Nonprofit
THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION
THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $389,036 to it, the largest being THE SHERIF FOUNDATION ($350,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $437k
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $389k
- Net assets
- $52k
What The Polar Education Foundation does
Mission
To provide high school students with an understanding of the environment and the importance of the artic and the antarctic regions. It is dedicated to advancing the preservation and protection of the world's polar regions by empowering youth and polar educators. The (continued on schedule o)
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
The organization sponsors educational activities within schools dealing with the polar regions. The organization also develops materials for teachers to use in their curriculum on the polar regions. In addition to the in-school educational activities, the organization provides students, teachers and scientists with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the arctic and the antarctic by hosting research and educational expeditions to those areas. Each year, there is one trip to the artic and one trip to antarctica. The cost per person is approximately $10,000. The organization believes that the students who are selected to participate in an expedition will learn invaluable lessons and will return to their homes and schools as "polar ambassadors" for the environment. It is hoped that these students will encourage and foster environmental awareness and conservation in their peers. (continued on schedule o)
$350,000 spentof which $350,000 as grants100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2025 Form 990. Program spending in total: $350,000.
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 2019 to 2020, from $21k to $409k (+1859%).
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.
100% of THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION’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. 6 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
Tammy Quinn
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income rose $27k → $80k.
2 of 4 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 9% 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 POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION’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 POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 90% of grant income and the top three 99%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 80% · 2018 100% · 2023 100% — 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.
Against its field
THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 2,433 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,433 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION
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.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
92% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
86%
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 POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION: 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 POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION?
- THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $389,036 to it, the largest being THE SHERIF FOUNDATION ($350,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $389,036 in grants to THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION?
- THE SHERIF FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $350,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE POLAR EDUCATION FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations. 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 Polar Education →
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 4 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