National Tropical Botanical Garden
“Enrich life through discovery, scientific research, conservation, and education.”
The work
What they do
Congressionally chartered botanical garden focused on tropical plant conservation. Works with federal agencies on rare plant recovery on federal lands in Hawaii and Florida.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “TO ENRICH LIFE BY PERPETUATING TROPICAL PLANTS, ECOSYSTEMS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH DISCOVERY, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, AND EDUCATION.”
Where the money went, FY2024
The work, and what it cost
Keeping the wild alive
$5.8MNTBGS GARDENS & PRESERVES ARE SAFE HAVENS FOR AT-RISK SPECIES THAT OTHERWISE MIGHT DISAPPEAR FOREVER. 140 ACRES ARE FORMALLY MAINTAINED.
Read it as they filed it
LIVING COLLECTIONS: NTBGS GARDENS & PRESERVES ARE SAFE HAVENS FOR AT-RISK SPECIES THAT OTHERWISE MIGHT DISAPPEAR FOREVER. 140 ACRES ARE FORMALLY MAINTAINED. NTBGS COLLECTIONS ENCOMPASS 127K LIVING PLANTS, REPRESENTING 3,133 SPECIES AND 3,726 DISTINCT TAXA. THE STAFF AT NTBGS HORTICULTUAL CENTER & NURSERIES GROW AND SAFEGUARD RARE & ENDANGERED PLANTS FROM HAWAII & OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS. MANY SPECIES THAT ARE ALMOST EXTINCT IN NATURE HAVE BEEN REINTRODUCED TO THEIR HABITAT BY NTBGS BOTANISTS. NTBGS COLLECTIONS ARE STUDIED BY VISITING SCHOLARS, RESERCHERS & STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. NTBGS GARDEN IN FLORIDA, THE KAMPONG, IS THE FORMER ESTATE OF DR. DAVID FAIRCHILD, THE FAMED BOTANICAL EXPLORER. OUR GARDEN IN MAUI, KAHANU GARDEN, IS HOME TO THE PIILANIHALE HEIAU, BELIEVED TO BE THE LARGEST ANCIENT MAN-MADE STRUCTURE IN POLYNESIA.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping the wild alive
$3.1MSCIENCE & CONSERVATION: THIS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON PROTECTING & CONSERVING TROPICAL PLANTS.
Read it as they filed it
SCIENCE & CONSERVATION: THIS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON PROTECTING & CONSERVING TROPICAL PLANTS. OUR FIELD BOTANISTS SURVEY MANY AREAS IN HAWAII TO ASSESS THREATS TO NATIVE SPECIES & COLLECT SEEDS & CUTTINGS FOR PROPOGATION, & ARE EITHER OUTPLANTED,PRESERVED IN THE HERBARIUM OR PLACED IN SEED STORAGE. NTBGS SEED BANK CONTAINS MORE THAN 18.5 MILLION SEEDS OF MORE THAN 943 TAXA. THE BOTANICAL RESEARCH CENTER IS THE HOME FOR THE GARDENS HERBARIUM, SEED BANK & A RARE BOOK LIBRARY THAT IS TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY CONTROLLED & HOLDS OVER 1,200 VOLUMES OF BOOKS-SOME THAT DATE BACK TO THE 1500S. THESE COLLECTIONS ARE CRUCIAL FOR OUR RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. THE GARDENS BREADFRUIT INSTITUTE MANAGES THE LARGEST & MOST DIVERSE COLLECTION OF BREADFRUIT SPECIES & VARIETIES IN THE WORLD, WITH OVER 120 VARIETIES CONSERVED IN FIELD GENE BANKS. THE INSTITUTE PROMOTES THE CONSERVATION & USE OF BREADFRUIT FOR FOOD SECURITY, AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. NTBG IS ALSO A COLLABORATIVE PARTNER WITH FIU IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TROPICAL BOTANY IN FLORIDA. THE CENTER IS DESIGNED TO EDUCATE & BRING TOGETHER BOTANISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Bringing people into the fight
$3.1MNTBG BELIEVES THAT EDUCATION IS KEY FOR PRESERVATION OF TROPICAL PLANTS & ECOSYSTEMS.
Including $37,000 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
EDUCATION: NTBG BELIEVES THAT EDUCATION IS KEY FOR PRESERVATION OF TROPICAL PLANTS & ECOSYSTEMS. TOURS ARE OFFERED THROUGH ITS GARDENS TO EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT THE NEED TO PRESERVE TROPICAL FORESTS RICH WITH NATIVE BIODIVERSITY AND TO PROTECT OUR ECOSYSTEMS & RESOURCES THAT WE RELY ON FOR OUR OWN WELL-BEING. IN 2024, OUR BOTANICAL GARDENS HAD 110,379 VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. OTHER EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDE FORMAL AND INFORMAL LECTURES, BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATOR COURSES, INTERNSHIPS & WORKSHOPS FOR COLLEGE PROFESSORS, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS & ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS. SCIENCE STAFF REGULARLY PROVIDE ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS. THE SCIENCE STAFF HAVE COLLABORATED ON & PUBLISHED SEVERAL BOOKS ON TROPICAL FLORA. THE LOY MCCANDLESS MARKS BOTANICAL LIBRARY CURRENTLY HOLDS OVER 20,000 VOLUMES, 3,000 ORIGINAL BOTANICAL ARTWORKS & PRINTS, 6,000 PHOTOGRAPHS & 16,000 COLOR SLIDES. THE LIBRARY COMPRISES ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OF TROPICAL BOTANICAL & HORTICULTURAL REFERENCE COLLECTIONS IN THE PACIFIC BASIN. THE KAMPONG, IN COCONUT GROVE, FL IS HOME TO THE FORMER RESIDENCE OF DR. DAVID FAIRCHILD, AN AMERICAN BOTANIST WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF MORE THAN 200,000 EXOTIC PLANTS & CROPS IN THE U.S.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
83 cents of every dollar goes to the work
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and National Tropical Botanical Garden is nowhere near one.
$11,981,291 programs, $1,689,125 management, $747,127 fundraising. Form 990, FY2024.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at NTBG? Claim this page.
Those 444 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If NTBG is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 445The filings
14 years of filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $8,983,457 |
| 2012 | $10,995,883 |
| 2013 | $9,196,998 |
| 2014 | $12,141,771 |
| 2015 | $16,306,843 |
| 2016 | $9,434,646 |
| 2017 | $10,640,833 |
| 2018 | $11,323,064 |
| 2019 | $11,652,622 |
| 2020 | $8,583,887 |
| 2021 | $14,124,029 |
| 2022 | $15,141,654 |
| 2023 | $12,932,790 |
| 2024 | $29,167,793 |
From $9.0M in 2011 to $29.2M in FY24, with no missed filing in 14 years. The 2024 peak of $29.2M reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
National Tropical Botanical Garden files one related organization on its return: John T Waterhouse Trust (501(c)(3)). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
The Hawaii congressional delegation averages 99 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
The Florida congressional delegation averages 29 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
83 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with National Tropical Botanical Garden
62 years on the ground, 444 volunteers, 83 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.