Sam Shine Foundation

• Sam Shine Foundation focuses on conservation and land restoration, native wildlife habitats and conservation education, so work outside those themes is unlikely to fit.
• It does not accept unsolicited requests and makes contributions only to preselected organisations, so a cold application is not the route in.
• About 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $1,100 and $570,000, and half are $50,000 or less, so a modest, well-costed request sits within what it usually makes.
• In the filing, 92% of grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had also funded in an earlier year, which points to a relationship-led funder where continuity counts.
• No geographic focus is stated, so the pattern of grants in the filing should not be read as a limit on who may apply.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• Nokuse Education · General
  $3,301,2802024 tax year
• Nature Conservancy · General
  $501,0452024 tax year
• River Heritage Conservancy · General
  $390,0002024 tax year
• Central Indiana Land Trust · General
  $305,5002024 tax year
• Community Foundation of Southern Indiana · General
  $250,0002024 tax year
• Woodie Wheaton Land Trust · General
  $200,0002024 tax year
• Purdue · General
  $146,5002024 tax year
• Conservation Law Center · General
  $140,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

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.