Better Natures Foundation
Better Natures Foundation is a private foundation based in Oxford, Massachusetts. Its 2025 filing reports 32 grants totaling $783,500, including support for organizations working on wildlife, ocean and animal protection, as well as a school.
Better Natures Foundation at a glance
In short: Better Natures Foundation gave $784K across 32 grants in 2025 (avg $24K), top state District of Columbia. 22% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $783,500
- +13.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 32
- +10.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $24,484
- +3.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $15,354,373
- -0.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 22% first-time grantees (7 of 32, 2025)
- Primary geography
- District of Columbia (30% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Better Natures Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 675, Oxford, MA 01540
Phone: (508) 731-6555
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Better Natures Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Africian Wildlife Foundation ($50K). Together the top 10 received $375K.
Grant Size Distribution
100 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 91 grants of 100 (91%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars went to recipients in the District of Columbia (30%), Rhode Island (17%), New York (14%), California (12%) and Virginia (11%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 32 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Better Natures Foundation open to new grantees?
22%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 7 of 32 grantees (22%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $20K; repeat grants $26K. How we count
Medians: $20K first-time, $25K repeat.
- 78% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 1859% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 90% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2022–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $40K (2022) to $784K (2025). In 2025 it made 32 grants totaling $784K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Africian Wildlife Foundation Washington, DC | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Rocky Hill Country Day School East Greenwich, RI | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Wildaid San Francisco, CA | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Empowers Africia New York, NY | General Purpose | $40,000 |
| Ocean Conservancy Washington, DC | General Purpose | $40,000 |
| Animal Legal Defense Fund Washington, DC | General Purpose | $30,000 |
| Founders Pledge New York, NY | General Purpose | $30,000 |
| Nature Conservancy (Global) Arlington, VA | General Purpose | $30,000 |
| Nature Conservancy (Rhode Island) Arlington, VA | General Purpose | $30,000 |
| Coral Reef Alliance San Francisco, CA | General Purpose | $25,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $15,354,373 | $866,123 | $926,188 | $783,500 | 32 | $783,500 | $723,435 | $869,381 |
| 2024 | $15,414,438 | $2,100,004 | $781,150 | $688,000 | 29 | $694,205 | $2,013,059 | $789,963 |
| 2023 | $14,095,584 | $-14,878 | $719,906 | $655,000 | 29 | $656,370 | $214,073 | $691,585 |
| 2022 | $14,830,368 | $-82,842 | $86,790 | $40,000 | 10 | $42,417 | $144,812 | $656,107 |
| 2021 | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | — | — | — | — | — | $38,452 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Better Natures Foundation reported a distributable amount of $869K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. WildAid describes its mission as protecting wildlife and vital habitats; Ocean Conservancy says it works to protect the ocean through science, people and policy; and the Animal Legal Defense Fund says it protects animals through the legal system. Other grantees describe work that includes protecting native animals and plants, creating rainforest reserves, advancing independent science, and facilitating charitable giving. Rocky Hill Country Day School describes its mission as educating the whole child and encouraging students to become global citizens and lifelong learners. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not the foundation’s.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $783,500 through 32 grants. Grants ranged from $6,000 to $50,000, with a median of $25,000. Among the largest grants were $50,000 each to African Wildlife Foundation, Rocky Hill Country Day School and WildAid; $40,000 each to Empowers Africa and Ocean Conservancy; and $30,000 each to Animal Legal Defense Fund, Founders Pledge and Nature Conservancy (Global).
Other reported 2025 grants included $25,000 each to Coral Reef Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Rainforest Trust, and $25,000 to Oceana.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Gary Block and Justine Johnson as trustees.
Better Natures Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Gary Block
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Justine Johnson
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Better Natures Foundation
How much does Better Natures Foundation give each year?
Better Natures Foundation gave $784K across 32 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $688K across 29 grants.
What is Better Natures Foundation's typical grant size?
Better Natures Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $24,484, across 32 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Better Natures Foundation that year got $20K on average.
Where does Better Natures Foundation give grants?
Better Natures Foundation's top state is District of Columbia, with 30% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Rhode Island (17%) and New York (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (8 grants), New York, NY (6 grants), San Francisco, CA (3 grants) and Providence, RI (3 grants).
Does Better Natures Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Better Natures Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (32 of 32) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Better Natures Foundation's largest grantees?
Better Natures Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Africian Wildlife Foundation ($50,000), Rocky Hill Country Day School ($50,000) and Wildaid ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 19% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Better Natures Foundation?
Better Natures Foundation reported $15.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $784K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $869K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Better Natures Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Better Natures Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Better Natures Foundation's EIN?
Better Natures Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 87-6830653. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Does Better Natures Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 4, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Better Natures Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/better-natures-foundation-morg_e0943f386cb64d5db4d3b61535bd859b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_876830653_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Better Natures Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/better-natures-foundation-morg_e0943f386cb64d5db4d3b61535bd859b},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Better Natures Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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