Emil Muller Foundation

The Emil Muller Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that typically donates to environmental programs in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties in New York. 1 It awards grants to environmental conservation programs, capital projects, and general operations. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Ideological Alignment: Left of Center
Issue Areas: Environmental Policy
Website: www.emilmullerfdn.org
Location: Penfield, NY View on map
Tax ID: 14-1904829
Most Recent Filing: 2025
Budget (2025): Assets: $10,496,058 Revenue: $1,528,558 Expenses: $558,640

Contents

    The foundation has donated to Earthworks‘ Center for Youth Services, Finger Lakes Land Trust, Taproot Collective, 3 the Nature Conservancy Central and Western Chapter, Ducks Unlimited, 4 and Encompass. 5 In 2024, the foundation reported approximately $400,000 in annual grantmaking and net assets of over $9.5 million. 6

    Founder

    Emil Muller was a construction mogul. He was born in Switzerland in 1904 and moved to New York in 1926. He worked a series of jobs upon arriving in New York before eventually settling on carpentry, and in 1932 he earned a degree in Architectural Drafting from what is now known as the Rochester Institute of Technology. In 1933, Muller received U.S. citizenship and started his own construction company. Muller would build homes during the day and attend school in the evenings, eventually earning a degree in Industrial Management in 1935. Muller worked on low income housing and apartment building until the mid-1940s when he began building strip malls. He argued that strip malls would become the future of suburban shopping, and in his career he “developed, built, owned, and managed over twenty plazas.” 7

    Muller owned thousands of acres of land in New York which enabled him to enjoy horseback riding, hiking, canoeing, farming, and hunting. His “love of the outdoors nurtured his conservation interests and he made numerous gifts of land to different organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, so that others could enjoy the land as he did.” 7 In addition to his conservation efforts, Muller sat on the board of Highland Hospital where he donated to the cardiac unit, and the Rochester Museum and Science Center where he chaired the building committee for its Strasenburg Planetarium. 7

    Grantmaking

    Earthworks

    Earthworks is an environmental nonprofit which advocates strict regulations in the mining industry, an end to oil and gas energy, and an expansion of weather-dependent energy sources like wind and solar. 8 In 2024, the Emil Muller Foundation donated $20,000 to Earthworks’ Center for Youth Services in Rochester, New York. 3

    Finger Lakes Land Trust

    The Finger Lakes Land Trust is a conservation group focusing on water health and land conservation in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Since its inception in 1989 to 2026, it claimed to have helped conserve 35,000 acres of forests, farmland, gorges, and shoreline in the region. 9 It has also invested in programs to fix toxic algae blooms happening in the Finger Lakes and associated waterways. 10 In 2024, the Emil Muller Foundation donated $15,000 to the Finger Lakes Land Trust to help expand the Wesley Hill Preserve. 3

    Taproot Collective

    Taproot Collective is a community organization in Rochester, New York that provides materials, workshops, and technical and design assistance for urban gardens to help promote youth employment in low-income communities. 11 In 2024, the Emil Muller Foundation donated $10,000 to help build more community gardens. 3

    The Nature Conservancy

    The Nature Conservancy is the world’s largest conservation nonprofit which as of June 2024 held total assets of over $9.5 billion. 12 It supports policies and efforts that allegedly drastically cut carbon emissions and protect farmland and forests in order to “store billions of tons of living carbon.” 13 In 2023, the Emil Muller Foundation donated $20,000 to The Nature Conservancy Central and Western Chapter for the expansion and renovation of the West Hill Preserve Trail. 4

    Ducks Unlimited

    Ducks Unlimited is an advocacy group which focuses on the health of waterfowl and the habitats in which they live. The organization offers hunting safety and strategy guides and invests in conservation programs that increase the health and population of wildlife, the ability of people to enjoy the outdoors, and the enrichment of biodiversity and expansion of natural habitats across the country. 14 In 2023, the Emil Muller Foundation donated $25,000 to Ducks Unlimited for the restoration of the Seneca River Floodplain. 4

    Encompass

    Encompass was a nonprofit that advocated an increase in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in the animal advocacy movement. 15 In 2022, the Emil Muller Foundation donated $25,000 to Encompass’s Future Ready Program. 5

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $10,496,058 $1,528,558 $558,640 View
    2024 $9,872,428 $481,416 $591,658 View
    2023 $9,945,672 $207,607 $436,807 View
    2022 $9,688,225 $582,287 $573,835 View
    2021 $11,028,779 $1,211,807 $593,494 View
    2020 $10,530,817 $8,843,806 $328,463 View

    Prior year filings: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $1,972,339
    • Number of Grants: 61
    • Number of Recipients: 35

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $174,5602024 Finger Lakes Community College Foundation IncMuller Field Station Bunkhouse & Conservation Education
    $115,0002022 Finger Lakes Community College Foundation IncMuller Field Station Operations
    $114,0002021 Finger Lakes Community College Foundation IncMuller Field Station Operations
    $105,0002023 Society of Women EngineersEmil Muller Scholars
    $75,5602020 Finger Lakes Community College Foundation IncMuller Field Station Operations
    $74,5602023 Finger Lakes Community College Association IncMuller Field Station Operations
    $60,0002024 Rochester Institute of TechnologyEmil Muller Scholars
    $50,0002024 Rochester Museum and Science CenterCumming Nature Center Treehouse Village
    $50,0002023 Rochester Museum and Science CenterInnovation Campaign – Wonders of Water
    $50,0002022 Ducks Unlimited, Inc.-PERRYVILLEWhiskey Hill Property Purchase
    $50,0002021 Seneca Park Zoo SocietyEducation, Conservation & Outreach Programs
    $50,0002020 United Way of Greater Rochester IncCommunity Crisis Fund
    $45,0002021 Habitat for Humanity of Wayne County New York IncGeneral Operating Fund
    $40,0002020 Rochester Museum and Science CenterCummings Nature Center's Forest School
    $39,0002021 Rochester Museum and Science CenterCummings Nature Center's Forest School
    $35,0002021 HOMESTEADS FOR HOPE INCReady!Set!Work! Program
    $32,0002022 Blueprint Geneva IncTrail Accessibility
    $30,0002022 Society of Women EngineersEmil Muller Scholars Scholarship
    $30,0002021 The Center for Youth Services IncEarth Works Program
    $25,7502024 Seneca Park Zoo SocietyConservation Education
    $25,0002024 HOMESTEADS FOR HOPE INCGrowing Nature's Classroom; Care Farming
    $25,0002024 Rochester Ecology Partners IncGeneral Operating
    $25,0002023 Ducks Unlimited, Inc.-BIG BENDSeneca River Floodplain Restoration
    $25,0002023 Seneca Park Zoo SocietyEducation, Conservation & Outreach Programs
    $25,0002022 EncompassFuture Ready Program

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “Home.” Emil Muller. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.emilmullerfdn.org/. 
    2. “What We Fund.” Emil Muller. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.emilmullerfdn.org/what-we-fund. 
    3. Emil Muller Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2024, Part XIV. 
    4. Emil Muller Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2023, Part XIV. 
    5. Emil Muller Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2022, Part XIV. 
    6. Emil Muller Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2024, Part III Line 6. 
    7. “Our Founder.” Emil Muller. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.emilmullerfdn.org/our-founder. 
    8. “What We Do.” Earthworks. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://earthworks.org/what-we-do/. 
    9. “About .” Finger Lakes Land Trust. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.fllt.org/about/. 
    10. “Protecting Water Quality in the Finger Lakes Region.” Finger Lakes Land Trust. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.fllt.org/finger-lakes-water-quality-land-protection. 
    11. “Taproot Collective.” United Way. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.unitedwayrocflx.org/roc-the-day/causes/taprootcollective. 
    12. The Nature Conservancy, Form 990, 2023, Part I Line 20. 
    13. “Our Priorities: Tackle Climate Change.” The Nature Conservancy. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/tackle-climate-change/. 
    14. “Ducks Unlimited Conservation.” Ducks Unlimited. Accessed March 18, 2026. https://www.ducks.org/conservation. 
    15. Healey, Paul. “Meet the Organization Making the Animal Movement More Inclusive.” Species Unite, June 8, 2020. https://www.speciesunite.com/news-stories/making-the-animal-movement-inclusive.