FundersWashington

Seattle-Sonoran Foundation

Seattle, WA · EIN 91-2010842. Reported 223 grants totalling $1,703,500 to 85 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$1,703,500granted, 2021-2024
85organizations funded
81%of grantees funded again the next year
$8,479,739assets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Seattle-Sonoran Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $3,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $1,500 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
59 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
98 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
60 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
1 grant
$50,000 - $100,000
3 grants
$100,000 and Up
2 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Ewu FoundationCheney, WA$120,000222024
Green CorpsDenver, CO$100,000112021
Heritage University FoundationToppenish, WA$100,000112021
Seattle Children's Hospital FdnSeattle, WA$70,000442024
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenSeattle, WA$65,000442024
Kid WorksSanta Ana, CA$40,000442024
School on WheelsVentura, CA$40,000442024
Southern Poverty Law CenterMontgomery, AL$40,000442024
Doctors Without BordersNew York, NY$35,000442024
Freshwater TrustPortland, OR$35,000442024
Global PartnershipsSeattle, WA$35,000442024
Univ of WashingtonharborviewSeattle, WA$34,000442024
Alexandria HouseLos Angeles, CA$32,500332024
Opal Community Land TrustEastsound, WA$30,000442024
Washington Junior Golf AssnFircrest, WA$30,000442024
NAMI Greater SeattleSeattle, WA$28,000442024
Happy Trails for KidsSanta Monica, CA$27,500332024
Jd Cline FoundationRedmond, WA$25,000112021
Priceless Puppy Rescue CorpChino Hills, CA$25,000332024
Sandy Hook Promise FoundationNewtown, CT$25,000442024
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget SSeattle, WA$20,000222024
Concern for the Girl ChildSeattle, WA$20,000442024
Earth CorpsSeattle, WA$20,000442024
El Centro De La RazaSeattle, WA$20,000442024
Lange FoundationLos Angeles, CA$20,000332023
Leadership TomorrowSeattle, WA$20,000442024
MuttvilleSan Francisco, CA$20,000332023
Pike Place Market FoundationSeattle, WA$20,000442024
Planned Parenthood FederationWashington, DC$20,000222022
Sierra Club - Angeles ChapterOakland, CA$20,000222022
Sierra Club FoundationDenver, CO$20,000222023
Ballard Food BankSeattle, WA$18,000442024
St George's School Annual FundSpokane, WA$18,000442024
Fare StartSeattle, WA$17,500442024
Feeding AmericaWashington, DC$16,000332024
Seattle Animal Shelter FoundationSeattle, WA$16,000442024
University District Food BankSeattle, WA$16,000442024
Care USANew York, NY$15,000222022
El Toro High School AvidLake Forest, CA$15,000112021
ForterraSeattle, WA$15,000222022
Inland Nw Golf Foundation (first TeSpokane Valley, WA$15,000332024
Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD$15,000332024
Northwest Abortion Access FdEugene, OR$15,000332024
Planned Parenthood GnhaikSeattle, WA$15,000222024
Wood River Community YMCAKetchum, ID$15,000222024
Coyote CentralSeattle, WA$14,000442024
Independent Colleges of WashingtonSeattle, WA$14,000442024
Kjzz Public RadioTempe, AZ$14,000442024
Knkx Public RadioSeattle, WA$13,500442024
Global Fund for WomenSan Francisco, CA$12,000442024
Stanford UniversityStanford, CA$12,000222023
Transitional ResourcesSeattle, WA$12,000442024
Kcts-9 Public TelevisionSeattle, WA$11,500442024
Bike WorksSeattle, WA$11,000442024
Pacific Northwest Golf AssociationTacoma, WA$11,000332024
National Parks Conservation AssnWashington, DC$10,500442024
ACLU FoundationNew York, NY$10,000112021
Habitat for Humanity InternationalAmericus, GA$10,000112021
Heritage UniversityToppenish, WA$10,000112023
Mary's PlaceSeattle, WA$10,000112024
Nature ConservancySeattle, WA$10,000222023
Purposeful RescueLos Angeles, CA$10,000112024
Sisters of the Holy NamesSpokane, WA$10,000112021
University of Idaho FoundationMoscow, ID$10,000112021
Whittier College Annual FundWhittier, CA$10,000222022
Washington Trails AssnSeattle, WA$9,000442024
CompanisSeattle, WA$8,500442024
Reclaim ProjectSpokane, WA$7,500112024
St Lukes in the Desert IncTucson, AZ$7,000222023
Seattle Parks FoundationSeattle, WA$6,000222022
Cascadia Art MuseumEdmonds, WA$5,500332024
Birmingham Friends MeetingWest Chester, PA$5,000112023
Northwest Mothers Milk BankTigard, OR$5,000112024
Pancreatic Cancer ActionManhattan Beach, CA$5,000112024
Seattle School for BoysSeattle, WA$5,000112022
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USALaguna Hills, CA$5,000112021
St Lukes Wood River FoundationKetchum, ID$5,000112024
United Way of San Juan CountyFriday Harbor, WA$5,000112022
World Central KitchenWashington, DC$5,000112024
Friends of the San JuansFriday Harbor, WA$4,000112021
Kuow Public Radio 949 FmSeattle, WA$2,500112024
SeashareBainbridge Island, WA$2,500112023
Skyline Grizzlies Alumni AssocIdaho Falls, ID$2,500112024
Spokane Art SchoolSpokane, WA$2,500112024
SoundTukwila, WA$2,000112023

59 of 85 (69%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 81%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 114 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Human Services
18 grants
Animal Welfare
15 grants
Education
13 grants
Mental Health
12 grants
Recreation & Sports
9 grants
International Affairs
8 grants
Crime & Legal
8 grants
Environment
7 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202155$616,500$5,000
202257$367,000$5,000
202354$330,000$5,000
202457$390,000$5,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 57% of this one's giving went to organizations in Washington. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Washington
$974K
California
$294K
Colorado
$120K
New York
$60K
Oregon
$55K
District of Columbia
$52K
Alabama
$40K
Idaho
$32K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

American Online Giving Foundation Inc34 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund33 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc30 shared recipientsSeattle Foundation27 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program26 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust21 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Washington.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding animal welfare in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Seattle-Sonoran Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: 4616 25TH Ave Ne Pmb 715, Seattle, WA, 98105. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 91-2010842 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.