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Puget Sound Sage at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Puget Sound Sage

PUGET SOUND SAGE combines research, innovative public policy and organizing to ensure all people have an affordable place to live, a good job, a clean environment, and access to public transportation.

$152k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Public Benefit$1.1MEnvironment$254kCommunity Improvement$172kHuman Services$130kArts & Culture$85kInternational$62kReligion$60kEmployment$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$150,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAGE LEADERS$150,000
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 (FY18–20, $130k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%LATINO COMMUNITY FUND OF WA: $50k → 9%FILIPINO COMMUNITY CENTER: $13k → 9%SOMALI COMMUNITY SERVICE OF SEATTLE: $9k → 9%FILIPINO COMMUNITY CENTER: $8k → 9%FILIPINO COMMUNITY CENTER: $8k → 9%SOMALI HEALTH BOARD: $11k → 9%SOMALI COMMUNITY SERVICE OF SEATTLE: $8k → 9%SOMALI HEALTH BOARD: $10k → 9%EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SERVICES: $7k → 9%SOMALI HEALTH BOARD: $8k → 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.
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.7M · 12 repeat orgs$208k to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 11 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
7

Total granted

$1.7M
$208k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+97%

Still filing today

92%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesCommunity ImprovementReligionEnvironmentArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • SL
    SAGE LEADERS
    4× · 2021–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +45% · 65% of their budget
  • NF
    NORTHWEST FILM FORUM
    3× · 2020–2022 · $85k · revenue +53%
  • RVC SEATTLE
    3× · 2019–2021 · $59k · revenue +336%

Funded once

  • TC
    TRANSPORTATION CHOICES COALITIONgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $75k · revenue +97%
  • LC
    Latino Community Fund of Washington Stategraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue +33%
  • TU
    Tenants Union of Washington St
    one grant, 2017 · $38k
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
Ethiopian Community in Seattle

Ethiopian Community in Seattle's ECS mission is to facilitate a seamless integration of all persons of Ethiopian origin into the American society. Additionally,Additionally, ECS aims to contribute to the social, cultural and civic life of…

Arts & Culture
2
Washington Indian Civil Rights Commission

Washington Indian Civil Rights Commission is led by and for Indigenous people, and envisions a just society in which we are treated with honor, fairness and respect. Our mission is to uphold our individual civil rights through education…

Human Services
3
Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest

The jewish coalition builds a jewish voice in the pacific northwest advancing immigrant justice and domestic policy, following the leadership of impacted community.

Human Services
4
Somali Empowerment Circle

Sec provides culturally sensitive mental health resources, connects clients to professionals, offers education, emotional support, promotes maternal health, early childhold outcomes, and advocates for housing security for somali…

Community Improvement
5
Washington Ethnic Studies Now

Washington Ethnic Studies Now WAESN is a multigenerational majority POC-led nonprofit advancing Ethnic Studies and racial justice in Washington. We center people of color build youth-centered leadership and learning and organize…

Education
6
Rainier Beach Cummunity Empowerment Coalition

Rainier Beach Action Coalition is a grassroot, Black-led organization devoted to locally driven development. It promotes quality education, living wage jobs, affordable transportation and housing, and building community capacity in…

Community Improvement
7
Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area

Improve the business enviornment, sanitation and public safety in the historical Chinatown-International district of Seattle, WA.

Community Improvement
8
Apic Spokane Asians for Collective Liberation in Spokane

ACL Spokane centers the power of Asians & Asian Americans build a just, healthy, and thriving community for all.

Civil Rights
9
We Are Comunidad

Comunidad seeks to build community, cultural pride, and economic opportunities for the Latino community on Vashon Island and its neighboring communities.

Human Services
10
Drivers Union

Drivers Union is a nonprofit organization that advances justice and fairness for gig economy workers, most of whom are immigrants and refugees, through organizing, education, advocacy, and free legal support.

Public Benefit
11
Asians for Collective Action

Asians for Collective Action (ACA) harnesses the strenghts of Asians and Asian Americans to drive systemic change to create a just, healthy, and thriving community for all.

Public Benefit
12
Working Washington

We are workers, united across different industries to improve our working conditions and our lives. We come together as working people to build power through education, organizing, and enforcement. We work to raise and uphold standards in…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Yakima Valley Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Co Lam Temple. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

18 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

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 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 18 of the 20 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/18
Grantees still filing
14/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SAGE LEADERS: $1,141,110 · OtherSAGE LEADERS+7 more: $135,450 · Other+7 moreGot Green: $253,500 · EnvironmentGot GreenTRANSPORTATION CHOICES COALITION: $75,000 · Community ImprovementRVC SEATTLE: $59,167 · Community ImprovementLatino Community Fund of Washington State: $50,279 · Human ServicesSOMALI HEALTH BOARD: $28,616 · Human ServicesFILIPINO COMMUNITY OF SEATTLE: $28,000 · Human ServicesSOMALI COMMUNITY SERVICES OF SEATTLE: $16,000 · Human ServicesEast African Community Services: $7,200 · Human ServicesNORTHWEST FILM FORUM: $85,242 · Arts & CultureCO LAM TEMPLE: $23,250 · ReligionDEBRE MIHRET KIDUS MICHAEL EOT CH: $20,700 · ReligionNa'ah Illahee Fund: $33,175 · International
Other$1,276,560Environment$253,500Community Improvement$134,167Human Services$130,095Arts & Culture$85,242Religion$43,950International$33,175

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSAGE LEADERS: $1,141,110 over 4y, 65% of budgetGot Green: $253,500 over 3y, 18% of budgetNORTHWEST FILM FORUM: $85,242 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetTRANSPORTATION CHOICES COALITION: $75,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetRVC SEATTLE: $59,167 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetLatino Community Fund of Washington State: $50,279 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetNa'ah Illahee Fund: $33,175 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetSOMALI HEALTH BOARD: $28,616 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetCHAM REFUGEES COMMUNITY: $28,450 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetFILIPINO COMMUNITY OF SEATTLE: $28,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetUnite Here Local 8: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCO LAM TEMPLE: $23,250 over 3y, 5.7% of budgetSOMALI COMMUNITY SERVICES OF SEATTLE: $16,000 over 2y, 4.8% of budgetYAKIMA VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEast African Community Services: $7,200 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetWin Win Action: $7,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetENTRE HERMANOS: $6,500 over 1y, 0.7% 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.

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.

Inatai FoundationSeattle FoundationFront and CenteredPhilanthropy NorthwestSchool's Out Washingt…Gates FoundationUnited Way of King Co…Equity in Education C…Social Justice Fund N…The Bullitt FoundationThe Satterberg Founda…Colectiva Legal del P…
Inatai FoundationWA25.7× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Inatai Foundation · Seattle Foundation · Front and Centered · Philanthropy Northwest · School's Out Washington · Gates Foundation · United Way of King County · Equity in Education Coalition · Social Justice Fund Northwest · The Bullitt Foundation · The Satterberg Foundation Inc · Colectiva Legal del Pueblo

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 Puget Sound Sage funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Puget Sound Sage. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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, FY20–24
    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.

    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 20 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 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 Puget Sound Sage’s 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