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Islands Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Islands Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$16M
Granted FY2024still arriving
81
Grants FY2024still arriving
14
States reached
$2.4M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$25MEducation$18MPhilanthropy$13MRecreation & Sports$11MYouth Development$3.1MArts & Culture$2.6MHealth$1.7MAnimals$935kOther$0
02FY2024 · 81 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k23 grants · $595k
  • $50k–250k38 grants · $3.3M
  • $250k+20 grants · $12M
$70,000
Median grant
14
States reached
$242M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SEATTLE FOUNDATION$2,365,000
ALOHA FOUNDATION$1,370,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY (CO)$1,000,000
Individual grant recipient$850,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY (CO)$830,000
FUTURE GENERATIONS UNIVERSITY$800,000
Individual grant recipient$600,000
OUTDOORSFORALL$500,000
YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON$500,000
COLGATE UNIVERSITY$500,000
BIG SUR LAND TRUST$450,000
SPECIAL OLYMPICS WA$360,000
ASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES$300,000
ISLANDWOOD$300,000
SKAGIT LAND TRUST$285,500
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $485k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 13% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ADAPTIVE SPORTS CENTER: $65k → 19%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $60k → 6%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $40k → 6%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $40k → 6%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $40k → 6%CHALLENGE ASPEN: $40k → 6%HUTS FOR VETS: $10k → 6%HUTS FOR VETS: $20k → 7%HUTS FOR VETS: $20k → 7%HUTS FOR VETS: $20k → 7%HUTS FOR VETS: $10k → 7%POWERFUL VOICES: $30k → 9%POWERFUL VOICES: $30k → 9%POWERFUL VOICES: $30k → 9%POWERFUL VOICES: $30k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
NY
OR
OH
CA
CO
WV
VA
NC
DC
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 17% of Islands Fund’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 52% of the giving stays in WA; by stated purpose, 50%.

Islands Fundlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 9.5% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$54M · 83 repeat orgs$3.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +28% for those funded once.

83 repeat relationships: 68 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

83
25

Total granted

$54M
$3.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+28%

Still filing today

77%
68%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $405k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureAnimalsYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • TA
    THE ALOHA FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $6.2M · revenue +157% · 25% of their budget
  • CU
    COLGATE UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.8M · revenue +60%
  • ISLANDWOOD
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.5M · revenue +117%

Funded once

  • NC
    NATURE CONSERVANCY OF WASHINGTON
    one grant, 2020 · $550k
  • YT
    YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
    one grant, 2020 · $415k
  • WR
    WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO
    one grant, 2022 · $300k · revenue -33%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust leads and inspires action to conserve and enhance the landscape of the Mountains to Sound Greenway, ensuring a long-term balance between people and nature.

Environment
2
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
3
Washington Wild

Washington wild protects and restores wild lands and waters in washington state through advocacy, education and civic engagement.

Animals
4
Fsc I&P

Fsc i&p promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. this mission aligns with the forest stewardship council (fsc), its network of offices, and other organizations.…

Philanthropy
5
Whatcom Land Trust

The mission of the Whatcom Land Trust is to preserve and protect wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural and open space lands in Whatcom County for future generations by securing interests in land and promoting land stewardship.

Environment
6
Conservation Legacy

Conservation legacy engages future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation's lands through community-based service.in 2024, conservation legacy engaged 2,524 participants who completed over 1.5 million service hours on public…

Youth Development
7
Cowiche Canyon Conservancy

Protecting our shrub-steppe and connecting people to this vanishing landscape.

—
8
Wildearth Guardians

Wildearth guardians works to protect and restore the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the american west.

Unclassified
9
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
10
Eastern National

Eastern national promotes the public's understanding and support of america's national parks and other public trust partners by providing quality educational experiences, products and services.

Recreation & Sports
11
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
12
Glacier National Park Conservancy

The glacier national park conservancy works to preserve and protect glacier national park for future generations.

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northwest Avalanche Center; the most unlike its peers is Teentix. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

92 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 92 of the 120 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
92/92
Grantees still filing
69/92
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $5,685,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYIndividual grant recipient: $2,350,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $1,650,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientYELLOWSTONE TO YUKON: $1,508,500 · OtherYELLOWSTONE TO YUKONSPECIAL OLYMPICS WA: $1,460,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS WAO'DEA HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD GREAT NORTHWEST HAWAII ALASKA INDIANA AND KENTUCKY: $910,000 · Other+53 more: $11,269,814 · Other+53 moreFUTURE GENERATIONS UNIVERSITY CORPORATION: $3,500,000 · EducationFUTURE GENERATIONS UN…COLGATE UNIVERSITY: $2,750,000 · EducationCOLGATE UNIVERSITYHAMLIN ROBINSON SCHOOL: $1,325,000 · EducationHAMLIN ROBINSON SCHOO…LAKESIDE SCHOOL: $1,300,000 · EducationLAKESIDE SCHOOLOberlin College: $1,250,000 · EducationOberlin CollegeHIRAM COLLEGE: $1,250,000 · EducationHIRAM COLLEGEThe Thacher School Inc: $700,000 · EducationTHE SEATTLE ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $650,000 · EducationBERTSCHI SCHOOL: $620,000 · EducationEXPLORER WEST AN INDEPENDENT MIDDLE SCHOOL: $495,500 · Education+6 more: $850,000 · Education+6 moreSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $13,440,050 · PhilanthropySEATTLE FOUNDATION+2 more: $40,000 · PhilanthropyASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $1,500,000 · EnvironmentASPEN CENTER FO…ISLANDWOOD: $1,500,000 · EnvironmentISLANDWOODBig Sur Land Trust: $1,425,000 · EnvironmentBig Sur Land Tr…SKAGIT LAND TRUST: $1,365,500 · EnvironmentSKAGIT LAND TRU…THE SAN JUAN PRESERVATION TRUST: $1,223,948 · EnvironmentTHE SAN JUAN PR…NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $950,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL PARKS …North Cascades Institute: $730,000 · EnvironmentNorth Cascades …+17 more: $2,145,500 · Environment+17 moreTHE ALOHA FOUNDATION INC: $6,170,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE ALOHA FO…Outdoors for all Foundation: $1,900,000 · Recreation & SportsOutdoors for…+2 more: $150,000 · Recreation & SportsTRAILBLAZER CAMPS INC: $750,000 · Youth DevelopmentTREEHOUSE: $650,000 · Youth DevelopmentMEARTH: $325,000 · Youth DevelopmentCHILL FOUNDATION: $200,000 · Youth DevelopmentTotem Star: $105,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentTune In To Nature org: $475,000 · AnimalsSnow Leopard Conservancy: $414,500 · AnimalsTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $260,000 · AnimalsWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $210,000 · AnimalsTELLER WILDLIFE REFUGE INC: $150,000 · AnimalsWest Sound Wildlife Shelter: $100,000 · AnimalsTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $100,000 · Animals
Other$25,833,314Education$14,690,500Philanthropy$13,480,050Environment$10,839,948Recreation & Sports$8,220,000Youth Development$2,050,000Animals$1,709,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSEATTLE FOUNDATION: $13,440,050 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetTHE ALOHA FOUNDATION INC: $6,170,000 over 5y, 25% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $5,685,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFUTURE GENERATIONS UNIVERSITY CORPORATION: $3,500,000 over 5y, 21% of budgetCOLGATE UNIVERSITY: $2,750,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetOutdoors for all Foundation: $1,900,000 over 5y, 16% of budgetASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: $1,500,000 over 5y, 6.6% of budgetISLANDWOOD: $1,500,000 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetBig Sur Land Trust: $1,425,000 over 5y, 8.0% of budgetSKAGIT LAND TRUST: $1,365,500 over 5y, 8.0% of budgetHAMLIN ROBINSON SCHOOL: $1,325,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetLAKESIDE SCHOOL: $1,300,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetOberlin College: $1,250,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHIRAM COLLEGE: $1,250,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTHE SAN JUAN PRESERVATION TRUST: $1,223,948 over 4y, 6.6% of budgetO'DEA HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 5y, 21% of budgetNATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $950,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD GREAT NORTHWEST HAWAII ALASKA INDIANA AND KENTUCKY: $910,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTRAILBLAZER CAMPS INC: $750,000 over 4y, 9.3% of budgetNorth Cascades Institute: $730,000 over 5y, 4.4% of budgetThe Thacher School Inc: $700,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetTHE SEATTLE ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $650,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetMUSEUM OF FLIGHT FOUNDATION: $650,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTREEHOUSE: $650,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetBERTSCHI SCHOOL: $620,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetEXPLORER WEST AN INDEPENDENT MIDDLE SCHOOL: $495,500 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC: $485,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTune In To Nature org: $475,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetSnow Leopard Conservancy: $414,500 over 5y, 12% of budgetOPEN WINDOW SCHOOL: $400,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetBELLEVUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS INC: $385,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetRoaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers: $380,000 over 5y, 13% of budgetARBORETUM FOUNDATION: $340,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetMEARTH: $325,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetWOOD RIVER LAND TRUST CO: $300,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $290,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS LAND TRUST: $280,000 over 5y, 6.4% of budgetPACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION: $270,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetCONSERVATION NW: $270,000 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetNUEVA SCHOOL: $265,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNorthwest Outward Bound School: $260,000 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $260,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetWASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION: $250,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetSEATTLE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS: $250,000 over 5y, 15% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CENTER: $225,000 over 5y, 28% of budgetCHALLENGE ASPEN: $220,000 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $210,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHWEST AVALANCHE CENTER: $205,000 over 5y, 6.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds SEATTLE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE ALOHA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds FUTURE GENERATIONS UNIVERSITY CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds COLGATE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Outdoors for all Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ASPEN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ↗
  • Who funds ISLANDWOOD ↗
  • Who funds Big Sur Land Trust ↗
  • Who funds SKAGIT LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds HAMLIN ROBINSON SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds LAKESIDE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Oberlin College ↗
  • Who funds HIRAM COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds THE SAN JUAN PRESERVATION TRUST ↗
  • Who funds O'DEA HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD GREAT NORTHWEST HAWAII ALASKA INDIANA AND KENTUCKY ↗
  • Who funds TRAILBLAZER CAMPS INC ↗
  • Who funds North Cascades Institute ↗
  • Who funds The Thacher School Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE SEATTLE ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds MUSEUM OF FLIGHT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TREEHOUSE ↗
  • Who funds BERTSCHI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds EXPLORER WEST AN INDEPENDENT MIDDLE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE INC ↗
  • Who funds Tune In To Nature org ↗
  • Who funds Snow Leopard Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds OPEN WINDOW SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds BELLEVUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Seattle FoundationThe Norcliffe Foundat…Puget Sound Energy Fo…ArtsfundWyman Youth TrustUnited Way of King Co…Lucky Seven FoundationGrousemont FoundationMarie Lamfrom Charita…The Hugh and Jane Fer…Real Progress Foundat…The Satterberg Founda…
Seattle FoundationWA58.5× affinity38 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · Artsfund · Wyman Youth Trust · United Way of King County · Lucky Seven Foundation · Grousemont Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation · Real Progress Foundation · The Satterberg Foundation Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Islands Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Islands Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Hood River Watershed Group: 20% of income from government
  • Stowe Land Trust: 10% of income from government
  • Chill Foundation: 0% of income from government
  • Western Rivers Conservancy: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
33report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Islands Fund?

Find your warmest path to Islands Fund through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 120 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Islands’ filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home