Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit conservation organization established in 1918 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The organization operates as a public charity and land trust focused on protecting and restoring redwood forests throughout California. The League has protected more than 220,000 acres of forestland and helped develop more than 65 redwood parks and reserves.
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$211.4M
+6.0% YoY
Annual Giving
$1.3M
+21.1% YoY
Grant Count
32
+6.7% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$41K
+13.6% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
Mission: To protect and restore redwood forests and connect people with their peace and beauty so these wonders of the natural world flourish.
Vision: Vibrant redwood forests of the scale and grandeur that once graced the California coast and the Sierra Nevada, protected forever, restored to grow old again, and connected to people through a network of magnificent parks and protected areas.
Primary Program Areas:
Protect: Preserving California's vital redwood forests by acquiring and protecting remaining old-growth redwood groves and working to double the amount of coast redwood acreage in parks, reserves, and sustainable working forests under conservation easements.
Connect: Creating and expanding access to redwood experiences so all people can find peace and beauty in the forest, with initiatives like Redwood Rides to help close the nature gap.
Study: Supporting restoration, research, and education programs focused on how to best protect and restore redwood forests.
The organization's work focuses on coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) trees, using methods including conservation easements and preemptive purchase of development rights.
Grantmaking
Save the Redwoods League provides grants to other organizations involved in ecological conservation and research. The organization offers the following grant programs:
Grant Types
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The League's funding and conservation work focuses primarily on California, with particular emphasis on the North California coastal forests and Sierra Nevada regions. The organization also has some grantmaking activity in Wisconsin and Colorado.
Recent acquisitions include the 394-acre Russian River Redwoods property in Sonoma County and a conservation easement on the 3,862-acre Weger Ranch in Mendocino County.
Grant Distribution by State
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
2024 Financial Data:
- Total Assets: $211,369,346
- Total Revenue: $57,790,054
- Total Expenses: $55,160,311
- Number of Employees: 75
Revenue Sources: Individuals, foundations, corporations, government agencies, and investments.
Expense Structure: As a land conservation organization, the League's transaction cycle of purchasing, holding, and transferring land often requires several years to complete. Program expenses are recognized when a property is transferred to its permanent steward or when a conservation easement is acquired. The organization uses a five-year rolling average expense ratio to account for the episodic nature of land divestments and conservation easement acquisitions.
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $211,369,346 | $199,486,004 | $200,210,693 |
| Revenue | $57,790,054 | $38,773,632 | $55,128,090 |
| Expenses | $55,160,311 | $32,863,391 | $33,025,358 |
| Qualifying Distributions | — | — | — |
| Net Investment Income | $2,042,182 | $250,318 | $1,986,613 |
| Distributable Amount | — | — | — |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
Grant Size Distribution
130 grants across all recorded years
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from Save the Redwoods League
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
No grants recorded for .
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
From 2024 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SARA ANN CLARK | CHAIR, DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| ABRAHAM TARAPANI | VICE CHAIR, DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| ROSEMARY CAMERON | VICE CHAIR, DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| MICHAEL F WYATT | TREASURER, DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| C BLAKE T WILLIAMS | ASST TREASURER, DIR (THRU 9/22/23) | 3 | — |
| JOHN MONTAGUE | SECRETARY, DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| ANDREA TUTTLE | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| CARL SHAPIRO | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| CARYL HART | DIRECTOR (THRU 12/22/23) | 3 | — |
| COLBY HASTINGS | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| DAVE MAHLER | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| JOHN SCHARFFENBERGER | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| KRISTY HSIAO | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| MATTHEW K BERLER | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| PEGGY LIGHT | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| WILLIAM A CROFT | DIRECTOR | 3 | — |
| SAMUEL M HODDER | PRESIDENT/CEO | 40 | $324,639 |
| LINNETH LIM | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | 40 | $249,646 |
| JEFFREY CHARLES HOELSKEN | GENERAL COUNSEL / ASST SEC | 40 | $223,498 |
| JENNIFER TAPKEN | COO (THRU 9/19/23) | 40 | $179,904 |
| ROLANDO G COHEN | CFO (THRU 4/15/23) | 40 | $80,332 |
| TIM M WHALEN | CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER | 40 | $253,751 |
| PAUL C RINGGOLD | CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER | 40 | $253,199 |
| RONA B KARDENER | DIR OF HUMAN RESOURCE (THRU 8/25/23) | 40 | $240,682 |
| GEORGIA YOUNG | DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT | 40 | $178,550 |
| REBECCA L BREMSER | DIR OF LAND PROTECTION (THRU 1/3/24) | 40 | $174,452 |
Recent News & Activity
Recent developments and announcements
The League has announced 2025 Redwood Connect grantees and continues to expand access and foster forest connections through its grant programs. The organization maintains active research initiatives and offers opportunities for student researchers through its Starter Grant Program. Recent conservation acquisitions demonstrate ongoing land protection efforts, including the Russian River Redwoods purchase and the Weger Ranch conservation easement in Mendocino County.
Grants expand access and foster forest connections | Save the Redwoods LeagueSubject Areas
Focus areas based on grantmaking activity
Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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