Virginia Environmental Endowment
Richmond, VA · EIN 54-1041973. Reported 159 grants totalling $10.9M to 77 organizations across tax years 2021-2025, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Virginia Environmental Endowment, by its IRS classification it raises and distributes funds for environment (NTEE C12).
- How spread out its giving is. 77 distinct organizations, with 18% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 46% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $25,000. Half of what it reported fell between $20,000 and $40,000; the smallest was $6,778 and the largest $1,152,830. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James River Association | Richmond, VA | $1,967,660 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc | Annapolis, MD | $1,899,769 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Trout Unlimited Inc | Arlington, VA | $950,795 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Sustainable Chesapeake | Richmond, VA | $663,749 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Wetlands Watch Inc | Norfolk, VA | $335,706 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| West Virginia Rivers Coalition Inc | Charleston, WV | $215,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Southern Environmental Law Center | Charlottesville, VA | $210,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| New River Land Trust | Blacksburg, VA | $204,944 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Mountain Lake Conservancy Inc | Pembroke, VA | $202,914 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Conservation Legacy | Durango, CO | $192,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Educa | Mechanicsvlle, VA | $184,378 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| New River Conservancy | W Jefferson, NC | $175,111 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Virginia Conservation Network | Richmond, VA | $175,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Biological Systems Engi | Blacksburg, VA | $161,201 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Rivanna Conservation Alliance | Charlottesville, VA | $155,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Watershed Watch in Kentucky | Lexington, KY | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Land Savers United | Roanoke, VA | $146,796 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Western Virginia Water Authority | Roanoke, VA | $136,725 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kiwanis Foundation of Roanoke | Roanoke, VA | $135,411 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Blue Sky Fund | Richmond, VA | $125,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Virginia United Land Trusts | Richmond, VA | $120,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Capital Region Land Conservancy Inc | Richmond, VA | $110,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Bay Journal Media Inc | Mayo, MD | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Land Trust Alliance Incorporated | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia | Charlottesvle, VA | $99,239 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Potomac Conservancy Inc | Bethesda, MD | $97,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Piedmont Environmental Council | Warrenton, VA | $96,169 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Nature Forward Inc | Chevy Chase, MD | $95,000 | 3 | 2 | 2025 |
| Roanoke College | Salem, VA | $88,601 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Shenandoah National Park Trust | Charlottesvle, VA | $85,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Nature Forward | Chevy Chase, MD | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northern Virginia Conservation Trust | Annandale, VA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission | Roanoke, VA | $68,600 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Elizabeth River Project | Norfolk, VA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Virginia Academy of Science | Richmond, VA | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Virginia Institute of Marine Science | Williamsburg, VA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Lower Appomattox River Inc | Petersburg, VA | $59,700 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley | New Market, VA | $57,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mariners Museum | Newport News, VA | $55,800 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| William & Mary Law School Foundation | Williamsburg, VA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Potomac Riverkeeper Inc | Washington, DC | $53,300 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Shenandoah Valley Conservancy | Harrisonburg, VA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Waterkeepers Chesapeake Inc | Silver Spring, MD | $47,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Rappahannock Inc | Fredericksbrg, VA | $46,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Virginia Association for Environmental Education | Herndon, VA | $45,405 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Appalachian Conservation Corps | Harrisonburg, VA | $42,400 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Virginia Institute of Marine Science -Virginia Sea Grant (vasg) | Gloucester Point, VA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Potomac Riverkeeper Network | Washington, DC | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| National Parks Conservation Association | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ridge to Reefs Inc | Eldersburg, MD | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Virginia School of Architecture | Charlottesvle, VA | $29,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Rivers Inc | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Calleva Inc | Poolesville, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Groundwork Rva Inc | Richmond, VA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Science Museum of Virginia Foundation Incorporated | Richmond, VA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wild Virginia Incorporated | Charlottesvle, VA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Marine Science Consortium Inc | Wallops Is, VA | $24,125 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Upper Tennessee River Roundtable | Abingdon, VA | $22,569 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Horizons Hampton Roads Inc | Norfolk, VA | $21,475 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Western Virginia Water Authority | Roanoke, VA | $20,816 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 500 Year Forest Foundation | Lynchburg, VA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Defensores De La Cuenca | Hyattsville, MD | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Land Trust of Virginia Inc | Middleburg, VA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northern Neck Land Conservancy Inc | Warsaw, VA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Blue Ridge Discovery Center Inc | Troutdale, VA | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Roanoke College | Salem, VA | $16,020 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Inc | Annapolis, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project Inc | Richmond, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Indigenous Conservation Council | Alexandria, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Commonwealth of Virginia | Lexington, VA | $14,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Community Climate Collaborative Inc | Charlottesvle, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dan River Basin Association | Eden, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ever Green Team | Blackstone, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Wildlife Federation | Reston, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The University of Virginias College at Wise Foundation Inc | Wise, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vmi - Environment Virginia Symposium | Lexington, VA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
40 of 77 (52%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation
BUFFER RESTORATION IN THE UPPER JAMES RIVER WATERSHEDPHASE 2 - James River Association
RIPARIAN AND LIVING SHORELINE IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MIDDLE AND LOWER JAMES RIVER REGION. - Trout Unlimited
IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT - Sustainable Chesapeake
MAKING MANURE INJECTION THE NEW NORMAL IN THE JAMES RIVER BASIN - Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc
MATTANOCK TOWN LIVING SHORELINE - Wetlands Watch
BUILDING LAND CONSERVATION AND FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CAPACITY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 59 of 77 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | $2,228,111 | $27,500 |
| 2022 | 32 | $2,721,047 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 26 | $1,431,445 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 37 | $2,580,878 | $25,000 |
| 2025 | 35 | $1,969,897 | $29,119 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
69% of its giving went to organizations in Virginia. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $25,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Virginia.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Virginia Environmental Endowment's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 35 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 790, Richmond, VA, 23218.
EIN 54-1041973 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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