The Lytton-Kambara Foundation is a focused environmental/conservation funder that directs most of its dollars to land protection and strategic advocacy organizations. It makes relatively large, targeted gifts — often repeat grants — to national and regional land-conservation groups, supporting specific projects (e.g., Shawangunk Ridge, Twin River) as well as core operating capacity and general advocacy. The foundation’s giving is concentrated rather than dispersed, prioritizing measurable land‑conservation outcomes in the U.S., particularly in the Northeast.
The Lytton-Kambara Foundation’s clearest throughline is sustained support for land conservation in New York’s Shawangunk Mountain region. Its largest recent grant, $1.2 million to Open Space Institute Inc in 2025, funded ongoing land conservation and greenway trail projects in the Shawangunk Mountain Region of New York State. That pattern continued with $950,000 in 2024 and $1 million in 2023 to the same grantee for work on the Shawangunk Ridge and related conservation projects. The foundation also backs other conservation organizations with large, targeted awards, including $625,000 to Trust for Public Land in 2025 for its Land Conservation Fund and $250,000 to The Nature Conservancy in 2025 for the Twin River project. Beyond land protection, it makes smaller grants for education, medical research, and community organizations, showing a mix of project support, general operating support, and named funds. The overall picture is of a funder with a narrow environmental core and a secondary pattern of smaller, dispersed gifts.
In land conservation and trail work, the foundation gave $1.2 million to Open Space Institute Inc for ongoing land conservation and greenway trail projects in the Shawangunk Mountain Region of New York State. It also gave $625,000 to Trust for Public Land for its Land Conservation Fund, indicating support for acquiring and protecting land through dedicated conservation vehicles. Another conservation line appears in the $250,000 grant to The Nature Conservancy for the Twin River project, a project-specific award tied to landscape protection. Outside conservation, the foundation has funded education through repeated $25,000 grants to Bryn Mawr College for the Bryn Mawr Scholarship Fund and support for Bowdoin College’s Clare McWilliams Lyne Scholarship Fund.
Grant sizes are uneven, with a p25 of $500, a median of $1,000, and a p75 of $20,000, even though the foundation also makes six- and seven-figure grants. Some recipients recur across multiple years, including Open Space Institute Inc, Trust for Public Land, Natural Resources Defense Council Inc, Nature Conservancy, Bowdoin College, Bryn Mawr College, and Mohonk Preserve Inc. That repeat pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation operates as a private grantmaker with no program-related investments listed, and it also funds individuals.
$2.6M
$71.5M
$4.9M
$3.1M
Most grants fall between $500 and $20K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$500
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$20K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Concentrated, high-dollar grants to a small set of conservation organizations with repeat multi-grant support for specific projects and some unrestricted/general operating support.
Notable grantees: Open Space Institute, Trust for Public Land, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), The Nature Conservancy
The grant record is entirely U.S.-based, with 63 grants and 100% of recipient organizations in the United States. New York is the top state by grant count, and many named recipients are in New York City, New Paltz, New Hyde Park, and the Bronx. Other recipient locations include Arlington, Virginia; Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; Brunswick, Maine; Claremont, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Woodland Park, Colorado. The distribution shows a strong Northeast tilt without being limited to one city.
Its largest recent awards go to land-conservation and advocacy organizations. Examples include Open Space Institute Inc for Shawangunk Mountain region conservation and greenway trail work, Trust for Public Land for its Land Conservation Fund, and The Nature Conservancy for the Twin River project.
Yes. Open Space Institute Inc appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Trust for Public Land appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Natural Resources Defense Council Inc appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Bryn Mawr College appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The distribution is small at the center but with some large outliers: p25 is $500, median is $1,000, and p75 is $20,000. That means many awards are modest, while a smaller number of conservation grants are much larger.
New York receives the most grants by count. The recipient list also includes organizations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maine, California, Massachusetts, and Colorado, while all recorded recipient organizations are in the United States.
It funds individuals as well as organizations. The grant record also includes a mix of general support, scholarship funds, project-specific conservation grants, and research-related support.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,200,000 | 2025 | on-going land conservation and greenway trail projects undertaken by the grantee in the Shawangunk Mountain Region of New York State |
| TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND | NEW YORK, NY | $625,000 | 2025 | Land Conservation Fund |
| NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC | NEW YORK, NY | $300,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| NATURE CONSERVANCY | ARLINGTON, VA | $250,000 | 2025 | Twin River project |
| NATURE CONSERVANCY | ARLINGTON, VA | $125,000 | 2025 | Land Conservation Fund |
| BRYN MAWR COLLEGE | BRYN MAWR, PA | $25,000 | 2025 | Bryn Mawr Scholarship Fund |
| PITZER COLLEGE | CLAREMONT, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| BOWDOIN COLLEGE | BRUNSWICK, ME | $20,000 | 2025 | Clare McWilliams Lyne Scholarship Fund |
| AFRIKANA CORPORATION | BRONX, NY | $12,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| MOHONK PRESERVE INC | NEW PALTZ, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| HADASSAH THE WOMENS ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERIC | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | Medical research under the direction of Professor Chowers Fund |
| BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY INC | BOSTON, MA | $2,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| FAITHFUL HEARTS EQUINE LEARNING | WOODLAND PARK, CO | $2,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| NORTHWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION | NEW HYDE PARK, NY | $2,000 | 2025 | Lenox Hill Hospital Research Laboratory of Dr. Richard L. Whelan Fund |
| KHAN ACADEMY INC | MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| HUDSON VALLEY RAIL TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC | HIGHLAND, NY | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| RIVERKEEPER INC | OSSINING, NY | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAIL CONFERENCE INC | MAHWAH, NJ | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| PARKS & TRAILS NEW YORK INC | ALBANY, NY | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| GARDINER LIBRARY | GARDINER, NY | $250 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| THE FRIENDS OF THE GLOVERSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY INC | GLOVERSVILLE, NY | $200 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $950,000 | 2024 | land conservation and greenway trail projects in the Shawangunk Mountain region of New York State |
| TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND | NEW YORK, NY | $350,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| BRYN MAWR COLLEGE | BRYN MAWR, PA | $25,000 | 2024 | Bryn Mawr Scholarship Fund |
| NATURE CONSERVANCY | ARLINGTON, VA | $20,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| BOWDOIN COLLEGE | BRUNSWICK, ME | $20,000 | 2024 | Clare McWilliams Lyne Scholarship Fund |
| PITZER COLLEGE | CLAREMONT, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| MOHONK PRESERVE INC | NEW PALTZ, NY | $5,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| NORTHWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION | NEW HYDE PARK, NY | $1,500 | 2024 | Lenox Hill Hospital Research Laboratory of Dr. Richard L. Whelan fund |
| CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| KHAN ACADEMY INC | MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA | $1,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| RIVERKEEPER INC | OSSINING, NY | $500 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAIL CONFERENCE INC | MAHWAH, NJ | $500 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| PRO PUBLICA INC | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $500 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| PARKS & TRAILS NEW YORK INC | ALBANY, NY | $300 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| THE FRIENDS OF THE GLOVERSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY INC | GLOVERSVILLE, NY | $200 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| HUDSON VALLEY RAIL TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC | HIGHLAND, NY | $200 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| GARDINER LIBRARY | GARDINER, NY | $200 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000,000 | 2023 | TO SUPPORT THE ON-GOING WORK OF OSI ON THE SHAWANGUNK RIDGE |
| TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND | NEW YORK, NY | $310,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| BOWDOIN COLLEGE | BRUNSWICK, ME | $25,000 | 2023 | Clare McWilliams Lyne Scholarship Fund |
| BRYN MAWR COLLEGE | BRYN MAWR, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | Bryn Mawr Scholarship Fund |
| ETHICAL CULTURE FIELDSTON SCHOOL | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
on-going land conservation and greenway trail projects undertaken by the grantee in the Shawangunk Mountain Region of New York State
TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND
$625,000Land Conservation Fund
PITZER COLLEGE
$25,000General & Unrestricted
AFRIKANA CORPORATION
$12,500General & Unrestricted
HADASSAH THE WOMENS ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERIC
$10,000Medical research under the direction of Professor Chowers Fund
FAITHFUL HEARTS EQUINE LEARNING
$2,500General & Unrestricted
NORTHWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION
$2,000Lenox Hill Hospital Research Laboratory of Dr. Richard L. Whelan Fund
HUDSON VALLEY RAIL TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC
$1,000General & Unrestricted
NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO
$500General & Unrestricted
PARKS & TRAILS NEW YORK INC
$500General & Unrestricted
GARDINER LIBRARY
$250General & Unrestricted
THE FRIENDS OF THE GLOVERSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY INC
$200General & Unrestricted
land conservation and greenway trail projects in the Shawangunk Mountain region of New York State
PITZER COLLEGE
$15,000General & Unrestricted
NORTHWELL HEALTH FOUNDATION
$1,500Lenox Hill Hospital Research Laboratory of Dr. Richard L. Whelan fund
NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO
$500General & Unrestricted
PARKS & TRAILS NEW YORK INC
$300General & Unrestricted
THE FRIENDS OF THE GLOVERSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY INC
$200General & Unrestricted
HUDSON VALLEY RAIL TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC
$200General & Unrestricted
GARDINER LIBRARY
$200General & Unrestricted
TO SUPPORT THE ON-GOING WORK OF OSI ON THE SHAWANGUNK RIDGE
TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND
$310,000General & Unrestricted
ETHICAL CULTURE FIELDSTON SCHOOL
$10,000General & Unrestricted