816 private foundations reported environment & conservation grants on their IRS Form 990-PF filings for tax years 2021–2025. Historical giving records — not an open application portal.
Themes are derived from the free-text purpose each foundation wrote on its own Part XV filing, so a grant is classified by what the funder said it was for. Grants paid directly to named individuals are excluded from recipient counts and tables.
Across tax years 2021–2025, 816 private foundations reported 3,052 grants for environment & conservation totaling $453,776,443 to 2,264 organizations nationwide. Recipients span 50 states and territories, concentrated in California, District of Columbia, New York. The Rockefeller Foundation reported the most environment & conservation giving — $87,591,581 across 44 grants. The median grant was $17,000.
Foundation filings are a record of past giving. The UseGrants eligibility check matches you to federal and state opportunities accepting applications today.
States whose organizations received the most reported environment & conservation grants.
| State | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|
| California | 473 | $56,754,156 |
| District of Columbia | 259 | $63,580,905 |
| New York | 256 | $143,886,446 |
| Massachusetts | 184 | $7,837,749 |
| Colorado | 144 | $10,646,078 |
| Virginia | 131 | $37,067,253 |
| Oregon | 125 | $5,783,923 |
| Washington | 102 | $8,262,203 |
| Florida | 98 | $13,225,868 |
| Montana | 94 | $5,615,020 |
| Pennsylvania | 91 | $13,075,098 |
| Texas | 80 | $9,839,624 |
| Maryland | 75 | $4,875,781 |
| North Carolina | 66 | $4,786,634 |
| Wisconsin | 55 | $2,838,625 |
| Connecticut | 53 | $4,097,867 |
| Georgia | 47 | $1,814,650 |
| Illinois | 46 | $2,800,785 |
| Minnesota | 42 | $6,490,099 |
| Tennessee | 42 | $2,311,650 |
| Foundation | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|
| The Rockefeller Foundation | 44 | $87,591,581 |
| Freedom Together Foundation | 41 | $48,325,000 |
| Waverley Street Foundation | 13 | $30,470,000 |
| Wal-mart Foundation | 16 | $29,368,235 |
| John S and James L Knight Foundation | 30 | $23,262,121 |
| Margaret a Cargill Foundation | 20 | $16,513,500 |
| Wilburforce Foundation | 176 | $13,765,500 |
| The William Penn Foundation | 57 | $13,727,490 |
| Patagoniaorg | 450 | $11,904,500 |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | 1 | $11,000,000 |
| Darla Moore and Richard Rainwater Foundation | 2 | $10,230,000 |
| The Kresge Foundation | 43 | $9,883,425 |
| Clif Family Foundation | 133 | $7,963,500 |
| The Patrick J Mcgovern Foundation Inc | 15 | $5,950,000 |
| The Great Island Foundation | 4 | $5,550,000 |
| Recipient | Location | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| RF Catalytic Capital Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $75,000,000 |
| Windward Fund | Washington, DC | 5 | $13,875,000 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors | San Francisco, CA | 8 | $12,575,000 |
| Conservation International Foundation | Arlington, VA | 7 | $11,171,199 |
| Stony Brook Foundation Inc | Stony Brook, NY | 1 | $11,000,000 |
| Greater Lake City Alliance | Lake City, SC | 1 | $10,130,000 |
| Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | 11 | $6,961,365 |
| NEW Venture Fund | Baltimore, MD | 9 | $6,434,000 |
| World Wildlife Fund | Washington, DC | 31 | $5,718,115 |
| Wildlife Conservation Society | Washington, DC | 13 | $5,347,600 |
| California Volunteers Fund | Sacramento, CA | 2 | $5,250,000 |
| National Wildlife Federation | Reston, VA | 9 | $5,068,570 |
| The Associated Press | New York, NY | 1 | $5,000,000 |
| Trust for Public Land | Los Angeles, CA | 7 | $4,940,000 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | 3 | $4,865,000 |
| Charities AID Foundation (caf) America | Alexandria, VA | 1 | $4,160,000 |
| Girl Scouts of the USA | New York, NY | 1 | $3,500,000 |
| First Nations Development Institute | Longmont, CO | 4 | $3,290,000 |
| Ocean Research & Conservation Association (orca) | Vero Beach, FL | 1 | $3,000,000 |
| Solutions Project Inc | Oakland, CA | 3 | $2,850,000 |
816 private foundations reported environment & conservation grants on their IRS Form 990-PF filings, totaling $453,776,443. The largest by reported dollars were The Rockefeller Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, Waverley Street Foundation. These are historical filings, not open application portals — check each foundation's own guidelines before approaching them.
2,264 distinct organizations appear as recipients, led by RF Catalytic Capital Inc, Windward Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Grants paid directly to named individuals are excluded from these figures.
The median reported environment & conservation grant was $17,000, and the largest single reported grant was $75,000,000. Amounts are as reported by the filing foundation for a historical tax year.
The UseGrants feed tracks federal and state opportunities that are open today, each with the eligibility explained in plain English.
Source: public IRS Form 990-PF Part XV filings (tax years 2021–2025). Theme classification is derived from the funder’s own purpose text and is a summary, not a legal categorization. UseGrants is an independent aggregator, not affiliated with any foundation listed.
