California · Nonprofit
THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC
THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC (California) receives grants from 42 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,242,223 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($230,500). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $2.5M
- Funders on record
- 42
- Grants received
- $1.2M
- Net assets
- $3.6M
What Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants Inc does
Mission
Theodore payne foundation for wildflowers and native plans inc. (tpf) inspires and educates southern californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of california native plant landscapes.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Horticulture: across its 22-acre sun valley property and satellite los nogales nursery in montecito heights, tpf showcases native plant horticulture. The headquarters property includes extensive demonstration gardens, natural vegetation, educational facilities, and plant production fields, alongside a full-service nursery, seed program, and bookstore. Much of the horticultural work onsite is accomplished through a robust volunteer program, which had 277 active participants in 2025. Tpf offers horticultural and botanical support to government agencies, nonprofit partners, and private businesses with a focus on rare plant conservation and urban restoration. Tpf sold 128,590 native plants and over 41,857 packets of native seeds. 6,055 of the plants sold/distributed were grown from locally sourced seed, providing the maximum benefit to biodiversity.
$1,300,884 spent$1,340,198 earned by the program62% of program spendingEducation: theodore payne foundation (tpf) offers educational programming for landscape industry professionals, adults seeking continuing education, and k-12 students. These efforts are aimed at increasing public awareness of native plants, alongside practical skills and knowledge to implement ecological landscapes in southern california. During this fiscal year, tpf hosted 164 adult education classes to 2,721 students. During the same time, 508 southern california landscape industry professionals completed tpf's 20-hour california native plant landscaper certification program.
$429,676 spent$306,924 earned by the program21% of program spendingOutreach: through diverse outreach programs, tpf promotes sustainable and environmentally friendly landscapes in southern california. The native plant garden tour, a two-day event showcasing visionary landscapes around los angeles had nearly 3,000 attendees. In fy 2025, tpf tabled at 51 events throughout southern california reaching 11,222 people, distributed 23,660 free seed packets, and installed over 1,200 plants in community spaces. In addition to in-person events, robust online outreach programs and media appearances reach a large audience. Tpf promotes native plants to 51,000+ social media followers and 35,000+ newsletter subscribers.
$353,965 spent$223,444 earned by the program17% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,084,525.
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 2020 to 2021, from $3.0M to $3.6M (+20%).
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 13%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
28% of THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS 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. 2 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $59k → $317k.
9 of 42 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 42% 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 THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 42 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
THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% 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
42% 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 THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 25% · 2018 51% · 2019 33% · 2020 52% · 2021 35% · 2022 34% · 2023 61% — 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
31% of THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% 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
56% of THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS 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. $517k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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
THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC's funding base is broadening — from 6 funders to 20 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,186 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $24k on record.
- Department of Agriculture$24k
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 THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS 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
75% 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 THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS 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 THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC?
- THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC (California) receives grants from 42 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,242,223 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($230,500). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC have?
- IRS filings report 42 organizations giving $1,242,223 in grants to THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC, 20 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS INC?
- CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $230,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS AND NATIVE PLANTS 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 Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants →
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 42 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