Massachusetts · Nonprofit
THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC
THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC (Massachusetts) receives grants from 22 organizations whose IRS filings report $499,287 to it, the largest being ESSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($155,255). 14 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 52% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $515k
- Funders on record
- 22
- Grants received
- $499k
- Net assets
- $2.6M
What The Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation Inc does
Mission
The organization's mission is to promote the conservation, appreciation, and sustainable enjoyment of the middlesex fells reservation. We protect and enhance the ecology of the fells through initiatives to manage invasive species, reduce rogue trails for wildlife, and foster a culture of care and community stewardship. We provide opportunities for people to learn, enjoy, and care for the fells with more than 100 free walks annually and a multitude of opportunities to join us in on-the-ground stewardship of the fells. We advocate for protection of the fells through productive relationships with dcr staff, elected officials, and community leaders and activate more than 4,000 supporters to speak up on behalf of the fells.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Provide educational opportunities through our fells forest camp and other youth programming, and for adults via free guided outings in the fells. Lead community stewardship projects to manage invasive plants and improve habitat in the middlesex fells.advocate to preserve and protect natural resources and strengthen the state parks system in massachusetts.
$362,054 spent$246,250 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2023 Form 990. Program spending in total: $362,054.
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.
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 $343k to $2.6M (+651%).
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 7% · 2022 16% · 2023 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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.
Chief executive
Christopher Redfern
Executive director
Board chair
Sandra Pascal
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 11 funders, grant income fell $50k → $42k.
4 of 22 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 52% 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 FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC’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
THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 31% of grant income and the top three 78%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 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 THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2019 65% · 2020 61% · 2021 46% · 2022 36% · 2023 38% — 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
38% of THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION 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
52% of THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $242k that is directly attributable, 61% of it comes from funders outside Massachusetts, across 7 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $258k 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.
Organizations like THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION 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 Massachusetts
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
94%
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 THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION 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 FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC?
- THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC (Massachusetts) receives grants from 22 organizations whose IRS filings report $499,287 to it, the largest being ESSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($155,255). 14 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 52% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 22 organizations giving $499,287 in grants to THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC, 14 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC?
- ESSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $155,255 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE FRIENDS OF THE MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Massachusetts. 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 2018–2024), and the filings of 22 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