What The Caumsett Foundation Incorporated does

The Caumsett Foundation Incorporated is a private 501(c)-style nonprofit "friends group" founded in 2001 and headquartered in Huntington, New York, that supports Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve — a 1,500- to 1,600-acre former Marshall Field III Gold Coast estate on Lloyd Neck acquired by New York State in 1961. The Foundation operates with 1-10 employees and works in close co-stewardship with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, having been recognized as a model friends group. Its mission centers on education, low-impact recreation, historic preservation, and environmental conservation of the park's scenic, ecological, and cultural assets, including the only known breeding colony of the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly on Long Island (peak annual counts up to 1,623 in 2022) and 244 recorded pollinator species via iNaturalist.

Core programmatic products include the seasonal Caumsett Café (April-November) housed in a converted 2020 Dairy Barn Complex outbuilding, a free mobile app with four tour routes and 35 interpretive stops, the institutional Caumsett Artist in Residence (AIR) program launched in 2023, structured environmental volunteering (Weekday, Weekend Warrior, Adopt-a-Pollinator-Garden, Corporate), and a six-tier annual membership ($60 to $1,000). Capital projects span historic building restorations (Dairy Barn Complex, Polo Stable, Walled Garden, Summer Cottage, Park Offices) totaling millions of dollars across two decades. Revenue is generated through annual membership dues, individual donations processed via DonorPerfect, photography permits for the Walled Garden ($250), café and merchandise sales, and a diversified grant portfolio spanning NYS Environmental Protection Fund ($770,720 cumulative), NYSDEC, NYS Parks matching funds, federal Hurricane Sandy disaster relief, and private foundations (Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Long Island Community Foundation, Marion O. and Maximillian E. Hoffman Foundation, Nadon Trust, Parks & Trails New York).

The Foundation's go-to-market is community-led: no paid advertising, growth driven by park visitation, word-of-mouth in the Long Island community, email newsletter signups, and corporate volunteer engagement. Strategic priorities evident in recent disclosures are completion of an ongoing Farm Group Roof Replacement across 18 buildings, three-year invasive porcelain berry removal on Butterfly Hill funded by a 2024 NYSDEC grant, and production of three history films under the 2024 Gardiner Foundation grant.

Name

The Caumsett Foundation Incorporated

Legal name

The Caumsett Foundation

Website

https://caumsettfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Caumsett Foundation Incorporated is a nonprofit "friends group" founded in 2001 that supports Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve — a 1,500-acre former Marshall Field III estate on Long Island — through conservation, historic restoration, public education, environmental volunteering, the seasonal Caumsett Café, a six-tier membership program, and the Caumsett Artist in Residence program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic Park Preservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Historic preservation services
• Park conservation programs
• Environmental stewardship
• Nonprofit foundation services
• Community education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Sag Harbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees ranging from $60 (Basic) to $1,000 (Benefactor), providing card-carrying members with newsletters, café discounts, Empire Pass Cards at higher tiers, free/discounted programs, and invitations to the Fall Benefit.
2. Donations and Grants: The Foundation raises funds through direct donations (online via DonorPerfect portal), grants from foundations (e.g., Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Long Island Community Foundation), and government grants (NY State Parks, NYSDEC Invasive Species Grant, Hurricane Sandy Relief).
3. Café Sales: Seasonal café (open April through November) generates revenue from food and beverage sales including pastries, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and beverages. Café discount (10%) is a membership benefit.
4. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including a limited-edition $35 Caumsett Foundation branded hat, with 100% of proceeds benefiting the Foundation.
5. Photography Permits: Professional photography permits for the Walled Garden are sold for $250, with an additional $35 parking permit required for commercial vehicles. These fees directly support conservation efforts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Caumsett Foundation is a nonprofit "friends group" that supports and enhances Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve on Long Island's north shore. It funds and executes conservation, historic building restoration, environmental education, public art, and community programs for the 1,500-acre park. Revenue and engagement are driven by tiered memberships, donations, grants, a seasonal café, photography permits, retail merchandise, the free mobile audio guide app, and the Artist in Residence program.

Product overview

The Caumsett Foundation operates a multi-faceted offering centered on Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve, a 1,500-acre park on Long Island's north shore. The Foundation provides public access to the park with recreational activities including hiking, biking, equestrian trails, fishing, and scuba diving. Key programs include the free mobile app and audio guide for self-directed tours, the Artist in Residence Program (instituted 2023) for visual artists, and environmental volunteering focused on biodiversity and invasive species removal. Additional services include a seasonal cafe, membership program with multiple tiers offering Empire Pass Cards and cafe discounts, trail marker naming opportunities, Walled Garden photography permits, and retail merchandise including books about the estate's history and branded apparel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Caumsett AIR: Artist in Residence Program connecting visual artists to the park and community through residencies, open studios, and public programs.
• Caumsett AIR

Products and services

• Free App and Audio Guide

Quantifiable outcome

• The Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly colony produces peak adult counts of 1,623 (2022), representing a significant recovery from the 2009 discovery count of 53.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic PreservationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021NYS Parks partnered with the Foundation on the Tree Restoration Project following Hurricane Ida's September 2021 microburst that toppled 200 trees, providing guidance, utility markouts, and watering equipment for tree maintenance. The Foundation exceeded its goal of 52 replacement trees, planting 60 new trees by Arbor Day 2022.
• New York StatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020New York State co-financed the new entrance road and enlarged parking lot installed in 2020. The Foundation contributed a $500,000 grant toward the project, with the State providing matching funds and operational support. State involvement extends across virtually all major Foundation projects including the Dairy Barn Complex, Park Offices, and the Polo Stable restoration.
• Three Harbor Garden ClubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership begun in 2019 with the Three Harbor Garden Club (THGC) to increase the floral component of a 4-acre field (Bull Pen field) dominated by grasses and non-native plants. Both organizations worked with funds from the Garden Club of America to install small pollinator gardens as reservoirs for bees and other pollinators.
• Ernst Conservation Seed CompanyminorOthersProvided native grass and wildflower seed (403 pounds of Pure Live Native Seed at ~13 lb/acre) for the 30-acre grassland restoration project in May 2015. Seed composition was 85% grasses (Big Blue Stem, Little Blue Stem, Indian Grass, Switch Grass) and 15% wildflowers.
• Cornell University (Flower Bulb Research Program)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCornell's Flower Bulb Research Program (directed by Miller) provided expertise and a tractor-drawn bulb planter imported from the Netherlands for the 100,000 daffodil bulb planting. The program supports naturalized bulb planting techniques.
• Hicks NurseryminorOthersHistorically, Hicks Nursery developed the technique of barging in and planting full-sized trees at Caumsett during the Marshall Field III estate era (1920s). This historical context references the nursery's role in the estate's original landscaping.
• Beyer Blinder BelleminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect Beyer Blinder Belle designed the adaptation of the Spreader Shed into the Caumsett Café (2020, $500,000), the conversion of the Calf Barn and Carpenter's Shed into Park Offices and Classrooms (2019, $1,000,000+), the Seating Shed adaptation (2022, $130,000), and provided plans for the Polo Stable restoration.
• Ireland Gannon AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLandscape architecture firm Ireland Gannon and Associates designed the simplified 2016 Walled Garden redesign and installed the polo stable entranceway and landscaping in 2009.
• US Fish and Wildlife ServiceminorOthersA Truax No Till Drill was borrowed from US Fish and Wildlife headquarters in Shirley, NY for the May 2015 seeding of the 30-acre grassland restoration field with native grasses and wildflowers.

Scale indicators21 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Trust for Public Land: A national land conservation nonprofit that creates parks and protects land for public use. Operates at much greater scale but shares the mission of expanding public access to natural areas and partnering with state/local agencies on land conservation.
• The Nature Conservancy (Long Island Chapter): A global conservation organization with active Long Island programs focused on habitat restoration, invasive species management, and climate resilience — directly overlapping Caumsett's ecological work on grasslands, pollinators, and Phragmites removal.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation: A national nonprofit focused on preserving historic places, including Gold Coast-era estates. Provides funding, advocacy, and technical assistance that overlap with Caumsett's building restoration and heritage interpretation work.

Regional players

• Heckscher Museum of Art: A Huntington, NY art museum whose Chief Curator (Karli Wurzelbacher) sits on Caumsett's AIR Committee. Comparable as a Long Island cultural nonprofit connecting community to art and history, with potential for deeper programming collaboration.
• Peconic Land Trust: A Long Island-based land conservation nonprofit that protects natural and agricultural land. Operates in the same geography with overlapping mission of preservation, though with a broader portfolio of conserved properties rather than a single historic estate.
• North Shore Land Alliance: A Long Island land trust focused on the north shore (including Cold Spring Harbor and Lloyd Neck), directly adjacent to Caumsett. Comparable mission of protecting natural open space, historic landscapes, and water resources through conservation easements and stewardship.

Direct peers

• Teatown Lake Reservation: A 1,000-acre nonprofit nature preserve in Ossining, NY offering trails, environmental education, and a summer camp. Closely comparable in operating model: nonprofit managing a multi-habitat preserve with membership, education programs, and biodiversity monitoring.
• Preservation Long Island: A regional historic preservation nonprofit operating historic house museums and sites on Long Island, including Gold Coast-era estates. Shares Caumsett's focus on preserving and interpreting Long Island's historic and cultural heritage for public education.
• Friends of Long Island State Parks: A fellow 'friends group' nonprofit supporting New York State Parks on Long Island, with a comparable model of membership, donations, and volunteer programs aimed at enhancing public park preserves.

Emerging players

• South Shore Audubon Society: A Long Island volunteer-driven nature organization managing sanctuaries and conducting bird/conservation monitoring. Comparable community-based environmental stewardship model, though smaller in scale and without Caumsett's historic preservation focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-caumsett-foundation-incorporated

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 The Caumsett Foundation Incorporated