FUND$565k
- FEDERAL$32k
- DIRECT STATE SERVICES - NON-SALARY$25
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like Natural Lands Trust 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 Pennsylvania
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
86% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
88%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Montgomery County Lands Trust Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Natural Lands Trust 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 Natural Lands Trust Inc?
- Natural Lands Trust Inc (Pennsylvania) receives grants from 136 organizations whose IRS filings report $36,249,558 to it, the largest being WYNCOTE FOUNDATION ($11,857,093). 88 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Natural Lands Trust Inc have?
- IRS filings report 136 organizations giving $36,249,558 in grants to Natural Lands Trust Inc, 88 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Natural Lands Trust Inc?
- WYNCOTE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $11,857,093 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Natural Lands Trust Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Pennsylvania. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 136 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing