Knobloch Family Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 76-0538135 · since 1997knoblochfamilyfoundation.org·Georgia, New York, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$23.5M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$10,000 to $670k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$176k

Typical grant (median)

77 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

Its work fits best if your organisation does conservation science, natural capital valuation, conservation finance, or tools to safeguard conservation easements, especially in Texas, Georgia or Wyoming, its stated priority areas.
It accepts proposals by invitation only and does not consider unsolicited requests, so a cold approach is unlikely to be considered and the route in is through its network of conservation partners or an existing connection.
Half of its grant dollars in its most recent filing went to organisations it had also funded in the filing before, which suggests that relationships built over time carry real weight.
Most of its grants fall between $10,000 and $670,000, and half are $100,000 or less, so a request near $100,000 sits at the middle of its giving, though its largest grant was $3,000,000 and that band is not a ceiling.
A charity with no link to its partners should not send an unsolicited request.

Overview

Knobloch Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Wilmington, DE.

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 Knobloch Family Foundation makes grants to understand and sustain the natural world, with a commitment to conserving natural ecosystems. It invests in science that informs effective conservation and uses science to identify and protect places that sustain wildlife. It supports research and, especially, the application of natural capital valuation so decision makers can account for the values nature provides to society. It partners with others to finance conservation opportunities and incentivise land stewardship that sustains species and habitats, and supports ballot initiatives to leverage conservation funding in Texas, Georgia and Wyoming. It also invests in tools that safeguard conservation easements so agreements protect lands fully and in perpetuity. Its recorded grants have gone to land trusts and conservation organisations, public agencies, universities and research institutions.

Themes

Science-based conservation
Conservation economics
Conservation finance
Tools for durable conservation

Geographic Focus

Priority: Texas; Georgia; Wyoming. From its grants, not stated by the foundation: Virginia; New York.

How to apply

The foundation works with a network of conservation partners and accepts proposals by invitation only; the site describes no further submission steps.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 50% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 198 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It invests in science that informs effective conservation and uses science to identify and protect places that sustain wildlife.
It gives particular weight to applying natural capital valuation, as well as supporting the research behind it.
It partners with others to finance critical conservation opportunities and incentivises land stewardship that sustains species and habitats.

Where grants go

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

Grant dollars by state

Georgia20%

Virginia19%

New York12%

Wyoming10%

Texas10%

Montana6%

6 other states: 15%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 7%

The largest single recipient received 14% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 50% of grant dollars went to organisations Knobloch Family Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
5% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

77 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $176k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 77 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$1k–$2.5k1%

$2.5k–$5k1%

$5k–$10k6%

$10k–$25k6%

$25k–$50k3%

$50k–$100k16%

$100k–$250k29%

$250k–$500k17%

$500k–$1M16%

$1M and over5%

Median $176k (tax year 2024)

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

Nature Conservancy · General & Unrestricted
$3,000,0002024 tax year
Nature Conservancy · Fenvkvcekv Creek Preserve - Protecting and Restoring a critical climate resilient corridor
$1,350,8002024 tax year
The Nature Conservancy Georgia Chapter · Project: Satilla River Lumberjack Acquisition
$1,215,0002024 tax year
Open Space Institute Land Trust · Riverforks Acquisition South Carolina fund
$1,000,0002024 tax year
American Friends of Canadian Nature · McIntyre Ranch Conservation Easement Alberta, Canada
$885,0002024 tax year
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation · North Platte River Conservation Easement
$857,5002024 tax year
Georgia Department of Natural Resources · Chattahoochee Fall Line Expansion Brown Springs, Little Pine Knot, and Taylor Tracts
$750,0002024 tax year
Armand Bayou Nature Center · Middle Armand Bayou Protection Project
$750,0002024 tax year

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

Officers and directors

Stevens Sharkey — Director, President, Chair
Eleanor Ratchford — Treasurer, Director
Emily Knobloch — Secretary, Director
Carla Knobloch — Director, Vice President

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$17,877,826	$17,109,380	$207,790,908	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$27,025,701	$26,107,328	$212,532,315	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$24,850,928	$23,544,548	$207,181,213	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.