Park Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Park Foundation's listed priorities cover environment (protecting drinking water and keeping fossil fuels in the ground), civic participation, public-interest media, democracy, community needs for low-income residents, animal welfare and school food and nutrition.
- Its listed geographic priorities are national scale, New York State, the Marcellus Shale region, Tompkins County and Ithaca, so a group working in those places can point to them directly.
- Across the filing, about 8 in 10 grants fall between $3,500 and $150,000, the median grant is $50,000 and half of its 1,396 grants to organisations were $50,000 or less, so a request near the median is typical; the largest grant was $2,150,000, so that band is not a ceiling.
- The foundation asks applicants to contact it before submitting to check fit, to be ready to explain the work, budget, funding sources and fiscal sponsorship, and then to send a Letter of Inquiry or full proposal through its portal, reviewed quarterly against the listed deadlines; colleges and universities should note that indirect administrative expenses for their grants are not funded.
- Because 90% of its grant dollars to organisations in the filing went to organisations it had also funded in earlier filings, existing relationships seem to carry real weight, so the initial contact is the main way in for a first-time applicant.
Overview
Park Foundation is a US private foundation based in Ithaca, 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
Park Foundation funds non-profit partners, from local grassroots programmes to initiatives with national impact. Its priorities include protecting drinking water and keeping fossil fuels in the ground through policy development, advocacy, organising and corporate responsibility; civic participation, especially voter rights, election integrity, education and year-round engagement; public-interest media raising awareness of environmental, political and social issues; democracy and good governance; community needs for low-income residents; Sustainable Ithaca; policy and advocacy for threatened and endangered species and wildlife conservation; and school food and nutrition. It describes its wider purpose as advancing a more just, equitable and sustainable society and environment, and says it is collaborative with partners, nimble and innovative in its grantmaking.
Themes
- Environment
- Civic participation
- Public interest media
- Democracy
- Community needs
- Animal welfare
- School Food & Nutrition
Geographic Focus
Priority: National scale; New York State; Marcellus Shale region; Tompkins County; Ithaca.
What They Don't Fund
- Indirect administrative expenses for grants to colleges and universities
How to apply
Applicants are encouraged to submit full proposals or Letters of Inquiry through the portal; a Letter of Inquiry may be a preliminary step before a full proposal.
Deadlines: Proposals and letters of inquiry are reviewed quarterly, with materials submitted before the deadlines listed for each review cycle.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 90% 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 1,396 grants to organisations were $50,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- Prospective applicants should contact the Foundation before submitting to determine fit and be prepared to provide information about the work, distribution, outreach, budget, funding sources and fiscal sponsorship.
- The Environment Program favours initiatives that catalyse action, ideally collaboratively, and considers policy development, advocacy, organising and corporate responsibility approaches.
- Grant size depends on the organisation’s familiarity with the Foundation, fit with programme priorities, and what staff and trustees consider practical and reasonable within programme budgets.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 11%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 8%
- The largest single recipient received 5% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 90% of grant dollars went to organisations Park Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 14% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 457 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $50,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Center for Investigative Reporting · General operating support$670,0002024 tax year
- WGBH Educational Foundation · General operating support$600,0002024 tax year
- Tides Foundation · General operating support$500,0002024 tax year
- Project on Government Oversight · General operating support$420,0002024 tax year
- Free Press · General operating support$350,0002024 tax year
- Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association · General operating support$300,0002024 tax year
- Fund for Constitutional Government · General operating support$250,0002024 tax year
- ProPublica · General operating support$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
- Rachel Leon — Executive Director
- Ray Paultre — Director
- Lisa Graves — Director
- Jerome B Libin — Director
- Jay R Halfon — Secretary / Treasurer
- Donna F Edwards — Director
- Alicia P Wittink — Vice President
- Adelaide P Gomer — President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $34,742,392 | $31,267,103 | $374,209,039 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $33,679,514 | $32,008,612 | $383,671,762 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $38,465,716 | $30,387,989 | $406,024,147 | 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 Park Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (607) 272-9124
- info@parkfoundation.org
- Ithaca, NY
- parkfoundation.org
Applying to Park Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (607) 272-9124
- info@parkfoundation.org
- Ithaca, NY
- parkfoundation.org