Grantmakers › District of Columbia
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, DC · EIN 53-0183181. Reported 127 grants totalling $3,253,198 to 74 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Defenders of Wildlife, the IRS classifies it under animal welfare rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE D300) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 74 distinct organizations, with 18% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 43% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $10,000. Half of what it reported fell between $7,000 and $21,656; the smallest was $5,002 and the largest $575,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $575,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Wilderness Society | Washington, DC | $357,794 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Natural Resources Defense Council Inc | New York, NY | $286,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Alaska Wilderness League | Washington, DC | $185,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| County of Dare | Manteo, NC | $120,114 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Indian Nations Conservation Alliance | Taos, NM | $114,333 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Aris Land & Livestock LLC | New River, AZ | $102,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| University of Alaska | Fairbanks, AK | $72,120 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Blackfoot Challenge Inc | Ovando, MT | $71,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance | Seward, AK | $66,673 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Rangeland Wild | Laguna Niguel, CA | $60,017 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Florida Conservation Group Inc | Nokomis, FL | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes | Poplar, MT | $57,652 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Montana | Missoula, MT | $53,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Kck Investments LLC | Mesa, AZ | $51,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Alaska Wildlife Alliance | Anchorage, AK | $45,400 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hispanic Access Foundation | Washington, DC | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Tom Miner Basin Association | Emigrant, MT | $43,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Clark Fork Coalition | Missoula, MT | $41,653 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg, VA | $38,087 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Nation | Browning, MT | $36,900 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| White Mountain Apache Tribe | Whiteriver, AZ | $36,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Wildlife Refuge Association | Washington, DC | $33,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Slade Ranch LLC Co Sug Peters | Springerville, AZ | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Mainspring Conservation Trust Inc | Franklin, NC | $29,700 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory | Brighton, CO | $26,032 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Strayhorse Ranch LLC | Lakeside, AZ | $25,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Patagonia Area Resource Alliance | Patagonia, AZ | $24,321 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Blackfeet Tribe | Browning, MT | $23,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Legacy Philanthropy Works | Santa Barbara, CA | $21,656 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Southern Plains Land Trust | Lamar, CO | $21,186 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Freshwater Partners Inc | Livingston, MT | $21,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| City of Hamilton | Hamilton, MT | $20,110 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Intertribal Buffalo Counsel | Rapid City, SD | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| National Wildlife Federation | Reston, VA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| North American Butterfly Association Inc | Morristown, NJ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Partnership Project Inc | Washington, DC | $18,300 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Andrus Ranch Holdings LLC | Concho, AZ | $18,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Association for the Betterment of Bucksport | Conway, SC | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| J Bar L Ranches LLC | Bozeman, MT | $18,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Beaver Institute Inc | Southampton, MA | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Champions for Wildlife | Lynn, NC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group | Valier, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Florida Foundation Inc | Gainesville, FL | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Wolf Conservation Center Inc | South Salem, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge | Los Fresnos, TX | $13,750 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Southern Environmental Law Center | Charlottesville, VA | $13,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wildlife Restoration Foundation | Arlington, VA | $13,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum | Folcroft, PA | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Grama Grass and Livestock LLC | Boulder, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Gwich'in Steering Committee | Fairbanks, AK | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mica Group Inc | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Okefenokee Swamp Park Inc | Waycross, GA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Species Survival Network | Highland, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tyonek Tribal Conservation District | Anchorage, AK | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| University of North Carolina at Asheville | Asheville, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Watershed Management Group Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wild Earth Society Incorporated | Salt Lake Cty, UT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Yellowstone Coalition Inc | Bozeman, MT | $9,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Prairie Foundation | Bozeman, MT | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Pisgah Conservancy | Brevard, NC | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Vital Ground Foundation Inc | Missoula, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wolf Haven International | Tenino, WA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Animal Welfare Institute | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Birkmaier Ranch Inc | Joseph, OR | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| League of Conservation Voters Inc | Washington, DC | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Trustees for Alaska | Anchorage, AK | $6,400 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Flying W Ranch Inc | Reserve, NM | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| J Albert Brown Ranches Inc | Saint Johns, AZ | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pyramid Communications | Seattle, WA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute | Washington, DC | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Tribal Government of St Paul Island | Anchorage, AK | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nils Pedersen Dba Wind River Bear Institute LLC | Fairbanks, AK | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rio Grande Return | Lamy, NM | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
28 of 74 (38%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- The Nature Conservancy
Sub-grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to support a joint program to facilitate and expedite the sensitive siting of renewable energy projects through the development of federal and state energy and land management policies. - County of Dare
To re-fence to Dare County Transfer Station on Cub Road in Manns Harbor, NC. - Indian Nations Conservation Alliance
To support tribal efforts to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock and to assist with range and grassland conservation objectives. - Alaska Wilderness League
To support the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. - Univeristy of Alaska
To support ANSEP contract - Hispanic Access Foundation
To support conservation projects and programs; to support Latino Conservation Week 2022 activities and event; to support work to establish the Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge in California; sponsorship for Our Planet film week.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 44 of 74 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 29 | $1,585,131 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | 27 | $436,804 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 32 | $544,829 | $10,516 |
| 2023 | 18 | $292,224 | $12,407 |
| 2024 | 21 | $394,210 | $13,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
20% of its giving went to organizations in District of Columbia. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $10,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in District of Columbia.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Defenders of Wildlife's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 13 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 8 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 1130 17TH Street Nw, Washington, DC, 20036.
EIN 53-0183181 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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