Butler Conservation Inc concentrates almost all of its giving on environmental conservation organizations, with large, directed gifts to groups working on coastal and river corridor protection and public-access trails. Grants are geographically focused on Maine-area conservation efforts (e.g., Cobscook Shores and Penobscot River Trails), suggesting a priority on habitat protection, shoreline resilience, and trail/river stewardship. The foundation favors a small number of high-dollar awards and repeat funding relationships rather than many small, diversified grants.
Highly concentrated giving: very few, large grants (multiple six-figure to multi-million dollar gifts), with repeat support to the same regional conservation nonprofits rather than broad national distribution.
Butler Conservation Inc has made two very large, repeated commitments to Cobscook Shores Inc and Penobscot River Trails Inc, signaling a strong preference for place-based conservation projects with long time horizons. Those awards sit alongside a smaller set of gifts to land trusts, river and coastal advocates, and other environmental organizations, with most support aimed at habitat protection, shoreline resilience, trail development, and public access to waterways. The foundation’s pattern is not broad and diffuse; it concentrates funding in a relatively small set of organizations and returns to them across years. Recent grants show Maine as a major center of activity, especially around coastal and river corridor work. Cobscook Shores received the largest award in the file, followed by another substantial grant the next year, while Penobscot River Trails received similarly large support in back-to-back years. Beyond those flagship relationships, the foundation has also backed organizations working on conservation land protection, watershed stewardship, and public access to natural areas. The overall picture is a funder that uses high-dollar, directed grants to support specific environmental projects and the organizations carrying them out.
On coastal conservation and shoreline habitat protection, Butler Conservation Inc gave $170,000 in 2025 to Banco Des Bosques in Buenos Aires and $128,000 in 2024 to the same organization. That pattern suggests a willingness to support conservation work outside the United States when it fits the foundation’s environmental priorities. For land trust and watershed work, the foundation gave $20,000 to Connecticut River Conservancy in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and $15,000 to Mid-coast Conservancy in Wiscasset, Maine. It also supported the Maine Coast Heritage Trust with $10,000 in both 2024 and 2025, showing repeated backing for regional conservation infrastructure. Public-access and trail-related work appears in gifts to Friends of Acadia in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust in Watertown, New York, each funded in consecutive years at $5,000. Those grants fit a broader emphasis on conservation access and stewardship.
The typical grant is modest relative to the foundation’s largest awards: p25 is $2,375, median is $5,000, and p75 is $18,024. Even so, the distribution includes several very large grants that far exceed the middle of the range, which points to a mixed portfolio of small support and major project funding. The pattern is also repetitive. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Cobscook Shores Inc, Penobscot River Trails Inc, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Friends of Acadia, Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust, Galveston Bay Foundation, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Town of Lubec. Butler Conservation Inc does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. The grants list does not show an application process.
$2.7M
$111.6M
$9.9M
$7.3M
Most grants fall between $2K and $18K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$2K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$18K
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Butler Conservation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 56 | $18.1M | 90.3% |
| 2 | Argentina | 6 |
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Notable grantees: COBSCook SHORES INC, PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC
Grant recipients are concentrated in the United States, with 90.7% of grants there. New York is the top giving state by count, and several recipients are in New York communities such as New York, Utica, Watertown, and Great Neck. Maine is another clear focus, with grants to Bar Harbor, Wiscasset, Topsham, Augusta, and Lubec. Outside the United States, the foundation made grants to Buenos Aires, appearing in the recent record with Banco Des Bosques.
The foundation supports environmental conservation organizations, especially groups working on coastal conservation, shoreline habitat protection, river corridor stewardship, trail development, public access to waterways, and regional land trust or land acquisition work. Recent grantees include conservation, watershed, and land-trust organizations in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Texas, South Carolina, and Buenos Aires.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Cobscook Shores Inc, Penobscot River Trails Inc, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Friends of Acadia, Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust, Galveston Bay Foundation, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Town of Lubec. The repeated awards suggest ongoing relationships rather than one-time support.
The foundation’s grant-size distribution is p25 $2,375, median $5,000, and p75 $18,024. That means many awards are relatively small, even though the recent record also includes much larger, project-level grants.
By grant count, New York is the top state. The recent record also shows heavy activity in Maine, plus a smaller number of grants in Massachusetts, Texas, South Carolina, and Buenos Aires.
No. The foundation does not fund individuals, and it does not make program-related investments.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
| $743K |
9.7% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COBSCOOK SHORES INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $1,673,941 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $777,602 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| BANCO DES BOSQUES | BUENOS AIRES | $170,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| CONNECTICUT RIVER CONSERVANCY | GREENFIELD, MA | $20,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| MID-COAST CONSERVANCY | WISCASSET, ME | $15,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST INC | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST | TOPSHAM, ME | $10,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| GREENUTICA | UTICA, NY | $6,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TUG HILL TOMORROW LAND TRUST | WATERTOWN, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| GALVESTON BAY FOUNDATION | KEMAH, TX | $5,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| FRIENDS OF ACADIA | BAR HARBOR, ME | $5,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| PEE DEE LAND TRUST | FLORENCE, SC | $5,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| WORLD MONUMENTS FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $4,680 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE | AUGUSTA, ME | $2,500 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TOWN OF LUBEC | LUBEC, ME | $1,000 | 2025 | SOCIAL WELFARE |
| LUBEC FIRE DEPARTMENT | LUBEC, ME | $1,000 | 2025 | SOCIAL WELFARE |
| INDIAN RIVER LAND TRUST | VERO BEACH, FL | $1,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| CONSERVATION VOTERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA | COLUMBIA, SC | $1,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| HOBCAW BARONY - BELLE W BARUCH FOUNDATION | GEORGETOWN, SC | $500 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| COBSCOOK SHORES INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $2,794,381 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $887,311 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| BANCO DES BOSQUES | BUENOS AIRES | $128,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| BLACK RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $42,098 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST | TOPSHAM, ME | $10,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TREES FOR HOUSTON | HOUSTON, TX | $7,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| GREENUTICA (FORMERLY CENTRAL NEW YORK CONSERVANCY) | UTICA, NY | $6,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| PEE DEE LAND TRUST | FLORENCE, SC | $5,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| GALVESTON BAY FOUNDATION | KEMAH, TX | $5,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TUG HILL TOMORROW LAND TRUST | WATERTOWN, NY | $5,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| FRIENDS OF ACADIA | BAR HARBOR, ME | $5,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE | AUGUSTA, ME | $2,500 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TOWN OF LUBEC | LUBEC, ME | $2,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| HOBCAW BARONY- BELLE W BARUCH FOUNDATION | GEORGETOWN, SC | $1,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| INDIAN RIVER LAND TRUST | VERO BEACH, FL | $1,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| CONSERVATION VOTERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA | COLUMBIA, SC | $1,000 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| COBSCOOK SHORES INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $2,090,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC | GREAT NECK, NY | $698,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| BANCO DES BOSQUES | BUENOS AIRES | $73,600 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE | AUGUSTA, ME | $22,500 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST | TOPSHAM, ME | $10,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TREES FOR HOUSTON | HOUSTON, TX | $7,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY | NEW YORK, NY | $6,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TUG HILL TOMORROW LAND TRUST | WATERTOWN, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| FRIENDS OF ACADIA | BAR HARBOR, ME | $5,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| PEE DEE LAND TRUST | FLORENCE, SC | $5,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| GALVESTON BAY FOUNDATION | KEMAH, TX | $5,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TOMPKINS CONVERSATION | SANTA ROSA, CA | $2,600 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| DOWNEAST COASTAL CONSERVANCY | MACHIAS, ME | $2,120 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| TOWN OF LUBEC | LUBEC, ME | $2,000 | 2023 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
COBSCOOK SHORES INC
$1,673,941ENVIRONMENTAL
PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC
$777,602ENVIRONMENTAL
BANCO DES BOSQUES
$170,000ENVIRONMENTAL
CONNECTICUT RIVER CONSERVANCY
$20,000ENVIRONMENTAL
MID-COAST CONSERVANCY
$15,000ENVIRONMENTAL
GREENUTICA
$6,000ENVIRONMENTAL
TUG HILL TOMORROW LAND TRUST
$5,000ENVIRONMENTAL
WORLD MONUMENTS FUND
$4,680ENVIRONMENTAL
NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE
$2,500ENVIRONMENTAL
TOWN OF LUBEC
$1,000SOCIAL WELFARE
LUBEC FIRE DEPARTMENT
$1,000SOCIAL WELFARE
INDIAN RIVER LAND TRUST
$1,000ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSERVATION VOTERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
$1,000ENVIRONMENTAL
HOBCAW BARONY - BELLE W BARUCH FOUNDATION
$500ENVIRONMENTAL
COBSCOOK SHORES INC
$2,794,381ENVIRONMENTAL
PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC
$887,311ENVIRONMENTAL
BANCO DES BOSQUES
$128,000ENVIRONMENTAL
BLACK RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION INC
$42,098ENVIRONMENTAL
GREENUTICA (FORMERLY CENTRAL NEW YORK CONSERVANCY)
$6,000ENVIRONMENTAL
TUG HILL TOMORROW LAND TRUST
$5,000ENVIRONMENTAL
TOWN OF LUBEC
$2,000ENVIRONMENTAL
HOBCAW BARONY- BELLE W BARUCH FOUNDATION
$1,000ENVIRONMENTAL
COBSCOOK SHORES INC
$2,090,000ENVIRONMENTAL
PENOBSCOT RIVER TRAILS INC
$698,000ENVIRONMENTAL
BANCO DES BOSQUES
$73,600ENVIRONMENTAL
TUG HILL TOMORROW LAND TRUST
$5,000ENVIRONMENTAL
TOMPKINS CONVERSATION
$2,600ENVIRONMENTAL
DOWNEAST COASTAL CONSERVANCY
$2,120ENVIRONMENTAL
TOWN OF LUBEC
$2,000ENVIRONMENTAL