Georgia · Nonprofit
THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC
THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC (Georgia) receives grants from 188 organizations whose IRS filings report $67,654,245 to it, the largest being JAMES M COX FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA INC ($20,315,000). 121 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $76M
- Funders on record
- 188
- Grants received
- $68M
- Net assets
- $249M
What The Atlanta Botanical Garden Inc does
Mission
The atlanta botanical garden's mission is to develop and maintain plant collections for display, education, research, conservation and enjoyment.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
During 2024, the garden hosted 806,937 visitors to its premises and at year end, had 44,303 members of various membership classes. Visitors can experience natural environments from around the globe through stunning, ever-changing garden displays and exhibitions. Permanent displays focus on plant diversity, ecological principles, conservation, and adaptations to specific environments. The atlanta botanical garden has one of the most complete orchid repositories in the world, as well as a state-of-the-art tissue culture lab contributing to the emerging field of high-tech plant propagation. Its collections include rare and endangered species not seen anywhere else in the world.
$28,732,344 spent$26,210,347 earned by the program92% of program spendingThe atlanta botanical garden's focus on education motivates garden staff to develop and provide various lecture events including a series to promote horticultural knowledge and awareness. An after-school program, school tours and camps, along with weekly programs included with admission, bring environmental knowledge to children of all ages. From achieving peace through tai chi and learning to draw favorite flowers, to chef events and improving green space at home, the garden's robust selection of educational opportunities and knowledgeable training team engages the public at a variety of levels.
$1,873,849 spent$444,190 earned by the program6% of program spendingGarden staff continue working to save rare and endangered species and to investigate methods of tissue culture and plant propagation. Our southeastern center for conservation focuses on four core areas of research: habitat restoration and monitoring, conservation genetics and evolutionary studies, pollinator surveys, and a conservation seed bank. The garden's domestic and international conservation work is critical to preserving our natural heritage and positively affecting international plant populations.
$624,616 spent2% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $31,230,809.
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 2022 to 2023, from $205M to $252M (+23%).
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 1% · 2018 1% · 2019 1% · 2020 7% · 2021 6% · 2022 1% · 2023 2% · 2024 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
67% of THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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.
Chief executive
Mary Pat Matheson
President & CEO
Board chair
Jennifer Flanagan
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 47 funders to 74 funders, grant income rose $614k → $10M.
21 of 188 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% 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 THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 188 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
THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 30% of grant income and the top three 65%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
26% 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 THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 33% · 2018 36% · 2019 23% · 2020 50% · 2021 71% · 2022 40% · 2023 50% — 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
43% of THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 64% 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
93% of THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC's grant income comes from Georgia funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $14M arriving through sponsors registered in 14 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
THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 330 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 330 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $8.8M on record — $8.8M federal, $68k state.
- National Science Foundation$3.6M
- Department of the Interior$2.0M
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$1.9M
- Department of Agriculture$803k
- Environmental Protection Agency$501k
- RESEARCH SERVICES - GENERAL $68k
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 THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN 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 Georgia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
55%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 3 related entities
- Extension Properties LLC · disregarded
- Pine-Dear Creations LLC · disregarded
- Gaines Woods and Smith LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN 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 THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC?
- THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC (Georgia) receives grants from 188 organizations whose IRS filings report $67,654,245 to it, the largest being JAMES M COX FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA INC ($20,315,000). 121 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC have?
- IRS filings report 188 organizations giving $67,654,245 in grants to THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC, 121 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC?
- JAMES M COX FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA INC is the largest funder on record, with $20,315,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Georgia. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 188 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