New York · Nonprofit
RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC
RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC (New York) receives grants from 187 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,198,518 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($3,190,000). 97 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $7.8M
- Funders on record
- 187
- Grants received
- $23M
- Net assets
- $5.4M
What Rainforest Foundation Inc does
Mission
The purpose of rainforest foundation us is to support indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Land rightsmounting evidence shows what we've known since our founding--that rainforests protected by indigenous peoples are healthier and store more carbon than even national parks. But without legal recognition of their lands and the protection of their human rights, indigenous peoples face significant challenges in safeguarding these vital, carbon-storing forests. We support the protection of indigenous peoples' land rights through a variety of means, including providing legal assistance for new and expanded land claims, helping to delineate territorial boundaries, reinforcing existing land rights, and providing communities with the information they need to make informed decisions about topics like carbon markets.in 2024:- rfus facilitated securing legal titles for 20 communities and 75,000 acres of their ancestral lands in peru.-rfus supported advancement of land tenure security for 300,000 acres of lands in panama- rfus supported the global alliance of territorial communities (gatc) in advancing its engagement with the forest climate leaders partnership (fclp), a coalition of governments formed at cop26 in 2021 to drive political commitments to halt deforestation in tropical…
$1,287,905 spentof which $637,656 as grants16% of program spendingRainforest protectiondeforestation is a major driver of the climate crisis. In fact, it's the second leading cause of carbon emissions, and it's a key factor pushing the planet towards an ecological tipping point. Through territorial monitoring and land use planning, we provide indigenous communities with the tools, training, technology, and resources they need to curb deforestation. This includes support through our rainforest alert program. In 2024 rfus:- supported srdc (south rupununi district council) in developing the wapichan headwaters management plan to protect the lands of indigenous communities in these headwaters.- in 2024, rainforest foundation us (rfus) actively supported the protection of over 20 million acres of tropical forest--an area nearly the size of south carolina--by applying new tools, training, and technology. This effort included training and equipping 307 community-based forest patrollers across 129 communities in peru, brazil, guyana, and panama.-rfus proudly partnered with the associao wanasseduume ye'kwana (seduume) to advance indigenous-led protection of ye'kwana lands within the yanomami territory of brazil.-rfus hosted two tech camps in the amazon,…
$1,751,791 spentof which $404,434 as grants22% of program spendingStrengthening indigenous organizationsorganizations with strong governance and administration are better able to manage and protect their forests. They're also better able to receive and manage direct global funding to continue the essential work they have always done to safeguard forests. Through our institutional strengthening program, we work closely with indigenous organizations to build true partnerships, ensuring that indigenous peoples and local communities and their organizations are resilient, sustainable, and better able to manage and defend their forests--and their rights.
$4,841,866 spentof which $1,169,690 as grants61% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $7,881,562.
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 2021 to 2022, from $6.0M to $10M (+73%).
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 39% · 2018 36% · 2019 26% · 2020 39% · 2021 15% · 2022 11% · 2023 6% · 2024 22%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 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
John Copeland
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 16 funders to 71 funders, grant income rose $591k → $6.7M.
29 of 187 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 RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 187 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
RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 14% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
52% 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 RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 72% · 2018 44% · 2019 46% · 2020 24% · 2021 11% · 2022 27% · 2023 19% — 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
36% of RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% 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
RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC draws 74% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 31 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 17 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
RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC has grown faster than half of the 2,187 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,187 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.2M on record.
- Agency for International Development$2.0M
- Department of State$167k
- Department of Agriculture$40k
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 RAINFOREST FOUNDATION 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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
80% 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 3 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Rainforest Foundation US Peru · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for RAINFOREST FOUNDATION 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 RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC?
- RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC (New York) receives grants from 187 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,198,518 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($3,190,000). 97 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 187 organizations giving $23,198,518 in grants to RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC, 97 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC?
- THE FORD FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $3,190,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like RAINFOREST FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Rainforest →
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 187 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