May Arboretum Society

May Arboretum Society (MAS) is structurally different from most funders in this dataset, and grant seekers need to understand that distinction before investing time in an application. IRS filings classify MAS as a grantmaking public charity (foundation code 02, is_grantmaker: true), but in practice it functions as a 'friends of' support organization for a single public garden — the Washoe County-owned Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, NV. Every dollar of tracked grant activity in the Form 990 data — 100% of the one recorded grant, $178,801 — went to 'May Aroretum & Botanical Garden' itself, not to an outside nonprofit. MAS's own listed programs confirm this: all three are 'Direct Funds Support for May Arboretum Society,' event/activity expense support, and plant/advertising expense support for MAS's own events. Neither the data nor the public website shows evidence of a competitive, multi-recipient grants program for external organizations.

The all-volunteer, eight-person leadership team — President Frances Munoz (also referred to publicly as Executive Director), Vice President Shannon Speak, Treasurer positions rotating between Debbie Bentley and Gwen Bourne, Secretary Amber Hilberg, and board members including Rod Dimmit, Lane Johnsom, Chad Morris, and Catherine Allin Tollstrup — draws zero compensation across every filed year (officer_compensation: $0, FY2021-2023), typical of a small, mission-devoted friends group rather than a professionalized grantmaking staff.

Database metadata flags accepting_applications as true but application_instructions as literally '__none__' — an internal inconsistency that itself signals no formal external grants process exists. For organizations outside the arboretum's own operations, the realistic path in is not a grant application but a partnership, sponsorship, or in-kind collaboration: co-hosting educational programming, contributing plant stock or expertise to native/rare-species conservation work, or becoming a sponsor at signature events (Spring Plant Sale, Gala in the Garden). Reno-area conservation, education, or horticulture nonprofits with a project that visibly advances MAS's own stated priorities — tree preservation, erosion control, native plant conservation — have the best shot at a working relationship, but should approach it as relationship-building with Munoz and the board, not portal-based grant-seeking.

MAS's Form 990 data shows a small, self-contained funding operation, not a distributed grants program. The only recorded grant disbursement in the dataset is $178,801 (FY2022) to the arboretum itself — meaning the usual median grant size, range, and recipient-diversity metrics don't really apply here: there is one grantee (100% of tracked dollars), located in Nevada.

Looking at 'grants_paid' (the IRS Part IX grants-only line) across the five most recent complete fiscal years: $0 in FY2019 and FY2020, then $172,060 (FY2021), $178,801 (FY2022), and $170,146 (FY2023) — FY2024 grants_paid is not yet reported. That's a remarkably tight band ($170K-$179K) once the program stabilized post-2020, suggesting MAS budgets a near-fixed annual transfer to arboretum operations rather than scaling with revenue.

'Total_giving' (a broader program-expense figure) tells a slightly different story: $318,301 (FY2019), $209,983 (FY2020), $273,567 (FY2021), $310,052 (FY2022), $354,324 (FY2023) — up 69% from the FY2020 low, tracking a slow post-pandemic recovery and reinvestment.

Revenue and assets reveal the real driver of MAS's giving capacity: FY2020 total_revenue spiked to $2,341,272, driven by $2,312,401 in net_investment_income — almost certainly a one-time bequest or major gift — which pushed total_assets to a peak of $8,241,128 that year. Assets have declined steadily since: $6,694,662 (FY2021), $6,409,637 (FY2022), $6,226,886 (FY2023), $6,114,473 (FY2024) — a 26% drawdown from the 2020 peak as MAS spends down that windfall through steady $170K-$180K annual arboretum support. Contributions_received (direct donations, excluding investment income) have been modest but rising: $56,947 (FY2022) to $74,168 (FY2023), reflecting community fundraising — plant sales, gala, memberships — layered on top of endowment drawdown. There is no program-area or geographic breakdown to report beyond '100% Reno, NV, 100% arboretum operations,' since MAS funds a single beneficiary rather than a portfolio of grantees.

All six organizations sit within a tight $6.0M-$6.3M asset band and share an Environment NTEE classification, but names like 'Wildlands Sanctuary,' 'Reserve,' and 'Preserve' suggest most peers are similarly land-holding, single-site conservation entities rather than open, competitive grantmakers — the same 'friends of' or land-trust pattern MAS follows. None of the five peers has a listed website in this dataset, which is itself a signal: organizations at this asset size in the Environment category are frequently single-property stewardship vehicles, not distributed funders, making MAS's self-funding structure the norm for its peer set rather than an outlier. Grant seekers scanning this peer list for open Environment funding should not assume any of these six runs a traditional LOI-to-award pipeline without confirming directly.

The most concrete recent news is the August 2026 launch of the Tree Hunter Legacy Fund, reported by KOLOTV (Aug 3, 2026) and 2News. The fund is a memorial giving vehicle honoring Rod Haulenbeek, a longtime Reno plant-community figure known as 'The Tree Hunter,' and channels donations — via text-to-give code 'rooted' to 366283, or online — directly into tree planting, ongoing tree maintenance, and wildlife habitat preservation at the arboretum. President/Executive Director Frances Munoz was quoted framing the fund as a legacy-giving mechanism: 'what you plant today is actually still in existence for future generations to come.'

On the earned-revenue side, MAS ran its Spring Plant Sale May 8-9, 2026 — its largest annual event, offering more than 5,000 plants across roughly 300 varieties selected for the northern Nevada climate, with member-only early access Friday evening and a public sale Saturday. MAS also runs an annual Gala in the Garden fundraiser (masgala.org), with the 2026 edition featuring a live painting by an artist during the VIP cocktail hour.

Beyond these dated items, MAS's longer-running priorities — cited in web sources without specific dates — include funding a 300-foot retaining wall on the arboretum's north side for erosion and non-point-source pollution control, a full upgrade to Burke Garden, and staffing support (MAS funds 3 of the arboretum's 6 year-round full-time staff). No leadership changes or new formal external grant programs were found in current news coverage.

Because MAS does not operate a conventional open grants process, 'application tips' here mean tips for building a funded relationship with the organization, not for filling out a portal.

Do not search for an LOI form, RFP, or grants portal — none exists in the data or on the public site. The database's own application_instructions field reads '__none__,' and the single recorded grant in MAS's Form 990 filings went to the arboretum itself, not an external applicant. Treat any third-party 'how to apply to May Arboretum Society' claim skeptically.

Lead with alignment to MAS's stated, funded priorities, not generic environmental language: tree preservation (the new Tree Hunter Legacy Fund), erosion and stormwater control (the retaining wall project), native and rare/threatened/endangered high-desert and mountain plant conservation, and horticultural education. A pitch tied to one of these concrete programs will land better than a general 'support our environmental nonprofit' ask.

Reach the organization directly and personally — call (775) 750-7101 or use the contact page (mayarboretumsociety.org/about/contact) — and address Frances Munoz by name (President/Executive Director) rather than a generic 'grants committee,' since the leadership team is small (8 unpaid volunteer officers/directors) and decisions are almost certainly made informally by the board.

Build the relationship before asking for money. MAS's public calendar revolves around a handful of signature events — the Spring Plant Sale (May), Gala in the Garden, and ongoing membership drives — that are the natural entry points for co-programming, sponsorship, or in-kind partnership rather than a cash grant request.

Common mistake to avoid: treating MAS like a peer-reviewed environmental foundation with a competitive cycle. Its is_grantmaker: true classification is an IRS foundation-code artifact, not evidence of an external grants pipeline — 100% of tracked grant dollars in the data went to MAS's own arboretum.

If your organization is the Wilbur D. May Arboretum's operating partner (Washoe County Parks) or a closely allied Reno-area horticulture/conservation group, the realistic ask is collaborative programming or shared infrastructure funding, not a standalone grant award — frame proposals as partnership, not application.