The Nancy-Carroll Draper Charitable Foundation concentrates its giving on conservation and natural history institutions, providing substantial unrestricted support to organizations that protect wildlife and interpret natural science. Grants are few but large and targeted, often paid repeatedly to the same beneficiaries, and include local (Draper Natural History Museum), national (The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming) and international (African Wildlife Foundation) recipients. The foundation favors general operating/general purposes support over project-restricted funding.
Highly concentrated: small number of large grants, repeated multi-grant support to a handful of core conservation grantees, primarily as general operating or unrestricted funding.
Nancy-carroll Draper Char Fdn’s giving is anchored by repeated, large grants to a small set of conservation and natural history organizations. The biggest recent award in the file is $471,748 to Draper Natural History Museum for general purposes, followed by another $310,428 the prior year and $263,851 in 2023. That pattern points to sustained support rather than isolated project funding. The foundation also backs wildlife conservation at scale: African Wildlife Foundation received $300,000 in 2025 and $300,000 in 2024, after a $200,000 grant in 2023. Across the record, the foundation favors unrestricted or general operating support, with amounts that range from modest five-figure awards to six-figure commitments. Its grantees include institutions tied to natural science interpretation, habitat protection, and animal welfare, alongside western U.S. conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming. The grant list shows continuity over multiple years, with several organizations appearing again and again, suggesting a deliberate focus on organizational sustainability. The foundation’s profile is defined less by a wide spread of causes than by repeated support for a compact circle of mission-aligned nonprofits.
A clear theme is natural history education and museum operations. Draper Natural History Museum received $471,748 in 2025 for general purposes, following $310,428 in 2024 and $263,851 in 2023. The same continuity appears in wildlife conservation: African Wildlife Foundation was awarded $300,000 in both 2024 and 2025 for general operating support, after $200,000 in 2023. Western habitat protection is another recurring lane. The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming received $250,000 in 2024 and $250,000 in 2025, both for general purposes, while Teton Raptor Center received smaller general-purpose grants in 2024 and 2025. The foundation also extends support to animal-focused groups such as Wild Animal Health Fund and Wild Welfare US.
Grant sizes are concentrated at the upper end of the distribution, with a p25 of $7,000, a median of $20,000, and a p75 of $200,000. The record shows recurring support: several grantees appear across multiple years, including Draper Natural History Museum, African Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, Big Life Foundation USA, The Anne K Taylor Fund, Teton Raptor Center, and Wild Animal Health Fund. The foundation funds nonprofits rather than individuals and makes no program-related investments. Awards are often framed as general purposes, general operating fund, or general operating support, which points to core support rather than tightly restricted project funding.
$1.1M
$13.9M
$1M
$1.5M
Most grants fall between $7K and $200K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$7K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$200K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in WY.
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Notable grantees: Draper Natural History Museum, African Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming
All recent grants in the file went to U.S. recipients. The most frequent recipient location is Florida by state count, though the grants listed here are spread across several cities and states. Cody, Wyoming appears repeatedly through Draper Natural History Museum and Park County Animal Shelter, while Washington, DC appears with African Wildlife Foundation. Other recipient locations include Lander and Wilson, Wyoming; Ridgefield, Washington; Billings, Montana; Houston, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and Attapulgus, Georgia. The foundation’s headquarters is in Boston, but its giving footprint is national.
The foundation supports conservation and natural history institutions, along with wildlife and animal-welfare groups. Recent recipients include Draper Natural History Museum, African Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, Teton Raptor Center, Wild Animal Health Fund, and Wild Welfare US.
The grants are commonly framed as general purposes or general operating support. Examples in the record include general purposes awards to Draper Natural History Museum and The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, plus general operating support for African Wildlife Foundation.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years. Draper Natural History Museum received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; African Wildlife Foundation in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming in 2024 and 2025.
The grant-size distribution is weighted toward larger awards: p25 is $7,000, median grant size is $20,000, and p75 is $200,000. The recent file also includes six-figure grants to multiple conservation and natural history organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRAPER NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM | CODY, WY | $471,748 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $300,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN WYOMING | LANDER, WY | $250,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| FRIENDS OF A LEGACY (FOAL) | CODY, WY | $30,000 | 2025 | FRIENDS OF A LEGACY |
| BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA | RIDGEFIELD, WA | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE ANNE K TAYLOR FUND | BILLINGS, MT | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| WILD ANIMAL HEALTH FUND | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| WILD WELFARE US | Houston, TX | $7,500 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| TETON RAPTOR CENTER | Wilson, WY | $6,032 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| DRAPER NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM | CODY, WY | $310,428 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $300,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN WYOMING | LANDER, WY | $250,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| TETON RAPTOR CENTER | Wilson, WY | $23,186 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE ANNE K TAYLOR FUND | BILLINGS, MT | $20,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA | RIDGEFIELD, WA | $20,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| PARK COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER | CODY, WY | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| WYOMING WILDLIFE ADVOCATES | Wilson, WY | $7,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| WILD ANIMAL HEALTH FUND | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| DRAPER NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM | CODY, WY | $263,851 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $200,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA | RIDGEFIELD, WA | $40,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE ANNE K TAYLOR FUND | BILLINGS, MT | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| PARK COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER | CODY, WY | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
| WILD ANIMAL HEALTH FUND | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $6,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| TETON RAPTOR CENTER | Wilson, WY | $5,735 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| ELEPHANT AID INTERNATIONAL | Attapulgus, GA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
DRAPER NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
$471,748GENERAL PURPOSES
FRIENDS OF A LEGACY (FOAL)
$30,000FRIENDS OF A LEGACY
BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA
$30,000GENERAL PURPOSES
THE ANNE K TAYLOR FUND
$25,000GENERAL OPERATING FUND
WILD ANIMAL HEALTH FUND
$10,000GENERAL PURPOSES
WILD WELFARE US
$7,500GENERAL PURPOSES
DRAPER NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
$310,428GENERAL PURPOSES
THE ANNE K TAYLOR FUND
$20,000GENERAL OPERATING FUND
BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA
$20,000GENERAL PURPOSES
PARK COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER
$10,000GENERAL OPERATING FUND
WYOMING WILDLIFE ADVOCATES
$7,000GENERAL OPERATING FUND
WILD ANIMAL HEALTH FUND
$5,000GENERAL PURPOSES
DRAPER NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
$263,851GENERAL PURPOSES
BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA
$40,000GENERAL PURPOSES
THE ANNE K TAYLOR FUND
$25,000GENERAL OPERATING FUND
PARK COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER
$10,000GENERAL OPERATING FUND
WILD ANIMAL HEALTH FUND
$6,000GENERAL PURPOSES