Tortuga Charitable Foundation
Princeton, NJ · EIN 51-0245279. Reported 312 grants totalling $22.7M to 160 recipients across tax years 2021-2023. This foundation told the IRS it does not accept unsolicited requests: it contributes only to organizations it selects itself.
Does this foundation accept applications?
No -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation to check a box if it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds". Tortuga Charitable Foundation checked it on its most recent filing, as 78% of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered did. An unsolicited request is unlikely to go anywhere.
Organizations it funds that make grants of their own
4 of the organizations Tortuga Charitable Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 8 grants totalling $850,000 to them. That is 4% of the $20.0M of its giving we could match to a registered organization. Each is classified by the IRS as a philanthropy or grantmaking organization, reported grants to at least 25 organizations of its own, and has at least 10 funders behind it.
All of them file Form 990, which never asks whether an organization funds only groups it picks, so there is no answer on record either way.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application to any of them reaches this foundation's money. A private foundation's grant to a community foundation or a federated campaign is often a donor-advised fund or a gift designated for a purpose the foundation chose, and has nothing to do with any open programme the receiving organization runs. Its return's purpose text sometimes names a family fund or a designated purpose, which is the plainest case of money no applicant can reach; where it names none, neither return says which. The list is who this foundation paid that also makes grants. Whether any of them would fund you is a question for its own page.
| Grantmaker | Kind | State | Received | Grants | Years | Last | Only funds organizations it picks? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockefeller Family Fund Inc | grantmaking organization | New York | $475,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc | grantmaking organization | New York | $250,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Hopewell Fund | grantmaking organization | District of Columbia | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| Tides Foundation | grantmaking organization | California | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
A floor, not a full list. A grantmaker appears here only where this foundation's return named it clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows, and only where that grantmaker has a page on this site. There may be more. Dollars here are summed by EIN across every spelling on its returns, so a figure can differ from the matching row in the full list below, which groups names as written. And the IRS classification cannot tell a grantmaker from a funders' association or a donor-advised fund sponsor, so a payment to one of these may be dues or an account rather than support for a grants programme.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $70,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $44,000 and $80,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $370,000.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $930,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bennington College | Bennington, VT | $600,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Environmental Integrity Project | Washington, DC | $585,000 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc | Washington, DC | $565,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust | Athol, MA | $525,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | $475,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Rockefeller Family Fund Inc | New York, NY | $475,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Craig Hospital | Englewood, CO | $426,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Louisianna Bucket Brigade | New Orleans, LA | $390,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Trustees for Alaska | Anchorage, AK | $375,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sustainable Markets Foundation | New York, NY | $370,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| New York Public Interest Research | New York, NY | $365,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Alaska Wilderness League | Washington, DC | $310,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ct Audubon Society Inc | Fairfield, CT | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis | Cleveland, OH | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Northern Alaska Environmental Center | Fairbanks, AK | $260,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Center for Biological Diversity | Tucson, AZ | $250,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Taxpayers for Common Sense | Washington, DC | $250,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Dogwood Alliance Inc | Cedar Park, TX | $240,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Oregon Desert Land Trust | Bend, OR | $240,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Partnership for Policy Integrity | Pelham, MA | $240,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $240,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Southern Environmental Law Center | Charlottesville, VA | $235,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Terracorps Inc | Lowell, MA | $230,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Commission Shift | Laredo, TX | $225,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ecdysis Foundation | Estelline, SD | $225,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Land Trust Alliance Inc | Washington, DC | $225,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Oregon Natural Desert Association | Bend, OR | $225,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Scenic Hudson Inc | Poughkeepsie, NY | $225,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Alaska Center Education Fund | Anchorage, AK | $220,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Appalachian Mountain Advocates Inc | Lewisburg, WV | $200,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood South Atlantic | Raleigh, NC | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Pomfret School | Pomfret Center, CT | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Save the Sound | New Haven, CT | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Wildlife Conservation Society | Bronx, NY | $200,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Woodstock Land Conservancy Inc | Woodstock, NY | $200,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Conservation Lands Foundation Inc | Durango, CO | $195,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Environmental Advocates Ny | Albany, NY | $190,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Nature Conservancy-Connecticut | New Haven, CT | $190,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New Mexico Wilderness Alliance | Albuquerque, NM | $190,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Southeast Alaska Conservation Council | Juneau, AK | $185,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Wyoming Wilderness Association | Sheridan, WY | $185,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Alaska Public Interest Research Group | Anchorage, AK | $180,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friends of Nevada Wilderness | Reno, NV | $180,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Guardianorg Foundation | Washington, DC | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors | New York, NY | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Western Environmental Law Center | Eugene, OR | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Center for International Environmental Law | Washington, DC | $170,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Greater Yellowstone Coalition | Bozeman, MT | $170,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wild Earth Guardians | Santa Fe, NM | $170,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Alliance for a Green Economy | Syracuse, NY | $165,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Center for Climate Integrity | Washington, DC | $165,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Environment and Human Health Inc | North Haven, CT | $165,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| National Parks Conservation Association | Washington, DC | $160,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility | Silver Spring, MD | $155,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Abortion Care Network | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Badlands Conservation Alliance | Bismarck, ND | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Earthjustice | Bozeman, MT | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers Inc | Mamaroneck, NY | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Interlace Commons Inc | Bristol, VT | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Intertribal Agriculture Council Inc | Billings, MT | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Caucus of Environmental Legislators | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Institute for Reproductive Health Inc | New York, NY | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Womens Law Center | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Virginia Organizing Inc | Charlottesville, VA | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Vote Solar | Oakland, CA | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Redford Center Inc | San Francisco, CA | $140,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catskill Animal Sanctuary Inc | Saugerties, NY | $135,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Community Foundation for the Alleghenies | Johnstown, PA | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| League of Conservation Voters Education Fund | Washington, DC | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc | New Haven, CT | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| West Virginia Rivers Coalition Inc | Charleston, WV | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Wild Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $125,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Native Movement | Fairbanks, AK | $115,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Whitman Walker Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | $109,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Inc | Denver, CO | $106,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Amigos Bravos Inc | Taos, NM | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Brigid Alliance Inc | New York, NY | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Craig Hospital Foundation | Englewood, CO | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Delaware Riverkeeper Network | Bristol, PA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Government Accountability Institute | Tallahassee, FL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Native Americans in Philanthropy | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light | Albuquerque, NM | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Regenerative Agriculture Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| River Valley Organizing | East Liverpool, OH | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| South Carolina Coastal Conservation League | Charleston, SC | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Southeastern Alaska Conservation Council | Juneau, AK | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Upstream Policy Institute Inc | Oakland, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Conservation Northwest | Seattle, WA | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Food & Water Watch | Washington, DC | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| 350ORG | Brooklyn, NY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alaska Public Interest Research Grp | Anchorage, AK | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Center for Rural Affairs | Lyons, NE | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Earthworks | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Environmental Law and Policy Center | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Foodshed Capital | Charlottesville, VA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hopewell Fund | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Initiative for Responsible Mining Assure | Seattle, WA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| League of Conservation Voters | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mothers Out Front | Cambridge, MA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Natl Parks Conservation Assoc | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pivot Point | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy | New York, NY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Southern Environmental Law Ctr | Charlottesville, VA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Tulane Environmental Law Clinic | New Orleans, LA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Turtle Survival Alliance | Charleston, SC | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Puget Soundkeeper Alliance | Seattle, WA | $70,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Washington Wild | Seattle, WA | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Wild Virginia Inc | Charlottesville, VA | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Air Alliance Houston | Houston, TX | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chesapeake Climate Action Network | Takoma Park, MD | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Esopus Creek Conservancy | Saugerties, NY | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Liveable Arlington | Arlington, TX | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Niskanen Center | Washington, DC | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Washington Environmental Council | San Francisco, WA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Action Programs for Animals | Las Cruces, NM | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Center for Civic Policy | Albuquerque, NM | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Columbia Riverkeeper | Hood River, OR | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Congressional Progressive Caucus Center | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cowiche Canyon Conservancy | Yakima, WA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Earth Island Institute | Berkeley, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Naral Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation | Cleveland, OH | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Orleans Sponsoring Committee Together New Orleans | New Orleans, LA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Omega Institute for Holistic Studies Inc | Rhinebeck, NY | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Open Space Institute | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Physicans Comtee for Responsible Medicine | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food | Mamaroneck, NY | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Tides Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Together New Orleans | New Orleans, LA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Toxic-Free Future | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Neo Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Upstream USA | Oakland, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Washington Conservation Action Educ Fund | Seattle, WA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance | Monterey, VA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition | Huntington, WV | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Network of Abortion Funds | Beaverton, OR | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northwest Abortion Access Fund | Eugene, OR | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Potomac Conservancy | Silver Spring, MD | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Protect Our Winters | Boulder, CO | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Puget Sound Restoration Fund | Bainbridge Island, WA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Texas Campaign for the Environment Fdn | Austin, TX | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Surfrider Foundation | San Clemente, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bronx Childrens Museum | Bronx, NY | $26,250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Colorado Org for Latina Opportunity | Denver, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Meals on Wheels People | Portland, OR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Occidental Arts and Ecology Center | Occidental, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Environmental Volunteers | Palo Alto, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Wildlife Federation | Reston, VA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Spruce Root Inc | Juneau, AK | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| White Feather Farm Inc | Saugerties, NY | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Environmental Grantmakers Assoc | New York, NY | $15,816 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Dickenson Memorial Library | Clintwood, VA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Biodiversity Funders Group | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Consultative Grp on Biological Diversity | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Center for Family Philanthropy | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Real Organic Project | East Thetford, VT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Central American Refugee Center | Hempstead, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Innocence Project New Orleans | New Orleans, LA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
99 of 160 (62%) received money in more than one year over the 3 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 73%, across 2 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- The Nature Conservancy
GENERAL CHARITABLE PURPOSES - Sustainable Markets Foundation
ECO-ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT - Center for Biological Diversity
SAFE CLIMATE TRANSPORT CAMPAIGN - Wyoming Wilderness Association
PROTECT WYOMING PUBLIC LANDS - Whitman Walker Foundation Inc
RESEARCH AND GENERAL SUPPORT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 242 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | $7,376,250 | $60,000 |
| 2022 | 107 | $7,608,500 | $70,000 |
| 2023 | 105 | $7,762,816 | $75,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
21% of its giving went to organizations in District of Columbia.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more. Unlike this foundation, none of them is on record as funding only organizations it picks, and each page says what its filings show.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Tortuga Charitable Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: C/O 791 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ, 08540. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 51-0245279 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.