Grants for wildlife protection organizations

623 wildlife conservation and protection organizations received at least $31.3 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 1,585 grants made from 994 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 994 foundations, 76% made just a single grant to wildlife orgs, and 4% made grants to four or more wildlife orgs. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$31,269,877
Total grant dollars given to wildlife protection organizations
1,585
Number of grants made annually to wildlife protection organizations
994
Number of grantmakers funding wildlife protection organizations
$1,000
Median grant size to wildlife protection organizations

Foundations that support wildlife conservation and protection organizations

Out of all grants made to wildlife protection organizations, 80% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 92% of the dollar-value of grants to wildlife orgs. Foundations funding wildlife orgs also made grants to animal shelters, wildlife sanctuaries, natural resource conservation nonprofits, water and wetland protection organizations, and environmental education programs.

Foundation size

Foundation size Number of grantmakers
Small
 
794
Medium
 
114
Large
 
83
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation type Number of grantmakers
Community
 
24
Private
 
870
Corporate
 
59
Other
 
41

Grants made

Grants made to wildlife orgs Number of grantmakers
1
 
761
2-3
 
184
4-10
 
38
11+
 
11

Top 10 foundations supporting wildlife conservation and protection organizations

Grantmaker State Geographic focus Percent of grant dollars to wildlife orgs Number of grants made to wildlife orgs Median grant size
Abbvie Foundation IL National 0.1% 33 $200
JP Morgan Chase Foundation NY National 0.0% 26 $347
Shell Oil Company Foundation TX National 0.1% 24 $500
Westrock Foundation GA National 0.0% 23 $20
Carmax Foundation VA National 0.4% 20 $1,000
Salesforce Com Foundation CA National 0.0% 19 $50
Community Foundation of Collier County FL National 0.1% 15 $1,250
Baxter IL National 0.0% 13 $25
PC Fund for Animals Charitable Trust FL National 9.1% 12 $1,000
Seattle Foundation WA State 0.0% 11 $1,000

Wildlife conservation and protection organizations grantees

Wildlife protection organizations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 87% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 41% of all wildlife orgs.

Grant amounts

Size of grant Number of grants
<$10k
 
1,580
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
5

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenue Median grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,000
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of grantee Number of grants
California
 
243
District of Columbia
 
169
Virginia
 
149
Florida
 
139
Other
 
885

Grantee metros

Metro area of grantee Number of grants
Washington DC
 
329
New York City
 
126
San Francisco
 
70
Los Angeles
 
66
Other
 
852

Top 25 grants made to wildlife protection organizations

Grantee Grant size Purpose Grantmaker
Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) $11,272,126 General Purpose The Sheth Sangreal Foundation
Ducks Unlimited $8,513,338 Policy The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew)
Trout Unlimited $3,403,051 Various Conservation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
Ducks Unlimited $2,989,922 Various Conservation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
Philadelphia Contemporary $2,500,000 General Support Claws Foundation
California Wildlife Center (CWC) $5,000 Environment and Animals Santa Barbara Foundation
National Wildlife Federation $5,000 Public Support of Organization's Mission Ying Cai and Wann S Lee Foundation
Sea Turtle Preservation Society $5,000 General Operations Hastings Community Foundation
The Marine Mammal Center $5,000 Charitable Contribution Through the Matching Gifts Program Annie E Casey Foundation (AECF)
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers $5,000 Operating Expenses The Albany Foundation
Wolf Haven International $5,000 General Operating Seebe Frances Tuw
Sea Turtle Adventures Incorporated $5,000 Icare Program The Jim Moran Foundation
The Ocean Foundation (TOF) $5,000 General Support To Carry Out the Mission of the Organization Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
St Francis Wildlife Association $5,000 General Support Appreciation of Earth and Animal Foundation
The Wilds $5,000 Conservation The Columbus Foundation
Ducks Unlimited $5,000 General Support JustGive
Oceana $5,000 Environmental The Fine and Greenwald Foundation
Ducks Unlimited $5,000 Environment & Animals North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF)
Ducks Unlimited - Greenville Dr Ray D Minges Chapter $5,000 Environment & Animals North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF)
Ducks Unlimited $5,000 General Support Spartanburg County Foundation
Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center (CWWC) $5,000 Donor Advised-For Unrestricted Use Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region
Blue Ridge Wildlife Center $5,000 General Support Monomoy Fund
Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival $5,000 Support Local Fundraiser That Provides High School Scholarships Cheniere Foundation
Walden's Puddle $5,000 Animals Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)
Coastal Conservation Association $5,000 Environ/conserv Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Wildlife protection organizations" category for this page is determined by the "D30: Wildlife Preservation, Protection" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.