California · Nonprofit
SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC
SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC (California) receives grants from 43 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,755,497 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($1,413,100). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.9M
- Funders on record
- 43
- Grants received
- $6.8M
- Net assets
- $11M
What South Coast Botanic Garden Foundation Inc does
Mission
South coast botanic garden will connect all to the wonders of nature and create experiences that inspire stewardship and sustainability.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Overallprogram service expenses and earned revenues supported the garden's mission to connect all people to the wonders of nature and served approximately 281,000 visitors during the 2025 fiscal year. Investments supported marketing, digital engagement, and membership, as well as operations that ensured a safe and welcoming environment, including facility and landscape maintenance, custodial services, koi pond care, the ranger program, wayfinding, food and beverage services, ticketing and membership systems, and long-term planning for future capital improvements.
$3,565,659 spent$18,779 earned by the program79% of program spendingHorticulturehorticulture is central to south coast botanic garden's mission and public benefit. A professional team maintains the garden's living collections using specialized tools and equipment, with significant investment in plant procurement for seasonal displays, replacement of aging or unsuccessful specimens, and ongoing editing of collections to ensure horticultural integrity, climate-appropriate planting, wildlife habitat, and environmental benefits such as cooling and water conservation.
$519,281 spent11% of program spendingEngagementduring the 2025 fiscal year, the garden presented exhibitions and participatory experiences across its 87 acres to deepen visitor engagement and connection to nature. These installations encouraged exploration, physical activity, discovery, plant learning, and social interaction, and included major exhibitions such as soar: tropical butterflies, astra lumina, and outdoor art experiences like hide and seek and bamboozled, as well as hands-on activities for all ages including workshops, nature journaling, and early childhood programs.
$263,877 spent$1,737,438 earned by the program6% of program spendingEvent operationsinvestments in guest experiences were important in 2025 with an eye toward enhancing garden visits. Festival activities and exhibitions were a creative inspiration point for food and beverage menus that connected our guests with the garden even further. For instance, agave syrup and tequila tastings were part of service for the spiked celebration of agave, and themed cocktails were part of the sunset series concerts.
$187,090 spent4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,535,907.
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 $7.2M to $10M (+39%).
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: 2022 5% · 2023 2% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
51% of SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue 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. 5 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.
Chief executive
Adrienne Nakashima
Chief executive officer
Board chair
Mike Molina
Chairperson
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $169k → $1.5M.
12 of 43 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 33% 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 SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 43 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
SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 21% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
33% 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 SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 62% · 2018 29% · 2019 33% · 2020 45% · 2021 65% · 2022 54% · 2023 66% — growing more concentrated.
“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 SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% 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
83% of SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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
SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC is better cushioned than half of the 1,074 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,074 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN 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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
64%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN 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 SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC?
- SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC (California) receives grants from 43 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,755,497 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($1,413,100). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 43 organizations giving $6,755,497 in grants to SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC, 25 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC?
- CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,413,100 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN FOUNDATION INC 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 South Coast Botanic Garden →
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 43 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