Forest Creatures Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 65-1295226 · since 2016forestcreatures.org·California, District of Columbia, New York·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$1.9M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$5,000 to $75,000

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$40,000

Typical grant (median)

29 grants in the latest filing

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.

Key takeaways

The foundation does not accept unsolicited funding requests, and its board identifies its own grantees, so an unsolicited application should not be sent.
Its stated interests are environmental and climate justice, sustainable and alternative food systems, dramatic and performance arts, media and grassroots systems change, and it emphasises small organisations without national support, so groups in those areas without national backing are the closest fit.
No geographic focus is stated; its grants have mainly gone to California, District of Columbia and New York, but that describes past giving, not who may apply.
Its typical grant range is $5,000 to $75,000, about 8 in 10 grants fall in that band, and half of its grants are $25,000 or less, so a modest request fits, although the largest grant was $500,000 and the band is not a ceiling.
Repeat giving is significant, with 63% of grant dollars to organisations going to groups it had already funded, so it is worth knowing where its money already goes.

Overview

Forest Creatures Foundation is a US private foundation based in San Francisco, CA.

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 describes itself as dedicated to building a culture of enduring peace, coexistence and community. Its stated interests include environmental and climate justice, sustainable and alternative food systems, dramatic and performance arts, media, and grassroots systems change. It seeks deep, progressive, transformational and systemic change through community engagement, creative responses to complex problems, and support for those doing the work. Its ecosystem approach supports an array of organisations using complementary strategies rather than seeking one solution exclusively. It emphasises small organisations without national support. Legacy Grants prioritise independent productions and new media.

Themes

Environmental/climate justice
Sustainable/alternative food systems
Dramatic/performance arts
Media
Grassroots systems change

Geographic Focus

No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California, District of Columbia and New York.

How to apply

The board identifies grantee organisations; the foundation does not accept unsolicited funding requests and has no mechanism or staffing to respond to them.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 63% 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 61 grants to organisations were $25,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

The foundation emphasises small organisations without national support.
Legacy Grants prioritise independent productions and new media.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

California64%

District of Columbia21%

New York7%

Florida3%

Texas2%

Virginia2%

2 other states: 1%

The largest single recipient received 23% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 63% of grant dollars went to organisations Forest Creatures Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
6% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

29 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $40,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 29 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$2.5k–$5k7%

$5k–$10k7%

$10k–$25k21%

$25k–$50k17%

$50k–$100k31%

$100k–$250k10%

$250k–$500k3%

$500k–$1M3%

Median $40,000 (tax year 2024)

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

Center for Empowered Politics · General support - seed the vote
$500,0002024 tax year
Working America Education Fund · General support
$250,0002024 tax year
Earth Island Institute · General support
$140,0002024 tax year
Vote Forward · General support for voter turnout education
$125,0002024 tax year
Hopewell Fund · Vote forward education fund
$125,0002024 tax year
Urban Tilth · General support
$85,0002024 tax year
Movement Generation · Creative wildfire project
$75,0002024 tax year
Cornell Lab of Ornithology · General support
$75,0002024 tax year

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

Officers and directors

Nalani Ford-Peden — Director
Marcy Michael — Director
Margi Clark — Director
Deborah Baron — Vice President / Treasurer / Director
David Fierberg — President / CEO / Director

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$286,742	$55,000	$20,220,164	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$947,478	$502,500	$22,776,437	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$2,418,033	$1,922,560	$23,136,952	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.