Virginia · Nonprofit
Virginia Society of Ornithology
Virginia Society of Ornithology (Virginia) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $172,130 to it, the largest being THE RIMORA FOUNDATION ($105,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $138k
- Funders on record
- 10
- Grants received
- $172k
- Net assets
- $684k
What Virginia Society of Ornithology does
Mission
to encourage the systematic study of birds in Virginia, to stimulate interest in birds, and to assist the conservation of wildlife and other natural resources
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Systematic study of birds. The organization produces scientific publications to educate the public and keep members informed about developments in ornithology, including newsletters, The Raven journal, Virginia Birds publication, and website. The organization also worked with partners to publish the 2nd Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas (www.vabirdatlas.org), and raised funds to pay for the publication. The organization includes the Virginia Avian Records Committee with a mission to increase knowledge of Virginias birds, to evaluate and archive records of vagrants and rare nesting species in the state, and to encourage high standards of observation, recording and reporting in the birding community. The VSO provides awards and scholarships to ornithology students, fostering current and future science. The VSO maintains a MOTUS tower at its Bramble Hill property for tracking tagged birds.
$177,462 spentof which $4,500 as grants77% of program spendingStimulate interest in birds. VSO holds field trips for members and led by experienced guides. The VSO provides the VSO Newsletter, website, and social media to stimulate interest in birds throughout the state serving over 800 members and open access to the public. The VSO Annual meeting features a speaker on significant birding topics. The VSO makes the Bramble Hill property available to members for overnight visits, facilitating birding on the property and in Virginias blue-grass region. The VSO supports youth engagement in bird watching and conservation, and community outreach to engage under-represented groups.
$25,208 spentof which $2,000 as grants$1,300 earned by the program11% of program spendingConservation. The VSO manages Bramble Hill, a 30 acre birding preserve on the Virginia/West Virginia state line donated to VSO. VSO manages the Bramble Hill habitat for Golden-winged Warbler breeding and other important species. The VSO conducts an American Kestrel nest box project and provides grants for conservation projects in Virginia and internationally.
$27,569 spentof which $24,800 as grants12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $230,239.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 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 $698k to $811k (+16%).
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: 2023 4% · 2025 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
90% of Virginia Society of Ornithology’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (82% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 5 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
2020 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $3k → $33k.
3 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 12% 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 Virginia Society of Ornithology’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
Virginia Society of Ornithology leans on a few funders — its largest provides 61% of grant income and the top three 87%; 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: 2020 96% · 2021 100% · 2022 57% · 2023 61% — 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
20% of Virginia Society of Ornithology's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 10% 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
99% of Virginia Society of Ornithology's grant income comes from Virginia funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $20k 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.
Against its field
Virginia Society of Ornithology is better cushioned than half of the 7,883 health nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,883 health nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like Virginia Society of Ornithology
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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
96% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
76%
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 Virginia Society of Ornithology: 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 Virginia Society of Ornithology?
- Virginia Society of Ornithology (Virginia) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $172,130 to it, the largest being THE RIMORA FOUNDATION ($105,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Virginia Society of Ornithology have?
- IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $172,130 in grants to Virginia Society of Ornithology, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Virginia Society of Ornithology?
- THE RIMORA FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $105,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Virginia Society of Ornithology find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 FY2025 (financials across 2021–2025), and the filings of 10 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