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Friends Group · Ecosystem and Regional

Everglades Foundation

“Restore and protect the greater Everglades ecosystem.”

1 funder on the record, 72 cents of every dollar to the work.

Home groundPalmetto Bay, FL
Founded1993
Tax status501(c)(3)
Led byEric Eikenberg

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The work

What they do

Science-based advocacy and policy for Everglades restoration. Works on water quality, Everglades restoration funding, and ecosystem protection.

Where the money went, FY2025

The work, and what it cost

Advocacy

$3.5M, 24% of spending

Policy & engagement: using insights rooted in science and economics, the policy & engagement team works to educate and convince key decision makers and partners to take actions that positively impact everglades…

Including $1,581,104 granted onward, the largest share ($471,000) to The Everglades Trust.

Read it as they filed it
ADVOCACY - POLICY & ENGAGEMENT: USING INSIGHTS ROOTED IN SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS, THE POLICY & ENGAGEMENT TEAM WORKS TO EDUCATE AND CONVINCE KEY DECISION MAKERS AND PARTNERS TO TAKE ACTIONS THAT POSITIVELY IMPACT EVERGLADES RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION. THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION'S POLICY TEAM HAS PARTICIPATED IN INFLUENCING EVERY MAJOR EVERGLADES RESTORATION PROJECT SINCE 2008. THE POLICY DEPARTMENT ADVOCATES FOR FUNDING OF THE EAA RESERVOIR CONSTRUCTION, AS WELL AS OTHER KEY RESTORATION COMPONENTS WITHIN CEPP. WITH A VARIETY OF HIGH-IMPACT PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, THE TEAM TRACKS ISSUES THAT MAY IMPACT EVERGLADES RESTORATION AND ADVANCES COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS. SHARING SCIENCE AND ECONOMIC BASED EVIDENCE WITH COALITIONS OF REALTORS, CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, AND THE TOURISM BUSINESS HELPS ADVANCE SENTIMENT AND LEGISLATIVE ISSUES THAT SUPPORT RESTORATION.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

The communications team supports the foundation’s programmatic…

$3.3M, 23% of spending

And teams by creating and executing a comprehensive communications plan that advances the foundation’s mission.

Read it as they filed it
THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM SUPPORTS THE FOUNDATION'S PROGRAMMATIC PILLARS AND TEAMS BY CREATING AND EXECUTING A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT ADVANCES THE FOUNDATION'S MISSION. COMMUNICATIONS SHOWCASES AND PROMOTES, THROUGH A VARIETY OF MEDIUMS, MESSAGING AROUND KEY SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL, DEVELOPMENT, AND POLICY TOPICS AND EVENTS.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

Science

$2.3M, 15% of spending

Our scientific expertise has always been the bedrock of the foundation, and IT serves a critical role in achieving the 2030 restoration goals.

Including $236,333 granted onward.

Read it as they filed it
SCIENCE: OUR SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE BEDROCK OF THE FOUNDATION, AND IT SERVES A CRITICAL ROLE IN ACHIEVING THE 2030 RESTORATION GOALS. THE FOUNDATION HAS A BUILT A NATIONALLY RESPECTED SCIENCE INSTITUTE MODEL WITH LEADING EXPERTS IN HYDROLOGY, ECOLOGY, WATER QUALITY, ECONOMICS AND RESILIENCY TO PROVIDE SCIENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR EVERGLADES RESTORATION AT THE STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT BUILDS AND MAINTAINS RESEARCH EXPERTISE IN RESTORATION PROJECT PLANNING, WATER QUALITY MONITORING, HYDROLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF WATER MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS, AND VALUING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES LIKE FLOOD PROTECTION AND WATER SUPPLY. THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH HIGHLY REGARDED EXTERNAL RESEARCH PARTNERS AND PUBLISHES A NUMBER OF PAPERS AND TECHNICAL COMMENT LETTERS ON PRIORITY RESTORATION TOPICS. THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION SCIENCE TEAM SHARES SCIENCE-BASED EVIDENCE AND CONVEYS THE COMPLEXITY OF EVERGLADES RESTORATION TO A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS, DECISION MAKERS AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT FOR STRATEGIC RESTORATION OUTCOMES.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

Education

$1.5M, 10% of spending

The education team serves to educate and empower people with the knowledge of the importance of the everglades ecosystem.

Including $70,234 granted onward.

Read it as they filed it
EDUCATION: THE EDUCATION TEAM SERVES TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER PEOPLE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EVERGLADES ECOSYSTEM. THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HAS TRAINED OVER 6,000 TEACHERS IN EVERGLADES LITERACY, RESULTING IN THE EVERGLADES EDUCATION OF OVER 200,000 STUDENTS ACROSS 30 COUNTIES IN FLORIDA. THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH OVER 50 CHAMPION SCHOOLS THAT HAVE INCORPORATED EVERGLADES CURRICULUM IN EVERY GRADE LEVEL OF THEIR SCHOOL. THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION LITERACY PROGRAM PROVIDES A PRE-K TO 5TH GRADE LEARNING JOURNEY, WITH SCALABLE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF FLORIDA. THE DEPARTMENT CONDUCTS TEACHER TRAININGS, UPDATES CURRICULUM AND CREATES DIGITAL CONTENT AND LEARNING AIDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE WITHOUT COST TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THAT SEEK TO INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EVERGLADES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING AND PROTECTING CLEAN WATER FLOW.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

Follow the dollar

72 cents of every dollar goes to the work

72¢
72¢ the work14¢ keeping the lights on14¢ raising the next dollar

Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.

$10,662,168 programs, $2,085,998 management, $2,078,316 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.

The backers

Backed on the record by Robertson Foundation, latest filing FY24.

The people

Who does the work

47paid staff
36volunteers last year
34board members
Eric EikenbergPresident & CEOSigned the 2026 federal filing as President & CEO

Took the helm from Eric Eikenberg President, who drew $493,200 in the final year on file.

Coreen Rodgers TreasurerChief Finance & Operations OfficerComp $409,509, FY2025
Dr Stephen E Davis IIIChief Science OfficerComp $218,570, FY2025
Carlos M De La Cruz JrBoard ChairVolunteer, 1 hrs a week, $0

Chairs the 34-member board.

Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at the Everglades Foundation? Claim this page.

Those 36 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If the Everglades Foundation is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.

Find your way in

The filings

14 years of filings

Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.

$10M$20M$25.5M FY2520112025
Total revenue by fiscal year
YearRevenue
2011$5,418,503
2012$5,009,187
2013$5,441,956
2014$6,199,041
2015$8,531,180
2016$10,095,045
2017$7,827,383
2018$10,959,365
2019$5,435,272
2020$11,845,707
2021$12,618,467
2022$28,299,195
2023$18,034,660
2025$25,498,786

From $5.4M in 2011 to $25.5M in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2024). 2022, at $28.3M, stands well above the other years on file.

On the Hill

The Everglades Foundation has hired federal lobbyists: 2 filings in 2019. The filings, at the Senate.

Most filed on the budget and the environment.

Stand with the Everglades Foundation

The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.

Sources and methodFinancials, headcounts, and program text: IRS Form 990, FY2025 and 13 prior filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 59-3228899. Leadership and compensation: Form 990 Part VII and the return’s signature block, FY2025 filing. Grantees: Schedule I, same filing. Funders: the funders’ own returns (Schedule I and 990-PF Part XV) via ProPublica, names and years only. Lobbying: Senate LDA filings naming the Everglades Foundation as client or registrant, read from the MTJP LDA corpus. Place links: MTJP editorial curation with per-link sources. Org-reported figures are always labeled. Data verified as of 2026-09-23. Nothing on this page is pay-to-play.