About Natural Resources Defense Council
NRDC works to safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.
Focus Areas
Climate changeAir qualityWater qualityEnvironmental justiceWildlife and habitatOceansForests and lands
Who They Fund
environmental nonprofit organizations and coalitionsfrontline / pollution-impacted communitiesgeneral public / voters (as target of public awareness)
Funding Style
policy advocacy / systems changesupport for advocacy organizations
About Natural Resources Defense Council
A defining feature of Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. is the size of its policy-focused funding, led by a $11,713,000 grant in 2023 to Movement Strategy Center for environmental advocacy. The foundation also backed Rose Foundation with $2,400,000 in 2023 and Nrdc Action Fund Inc with $1,825,000 in 2023, showing support for large-scale advocacy infrastructure as well as aligned organizations. Across the recent grants list, its giving centers on environmental advocacy, with grantees working on climate, air quality, water quality, environmental justice, wildlife and habitat, oceans, and forests and lands. The pattern points to a funder that uses grantmaking to support policy change, public education, and advocacy organizations rather than individual services. Several recipients are coalitions or intermediaries, including Partnership Project Inc, Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, and Tides Center, suggesting a structure built to move resources through organizations that can support broader campaigns. The foundation’s work also reaches place-based and issue-specific groups, including environmental health, transportation, and community equity organizations, indicating a broad environmental agenda that connects national policy with frontline concerns.
What Natural Resources Defense Council Funds
Environmental advocacy is the clearest throughline in the recent grants. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc gave $1,090,000 in 2024 to Partnership Project Inc for environmental advocacy, and $500,000 in 2024 to Solutions Project Inc for the same purpose. In climate and energy-related work, it awarded $294,333 in 2024 to Elevate Energy for environmental advocacy and $150,000 in 2024 to Citizens Utilities Board of Michigan for environmental advocacy. Community and environmental justice themes also appear in the funding to Black Sustainability Inc, which received $200,000 in 2024 for environmental advocacy, and to Environmental Health Coalition Inc, which received $130,000 in 2023 for environmental advocacy. The grant to National Wildlife Federation for $120,000 in 2024 extends that advocacy approach into wildlife-related work.
How Natural Resources Defense Council Gives
Typical grant size clusters at $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $20,000 at the median, and $50,000 at the 75th percentile, while the recent grants list also includes several awards above $1 million. The foundation appears to support recipients over multiple years: Partnership Project Inc, Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, Nrdc Action Fund Inc, and others appear in both 2023 and 2024. It is a regular funder, not a DAF vehicle, and it does not fund individuals. The grantmaking shown here is predominantly project- or advocacy-oriented, with repeated support for the same organizations rather than a one-time-only pattern.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$35.4M
Total Assets
$576.9M
Total Revenue
$193.1M
Total Expenses
$226.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $50K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$50K
Geographic Reach
National38 states funded
About 12% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MANISH BAPNA
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