The Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests and runs its programmes by invitation, so a cold proposal is unlikely to be considered; the more useful step is to build a relationship with its people and watch for an invitation.
- Its work centres on on-the-ground conservation of globally significant wildlife landscapes, with community-based conservation, habitat and corridor protection and sustainable resource management, so a project should show clear links to nature and to local people.
- Most of its grants to organisations are modest: half of its 190 grants were $100,000 or less, and about 8 in 10 fell between $13,000 and $320,000, though its largest grant was $3,300,000, so that band is typical rather than a ceiling.
- Repeat support is strong, as 88% of its grant dollars to organisations in its latest filing went to organisations it had also funded in an earlier filing, so approaching it is largely a relationship-led matter.
- Its stated geographic priorities are North America, South America, Africa, Asia, around the world, the northern Rocky Mountain region, Montana and Canada, and eligible grantees for Capacity & Organizational Strengthening are typically notified early each year.
Overview
The Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation is a US private foundation based in New York, NY.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Foundation supports on-the-ground conservation in selected, globally significant wildlife landscapes, focusing on terrestrial areas with a wide range of biodiversity and solutions that serve both nature and people. Its work addresses the survival of wildlife and wildlands, including species extinction, habitat destruction and fragmentation, and resource depletion. It favours approaches that benefit local communities, reconcile nature protection with human needs, and strengthen collaboration. The Foundation emphasises community-based conservation, sound science, supportive public policy, habitat protection, responsible natural-resource management and sustainable economies. It seeks tangible, long-term results and commits substantial funding to key wildlife landscapes around the world, while also working in the northern Rocky Mountain region, particularly Montana and neighbouring states, and Canada.
Themes
- Wildlife and wildlands
- Community-based conservation
- Habitat and corridor protection
- Conservation science and policy
- Sustainable resource management
Geographic Focus
Priority: North America; South America; Africa; Asia; around the world; northern Rocky Mountain region; Montana; Canada.
How to apply
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Its programmes are conducted by invitation; eligible grantees for Capacity & Organizational Strengthening are typically notified early each calendar year.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 88% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 190 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The Foundation looks for short-term catalysing opportunities while recognising the importance of steady partnerships and long-term support.
- It evaluates and seeks to bolster the enabling conditions needed for conservation success in each landscape.
- It values sufficient and reliable scientific information to inform decisions about species and landscapes.
- It seeks protected areas with science-based management, effective governance, funding and community support, and wildlife connectivity where needed.
- It values government agencies and public policies that support conservation and sustainable management of habitats and resources.
- It expects stakeholders, including local communities, to engage in, support and benefit from conservation activities.
- It favours conservation supported by sustainable and diverse sources of finance.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 13%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 11%
- The largest single recipient received 15% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 88% of grant dollars went to organisations The Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- 6% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Madagascar, Tanzania, Ecuador, Kenya).
- 8% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 78 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $100k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Heart of the Rockies · Keep it connected initiative$1,100,0002024 tax year
- Wildlife Conservation Society · Leuser ecosystem program, phase 2, indonesia (year 2 of 3)$640,8882024 tax year
- Maliasili Initiatives · Maliasili conservation fund (year 3 of 4)$500,0002024 tax year
- Wild Foundation · Indigenous-led initiative (year 2 of 3)$400,0002024 tax year
- Wildlife Conservation Network · Spectacled bear conservation challenge grant, northern peru$400,0002024 tax year
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito · Biodiversity conservation, connectivity, and restoration in the ecuadorian andes (tandanyapa payment 2 of 3)$315,0002024 tax year
- MakeWay Foundation · Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, canada (year 3 of 3)$300,0002024 tax year
- Wildlife Conservation Society · Wefcom program, thailand (year 3 of 3)$250,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Shivsharan Someshwar — Advisory Board Member
- Helen Gichochi — Advisory Board Member
- Yolanda Kakabadse — Advisory Board Member
- Victor Kovner — Trustee
- Alison Richard — Trustee
- William Debuys — Advisory Board Member
- Ullas Karanth — Advisory Board Member
- Grant Parker — Advisory Board Member
- Douglas Chadwick — Advisory Board Member
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $14,137,321 | $11,262,914 | $220,188,628 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $13,149,911 | $9,843,175 | $237,370,450 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $13,568,371 | $9,530,697 | $259,703,923 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
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Contact
- New York, NY
- lcaof.org
Applying to The Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- New York, NY
- lcaof.org