What Rex Brasher Association does

The Rex Brasher Association (RBA) is a Connecticut-registered nonprofit founded in 2008 to preserve and share the legacy of American wildlife artist and ornithologist Rex Brasher (1869–1960). Its core product is the digitized Birds and Trees of North America collection — a 12-volume encyclopedic set of 874 watercolor paintings documenting 1,097 bird species and 394 tree species, originally produced between 1929 and 1932. All 1,200 pages have been photographed, color-corrected, cataloged, and published on rexbrasher.org for free public access, with each plate annotated with Brasher's original nomenclature, modern taxonomy, and IUCN conservation status. The organization also maintains a Conservation Watch List Database tracking species decline since 1924, an internship program supporting digitization, an on-site artist/naturalist residency at Chickadee Valley in Kent, Connecticut, and a portfolio of additional archival publications (Secrets of the Friendly Woods, Spindrift, the Spingarn Letters).

The organization generates revenue primarily through charitable donations and quarterly email fundraising, supplemented by transactional income from collaborative merchandise (notably a Field Notes special edition notebook) and program fees from residencies. Its go-to-market is community-led and digital-first: free public web access drives awareness, while partnerships with Field Notes, OnlyNY, and the US Postal Service extend the brand into consumer product channels. In 2021, the organization received Rex Brasher's 116-acre Chickadee Valley property, home, and original paintings through the bequest of founding member Deborah Brasher, and in 2023 secured national press coverage in The Washington Post. The collection is currently stored at the University of Connecticut's Dodd Center, while the organization is developing a physical museum and expanded educational programming at the Kent property.

Name

Rex Brasher Association

Legal name

Rex Brasher Association Inc.

Website

https://rexbrasher.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Rex Brasher Association is a Connecticut nonprofit that preserves and digitally shares wildlife artist Rex Brasher's 874-painting Birds and Trees of North America collection, serving conservation organizations, ornithology enthusiasts, educators, and art collectors through free online access, donation funding, and residency programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Archive and Cultural Heritage Preservation

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Museums (712110), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare) (BPAGAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Wildlife art preservation
• Ornithology education
• Digital art archive
• Conservation awareness
• Nonprofit publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Kent

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The primary revenue stream comes from charitable donations from supporters. The organization operates a donation page and sends quarterly email updates to supporters.
2. Collaborative Merchandise: Revenue generated through collaborative products such as the Field Notes special edition notebooks featuring Rex Brasher's artwork.
3. Residency Program Fees: The organization hosts residency programs for artists and naturalists; multi-week or multi-month programs generate program fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Rex Brasher Association preserves, digitizes, and publicly shares Rex Brasher's 874-painting Birds and Trees of North America collection through a free online digital archive, while operating educational residency programs and collaborative merchandise. It is funded primarily by charitable donations and runs as a Connecticut-registered non-profit (Rex Brasher Association Inc.).

Product overview

The Rex Brasher Association operates as a non-profit digital archive and museum dedicated to preserving and sharing the legacy of wildlife artist and ornithologist Rex Brasher (1869–1960). The core offering is the Birds and Trees of North America Collection—a 12-volume encyclopedic set of 874 watercolor paintings documenting 1,097 bird species and 394 tree species of North America, originally produced between 1929 and 1932. This collection has been fully digitized and is accessible through the organization's website, where each of the 851 plates is presented with historical images, original nomenclature (based on the 1886 AOU Check-list), current accepted taxonomy (eBird Taxonomy 2025), IUCN conservation status, and editorial commentary. The portfolio also includes published works such as 'Secrets of the Friendly Woods' and 'Spindrift,' collaborative products like the Field Notes special edition notebooks, and archival materials including the Spingarn Letters. The organization is developing a physical museum, educational curriculum, and an on-site residency program to inspire new generations of artists and naturalists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Birds and Trees of North America Collection The Association's core product: a 12-volume encyclopedic set of 874 watercolor paintings covering 1,097 bird species and 394 tree species of North America, fully digitized into 851 plates with historical nomenclature, current taxonomy, and IUCN conservation status for free online access by the public.
• Field Notes Special Edition Memo Books Special edition Field Notes 3-Packs reproducing six Rex Brasher paintings on memo books with Mohawk Via covers and stainless steel staples, sold through Field Notes retail and e-commerce channels to commemorate Brasher's legacy.
• Publications (The Curving Road; Be Tender With Me, Please?) Published works by or about Rex Brasher, including 'The Curving Road' and 'Be Tender With Me, Please?', distributed and promoted through the Association's residency program and website.
• Secrets of the Friendly Woods A 1926 book of twelve whimsical chapters illustrated with Rex Brasher's pencil and ink drawings and black-and-white images of paintings, describing encounters with birds and wildlife, republished through the Association's digital collection.
• Spindrift An unpublished volume of poems, musings, and watercolors completed by Rex Brasher in 1935 reflecting on his sea-faring days and his love for Marie, made accessible through the Association's digital collection.
• Spingarn Letters Archive Archival correspondence between Rex Brasher and Joel and Amy Spingarn — early supporters who owned the Troutbeck hotel and were active in the civil rights movement — preserved and made accessible online by the Association.
• Digital Archive Platform The Rex Brasher Association website provides online access to the complete Birds and Trees collection, with individual plate pages featuring historical images, original species names, current taxonomy, IUCN conservation status, and editorial text.
• Artist and Naturalist Residency Program An on-site residency program at Chickadee Valley in Kent, Connecticut, designed for artists and naturalists to immerse themselves in Brasher's legacy and explore connections to the natural world.
• Conservation Watch List Database An interactive tracking system documenting bird species from Rex Brasher's collection that have become extinct, endangered, threatened, or near threatened since he observed them in the wild, serving as a conservation awareness tool.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,200 pages across all 12 volumes have been digitized and made freely accessible online
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Field NotescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Collaboration with Field Notes, founded by Jim Coudal and Aaron Draplin, to reproduce six of Rex Brasher's paintings on 3-Packs of Field Notes Ruled Memo Books. Special edition notebooks sold to commemorate Rex's legacy.
• OnlyNYminorGTM or Marketing PartnerArtist series collaboration featuring Rex Brasher designs on OnlyNY products.
• US Postal ServiceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration with USPS to feature Rex Brasher artwork on postal products.
• Matthew SchnepfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMatthew Schnepf led the digitization effort, photographing, color-correcting, and cataloging all 1,200 pages across all 12 volumes. His work made the complete collection publicly accessible online.
• Meriden Gravure CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationHistorical partnership with Meriden Gravure Company in Meriden, Connecticut, selected by Rex Brasher to create grayscale prints of his originals for the Birds and Trees of North America publication.
• University of ConnecticutcoreOthersThe collection of paintings has been stored at the Dodd Center on the University of Connecticut campus at Storrs since 1988, where it remains in protective storage.
• TroutbeckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe present owners Charlie and Anthony Champalimaud of Troutbeck (the historic hotel and restaurant once owned by Joel and Amy Spingarn) have created a supportive partnership. The Spingarns were early patrons of Rex Brasher.
• Internship ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent programs and internships that help digitize and catalog the collection while providing educational opportunities.
• National Geographic SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn January 1938, Rex's entire collection was exhibited at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington D.C. The exhibit drew 7,000 visitors and remained open for two weeks due to public interest.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Audubon Society: The dominant American bird conservation organization. Directly comparable mission (bird conservation, education, public awareness) and serves the same donor and education audiences, but operates at massive scale with established brand recognition that the Rex Brasher Association is challenging.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest environmental nonprofits globally, focused on land and species conservation. Comparable as a conservation-mission nonprofit stewarding significant natural assets (analogous to the 116-acre Chickadee Valley) and competing for the same donor dollars.
• Wildlife Conservation Society: Major international wildlife conservation organization operating zoos, field conservation, and education. Comparable in combining wildlife conservation mission with public engagement and educational programming, though at significantly larger scale and broader species focus.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Major natural history museum with significant bird collections and ornithology programming. Comparable in preserving and presenting natural history collections to public audiences, but operates as a federally funded institution at vastly greater scale.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Premier ornithology research and education institution operating eBird, Birds of the World, and the Macaulay Library. Comparable in serving ornithology education and conservation audiences and creating authoritative digital bird content, but at substantially larger scale with university backing.
• The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University: America's oldest natural history research institution and museum with ornithology collections. Comparable as a heritage nonprofit maintaining scientific bird collections and providing public education, though its collection predates Brasher's era.

Regional players

• Mass Audubon: Largest Audubon state organization operating wildlife sanctuaries and conservation programming in New England. Comparable in operating bird-focused education and conservation programs with residency/sanctuary experiences, though primarily regional in scope.

Emerging players

• Digital Public Library of America: Nonprofit digital library aggregating cultural heritage materials from American libraries, archives, and museums. Comparable as a digital-first nonprofit making historical American cultural content freely accessible online, though at much larger scope and scale.

Direct peers

• Birds of North America (Cornell Lab / AOS): Authoritative online reference covering life history of every North American bird species. Directly comparable as a digital ornithology reference resource targeting researchers, educators, and birders—the same audience Rex Brasher's digitized collection serves.
• American Bird Conservancy: Bird-focused nonprofit dedicated to conserving native birds and their habitats across the Americas. Highly comparable as a similarly sized mission-driven organization focused on bird conservation through advocacy and education, serving overlapping donor audiences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rex-brasher-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rex Brasher Association