Conservation Food and Health Foundation
The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation is a private foundation based in Boston, Massachusetts. It supports projects and applied research to protect the environment, improve food production, and promote public health in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Key facts about Conservation Food and Health Foundation
In short: Conservation Food and Health Foundation gave $2.2M across 49 grants in 2024 (avg $45K), top state California. 27% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- EIN
- 22-2625024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024
- Annual giving (2024)
- $2,182,076
- Grants made (2024)
- 49
- Average grant
- $44,532
- Median grant
- $43,294
- New grantees (estimate)
- 27% first-time grantees (13 of 49, 2024)
- Total assets
- $14,597,177
- Primary geography
- California (26% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- Yes
- How to apply
- Submit a concept application through the online application system. Full details ↓
- Deadline
- The website lists two recurring concept-application windows: October 15–December 22 and May 1–June 15.
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$14.6M
+7.4% YoY
Annual Giving
$2.2M
+8.6% YoY
Grant Count
49
-9.3% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$45K
+19.7% YoY
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Conservation Food and Health Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.9M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Is Conservation Food and Health Foundation open to new grantees?
27%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 13 of 49 grantees (27%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $45K; repeat grants $45K. How we count
Medians: $49K first-time, $38K repeat.
- 59% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving grew 37% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 120% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation supports work that generates local or regional solutions to problems affecting the environment and human life; advances local leadership and professional development; builds the capacity of local organizations and coalitions; and addresses challenges in the field. It prefers projects addressing underfunded issues and geographic areas, and favors early-stage work over ongoing support for programs already well underway.
Its conservation interests include protecting biodiversity and natural resources, mitigating climate-change impacts, building local organizations’ scientific and technical capacity, strengthening partnerships, engaging communities and decision-makers, and working with Indigenous communities and local people. In food and agriculture, it supports targeted demonstration and applied-research projects related to sustainable agriculture, small-scale farmer capacity, farmer research partnerships, food security, resilient local food systems, healthy nutrition, and environmentally sound, affordable pest and disease control. The foundation also identifies public health as a field of support.
The foundation’s 2024 filing says it supports U.S. public charities and foreign publicly supported charities in eligible regions. Its application materials identify NGOs and nonprofits, registered charities or public trusts, and educational or research institutions as organization types. Examples of grantees’ work include the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program’s effort to study and preserve Borneo orangutans; Global Greengrants Fund’s support for grassroots environmental action and social justice; and Global Seed Savers’ work with smallholder and family farmers on seed sovereignty and sustainable communities.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation reported 49 grants totaling $2,182,076. Grants ranged from $20,000 to $135,000, with a median of $43,294. Among the largest awards were $135,000 to Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program, $100,000 each to Global Greengrants Fund and Concern America, and $85,665 to the University of Calgary. Other listed grants included $70,000 to Pacific Environment and Resources Center and $50,000 each to Amazon Watch, Canopy (Tides Foundation), Development in Gardening, Global Seed Savers, GRAIN, Instituto de Desenvolvimiento Sustenable, and One Heart World-Wide.
The foundation accepts unsolicited requests and uses a two-phase online process: applicants submit a short concept application, and a limited number are invited to submit full proposals. It accepts one application per organization in each review cycle. Applications must be in English. The foundation does not fund government departments or for-profit businesses, does not support indirect costs or administrative overhead, and does not make grants exceeding 25% of an organization’s total operating budget. The filing says it does not consider a proposal from a previously funded organization until a full expenditure report for the prior grant has been submitted. It usually makes one-year grants, though it also makes two-year grants and considers continued funding case by case.
Review Cycle
The website lists two recurring concept-application windows: October 15–December 22 and May 1–June 15. It lists full-proposal deadlines of February 15 and August 15, with awards scheduled for July 1 and December 1, respectively. As of October 2, 2026, the next listed concept-application window has not yet opened. The foundation’s 2024 filing gives a different first-cycle concept deadline of January 1; applicants should confirm the applicable deadline in the online application materials.
How to Apply
Submit a concept application through the online application system. Applicants invited to the next stage submit a full proposal by the applicable deadline. The website provides a concept-application question list and budget forms for invited applicants. Foreign applicants without a U.S. tax ID can use the placeholder shown in the application instructions.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Conservation Food and Health Foundation
Ready to take the next step with Conservation Food and Health Foundation?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s stated regional focus is Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East. Its 2024 filing says it supports foreign publicly supported charities in low- and lower-middle-income countries in those regions and excludes the states of the former Soviet Union and former Eastern Bloc countries. The filing also identifies U.S. public charities as eligible.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 49 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $1.2M (2020) to $2.2M (2024). In 2024 it made 49 grants totaling $2.2M.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program ($135K). Together the top 10 received $741K.
Grant Size Distribution
264 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 227 grants of 264 (86%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program Lexington, MA | Program Support | $135,000 |
| Global Greengrants Fund Boulder, CO | Program Support | $100,000 |
| Concern America Inc Santa Ana, CA | Program Support | $100,000 |
| University of Calgary | Program Support | $85,665 |
| Pacific Environment and Resources Center San Francisco, CA | Program Support | $70,000 |
| Amazon Watch Oakland, CA | Program Support | $50,000 |
| Canopy (Tides Foundation) | Program Support | $50,000 |
| Development in Gardening Atlanta, GA | Program Support | $50,000 |
| Global Seed Savers Denver, CO | Program Support | $50,000 |
| Grain | Program Support | $50,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants | Grant count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $14,597,177 | $3,051,106 | $3,531,564 | $2,182,076 | 49 |
| 2023 | $13,590,384 | $2,804,803 | $3,354,032 | $2,009,677 | 54 |
| 2022 | $12,680,348 | $5,307,028 | $2,903,358 | $1,728,788 | 57 |
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $14,597,177 | $13,590,384 | $12,680,348 |
| Revenue | $3,051,106 | $2,804,803 | $5,307,028 |
| Expenses | $3,531,564 | $3,354,032 | $2,903,358 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $2,215,569 | $2,044,352 | $1,782,242 |
| Net Investment Income | $1,745,163 | $1,553,858 | $4,197,412 |
| Distributable Amount | $1,850,665 | $1,861,251 | $1,702,196 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Philip M. Fearnside as president and director, Wendy A. Fearnside as treasurer and director, and Tracy E. Fearnside as secretary and director.
Conservation Food and Health Foundation is led by Philip M. Fearnside, President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Philip M. Fearnside
President & Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tracy E. Fearnside
Secretary & Director
Secretary → Secretary & Director, 2022
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Wendy A. Fearnside
Treasurer & Director
On filings since 2020
3.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Contact
Application contact: Gma Foundations
Mailing address: 2 Liberty Square Ste 500, Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 426-7080
Email: pzinn@gmafoundations.com
Frequently asked questions about Conservation Food and Health Foundation
How much does Conservation Food and Health Foundation give each year?
Conservation Food and Health Foundation gave $2.2M across 49 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $2.0M across 54 grants.
What is Conservation Food and Health Foundation's typical grant size?
Conservation Food and Health Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $43,294, and its average grant was $44,532, across 49 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Conservation Food and Health Foundation that year got $45K on average.
Where does Conservation Food and Health Foundation give grants?
Conservation Food and Health Foundation's top state is California, with 26% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Massachusetts (12%) and Colorado (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (3 grants), Berkeley, CA (2 grants) and Boston, MA (2 grants).
Does Conservation Food and Health Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2024: none of the 49 grants with a stated purpose on Conservation Food and Health Foundation's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Program Support" (49 grants).
Who are Conservation Food and Health Foundation's largest grantees?
Conservation Food and Health Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program ($135,000), Global Greengrants Fund ($100,000) and Concern America Inc ($100,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 15% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Conservation Food and Health Foundation?
Conservation Food and Health Foundation reported $14.6M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $2.2M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.9M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Conservation Food and Health Foundation fund?
The foundation supports work that generates local or regional solutions to problems affecting the environment and human life; advances local leadership and professional development; builds the capacity of local organizations and coalitions; and addresses challenges in the field. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Conservation Food and Health Foundation?
Submit a concept application through the online application system. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Conservation Food and Health Foundation's EIN?
Conservation Food and Health Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 22-2625024. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does Conservation Food and Health Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
Yes, 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.
Here's the math on researching Conservation Food and Health Foundation by hand.
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