Grants for wildlife sanctuaries

294 wildlife sanctuaries and refuges received at least $1.3 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 847 grants made from 596 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 596 foundations, 82% made just a single grant to wildlife sactuaries, and 3% made grants to four or more wildlife sactuaries. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$1,337,649
Total grant dollars given to wildlife sanctuaries
847
Number of grants made annually to wildlife sanctuaries
596
Number of grantmakers funding wildlife sanctuaries
$1,000
Median grant size to wildlife sanctuaries

Foundations that support wildlife sanctuaries and refuges

Out of all grants made to wildlife sanctuaries, 81% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 12% of the dollar-value of grants to wildlife sactuaries. Foundations funding wildlife sactuaries also made grants to animal shelters, water and wetland protection organizations, land conservation groups, food banks, and legal aid societies.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
483
Medium
 
60
Large
 
53
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
15
Private
 
522
Corporate
 
40
Other
 
19

Grants made

Grants made to wildlife sactuariesNumber of grantmakers
1
 
493
2-3
 
81
4-10
 
15
11+
 
7

Top 10 foundations supporting wildlife sanctuaries and refuges

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to wildlife sactuariesNumber of grants made to wildlife sactuariesMedian grant size
Community Foundation of Collier CountyFLNational0.1%15$1,250
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational0.0%15$500
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%14$400
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.0%12$391
Salesforce Com FoundationCANational0.0%12$100
Westrock FoundationGANational0.0%12$20
BaxterILNational0.0%12$25
Wildlife Support Charitable TrustNJRegional36.0%8$5,000
Seattle FoundationWAState0.0%8$1,000
Carmax FoundationVANational0.1%8$500

Wildlife sanctuaries and refuges grantees

Wildlife sanctuaries with more than $5 million in total revenues received 23% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 27% of all wildlife sactuaries.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
847
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
0

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,000
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$755

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
California
 
178
Florida
 
111
District of Columbia
 
98
Colorado
 
60
Other
 
400

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
Washington DC
 
120
San Francisco
 
63
Naples
 
42
Los Angeles
 
34
Other
 
501

Top 25 grants made to wildlife sanctuaries

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
California Wildlife Center (CWC)$5,000Environment and AnimalsSanta Barbara Foundation
Sea Turtle Preservation Society$5,000General OperationsHastings Community Foundation
The Marine Mammal Center$5,000Charitable Contribution Through the Matching Gifts ProgramAnnie E Casey Foundation (AECF)
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers$5,000Operating ExpensesThe Albany Foundation
Blue Ridge Wildlife Center$5,000General SupportMonomoy Fund
St Francis Wildlife Association$5,000General SupportAppreciation of Earth and Animal Foundation
The Wilds$5,000ConservationThe Columbus Foundation
Walden's Puddle$5,000AnimalsCommunity Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)
Sky Dog Sanctuary$5,000Charitable PurposesMitchell D Phaiah Foundation
American Wildlife Foundation$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Juneau Raptor Center$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Badger Run Wildlife Rehab$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Blue Mountain Wildlife$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
West Sound Wildlife Shelter$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Snowdon Wildlife Sanctuary$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Pawsitivity Catlink$5,000General OperatingWildlife Support Charitable Trust
Born Free USA united with API$5,000Support for AnimalsAhimsa Foundation
Animals for Education Critter Creek Wildlife Station$5,000Build Raptor Flight CageThornton S. Glide Jr. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation
Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue$5,000General Charitable PurposesFarley Family Charitable Foundation
Castleton Ranch Horse Rescue$5,000Program SupportThe Henry Foundation
Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival$5,000Support Local Fundraiser That Provides High School ScholarshipsCheniere Foundation
Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge$5,000For Greatest Need ProgramMKM Foundation
Raptors of the Rockies$5,000UnrestrictedBaldwin Management
Wild Tomorrow Fund$5,000GeneralFisher Brothers Foundation % Fisher Brothers
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 sanctuaries" category for this page is determined by the "D34: Wildlife Sanctuary, Refuge" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.