Nurture Nature Foundation

Nurture Nature Foundation is first and foremost an operating foundation — IRS code 03 — a designation that fundamentally shapes how it functions as a funder. Unlike conventional grantmaking foundations, operating foundations spend the bulk of their charitable resources on programs they run directly, not on checks written to outside organizations. This is the single most important context for any prospective applicant to internalize before investing effort in an approach.

Founded in 1991 by Theodore "Ted" W. Kheel (1914–2010), a celebrated New York City labor mediator, the foundation was built around Kheel's conviction that sustainable development offered the most pragmatic resolution to the conflict between environmental protection and economic growth. His intellectual legacy — finding common ground between competing interests — shapes the foundation's character to this day. Leadership has passed to Robert J. Kheel (President and Treasurer), Jane Stanley (Vice President and Secretary), and Edward Peck (Director), all uncompensated. The paid professional team, as of FY2024 filings, includes General Manager Russell Ackerman ($90,141), Senior Program Officer Rachel Hogan Carr ($75,718), and Bookkeeper Kelly Neetz ($81,846).

The foundation's primary investment is the Nurture Nature Center (NNC) in Easton, Pennsylvania — a regionally recognized flood education and community science hub NNF helped establish after 2006 flooding damaged an earlier historic-building restoration project. NNC accounts for $747,109 of the $792,663 in total external grants recorded in the foundation's history (approximately 94%). The remaining 6% went to just four organizations, all in Pennsylvania or New York.

For first-time applicants, the path is deliberately informal and unhurried. There is no public grant portal, no RFP cycle, and no published deadlines. The foundation's sole documented guidance is "call foundation for application" at (212) 421-0772. This is a relationship-before-paperwork model: the foundation expects a phone conversation establishing genuine alignment before any written submission is appropriate. Organizations most likely to succeed are those already embedded in the NNC network — collaborators on flood resilience work in the Lehigh Valley, partners in the Annual Youth Climate Summit, or NYC-based groups working on transit equity and sustainable development who share the foundation's bridge-building ethos.

Nurture Nature Foundation's external grant-making is modest relative to its $33.2M asset base, but has grown meaningfully over the past decade. Across 11 recorded external grants totaling $792,663, the average award is $72,060 — but this figure is substantially distorted by the Nurture Nature Center's dominant share. Excluding NNC, the four remaining external grantees received a combined $45,554 across six grants, yielding a realistic outside-organization average of $7,592 per award. The practical range for new grantees is $1,554 to $25,500, based on documented awards to Greater Easton Development Partnership ($25,500 across 3 grants), NYC Environmental Justice Alliance ($10,000), Greater Easton Development Partners ($8,500), and Christodora Inc. ($1,554).

Annual grants paid have followed a consistent upward trajectory: $2,500 (FY2011), $31,267 (FY2012), $91,000 (FY2015), $99,165 (FY2020), $102,072 (FY2021), $183,463 (FY2022), and $224,500 (FY2023). FY2024 charitable disbursements reportedly reached $1,021,841 — a 355% increase year-over-year — though this may reflect reclassification of direct program costs or a one-time major grant; direct inquiry to the foundation is warranted before drawing conclusions.

Geographically, 82% of grants (9 of 11) went to Pennsylvania organizations — concentrated in Easton and the Lehigh Valley — while New York claimed 18% (2 grants to NYC nonprofits). No grants outside PA or NY appear in available records.

By program area, the breakdown is highly concentrated: approximately 94% to environmental education and flood resilience (Nurture Nature Center), approximately 3% to community and economic development (Greater Easton Development Partnership and Partners), and approximately 1.5% to urban environmental justice (NYC Environmental Justice Alliance and Christodora Inc.).

The foundation's total giving figures ($2.68M–$3.77M annually, FY2019–2023) dwarf the grants paid line because they include the foundation's own operating expenses for running NNC and sustainable transit research programs. Net investment income — $663,762 (FY2020), $1,221,089 (FY2021), $722,863 (FY2022), $1,409,672 (FY2023) — provides the primary financial engine for both program operations and external giving.

The table below compares Nurture Nature Foundation with four asset-size peers drawn from the same NTEE environment category. Annual giving figures for peer foundations were not available in public sources at time of research; assets drawn from IRS/database records.

Nurture Nature Foundation stands apart from this peer cohort in one critical dimension: its operating foundation structure. While peers in this $32M–$39M asset band likely distribute a conventional share of their charitable resources as external grants, NNF channels the majority of its $3–4M annual program spending into programs it operates directly — principally the Nurture Nature Center. External grants of $224,500 in FY2023 represent less than 0.7% of total assets, compared to the 5% minimum distribution most private foundations meet entirely through grants. Organizations seeking more accessible environmental funders at similar asset levels may find the Serengeti Foundation (TX) or Mori Legacy Foundation (FL) more responsive to unsolicited inquiries, while NNF remains best suited for organizations with an existing foothold in NNF's specific programmatic territory.

The most recent publicly documented activities are concentrated at NNF's operational anchor, the Nurture Nature Center in Easton, Pennsylvania.

In April 2025, NNC held its 6th Annual Youth Climate Summit of the Lehigh Valley (April 25–26, 2025), themed "From Global to Local," convening regional youth leaders around community-scale climate action. NNC also ran a year-long "Hubble's Night Sky Challenge" throughout 2025 to mark the 35th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope.

In 2026, NNC has expanded its public programming with Sky Gazers (monthly night-sky observation with staff guidance) and Earth Explorers (land-based natural phenomena programming), alongside its first-ever community membership program inviting supporters to become Founding Members — signaling meaningful organizational growth at NNF's primary grantee.

At the foundation level, FY2024 IRS filings (the most recent available via ProPublica) show total revenue of $8,649,147 — more than double the $4,064,865 in FY2023 — driven largely by a $5,474,340 asset sale. Charitable disbursements reached $1,021,841, compared to $224,500 in FY2023 grants paid. The professional staff team identified in FY2024 filings — Russell Ackerman (General Manager, $90,141), Rachel Hogan Carr (Sr. Program Officer, $75,718), Kelly Neetz (Bookkeeper, $81,846), and Edward Ripley (Sr. Maintenance, $62,182) — represents a more operational staff presence than in earlier periods. No leadership changes in the board have been publicly announced; Robert J. Kheel and Jane Stanley remain in their officer roles.

Approaching Nurture Nature Foundation effectively requires setting aside the standard grant-seeking playbook. This is an operating foundation that has historically funded a handful of known partners on a general support basis for years at a time. Here is what will and will not work.

Call first, write nothing yet. The foundation's own instruction is "call foundation for application" at (212) 421-0772. Ask to speak with Rachel Hogan Carr, Senior Program Officer (identified in FY2024 IRS filings). The purpose of this call is not to pitch a proposal — it is to determine whether a relationship makes sense. Ask directly whether the foundation is accepting new external inquiries and whether your geographic and programmatic profile fits current priorities.

Geographic alignment is essential. Every external grantee in the foundation's documented history is in Pennsylvania or New York. Pennsylvania organizations — especially those in Easton, the Lehigh Valley, or communities with flood or watershed management challenges — have the strongest standing. NYC-based organizations have a precedent specifically through environmental justice and sustainable transit work.

Use the foundation's own vocabulary. Frame your work in terms of "sustainable development," "flood hazard education," "community resilience," or "balanced transportation systems" — language drawn directly from nurturenature.org. The foundation's roots in labor mediation favor bridge-building and problem-solving framings over advocacy or adversarial approaches.

Request general operating support. Every external grant on record was awarded as general support — not restricted project funding. Build your narrative around organizational mission and credibility rather than deliverables and evaluation metrics.

Right-size your initial ask. Non-NNC external grantees received $1,554–$25,500 per grant. A first-time request of $10,000–$15,000 is entirely consistent with the foundation's documented behavior for new outside relationships and avoids appearing presumptuous.

Build through the NNC network. Attending or partnering with the Annual Youth Climate Summit, collaborating on NNC's community science programs, or engaging with NNC and NNF professional staff (Rachel Hogan Carr bridges both worlds) are the highest-probability warm-introduction pathways.

Prepare for a long timeline. The foundation has funded the same organizations repeatedly for years. Expect 12–18 months from initial contact to a potential first award, and treat each interaction as relationship-building rather than transactional.