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Puyallup Watershed Initiative at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Puyallup Watershed Initiative

The mission of the PUYALLUP WATERSHED INITIATIVE (the initiative) is to improve social and environmental conditions throughout the watershed, which comprises more than 1,000 square miles from mt.

$45k
Granted FY2023
2
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$36k
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, FY2021 to 2023.

Environment$247kCommunity Improvement$222kCrime & Legal$212kPublic Benefit$154kFood & Nutrition$131kRecreation & Sports$58kEducation$52kArts & Culture$20kOther$0
02FY2023 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k1 grant · $9k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $36k
$36,278
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT$36,278
TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT$9,069
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY21–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 4% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LINC MINISTIRES INT'L INC: $18k → 16%E3 WASHINGTON: $50k → 9%PACIFIC EDUCATION INSTITUTE: $6k → 9%PIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT: $93k → 9%SUSTAINABLE CONNECTIONS: $27k → 12%E3 WASHINGTON: $10k → 9%FOOTHILLS RAILS TO TRAILS COALITION: $48k → 9%FOR THE PEOPLE: $20k → 9%PIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT: $36k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: $10k → 9%PUYALLUP RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL: $10k → 9%TACOMA TREE FOUNDATION: $38k → 9%EVERGREEN EMPOWERMENT GROUP: $212k → 9%CITY OF TACOMA: $15k → 9%WASHINGTON STATE NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION: $13k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $52k → 9%TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: $9k → 9%TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: $7k → 9%GREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $222k → 9%DOWNTOWN ON THE GO: $119k → 9%FOREVERGREEN TRAILS: $17k → 9%AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY: $12k → 9%FOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $10k → 9%ALCHEMY SKATEBOARDING: $10k → 9%AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY: $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.
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 6% of Puyallup Watershed Initiative’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 98% of the giving stays in WA; by stated purpose, 96%.

Puyallup Watershed Initiativelessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

10%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$96k · 3 repeat orgs$822k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +531% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2023, 2 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
21

Total granted

$96k
$786k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+531%
+19%

Still filing today

33%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 20% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $36k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23
EnvironmentPublic BenefitEducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesCivil RightsOther
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

  • EW
    E3 WASHINGTON
    2× · 2021–2022 · $60k · 41% of their budget
  • AL
    AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY CHAPTER
    2× · 2021–2022 · $20k · revenue -50%
  • TP
    TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY HEALTH DEPT
    2× · 2021–2023 · $16k

Funded once

  • EE
    EVERGREEN EMPOWERMENT GROUP
    one grant, 2021 · $212k
  • DO
    DOWNTOWN ON THE GO
    one grant, 2021 · $119k · revenue +6% · 38% of their budget
  • PC
    PIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT
    one grant, 2021 · $93k
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
Tahoma Bird Alliance

To protect birds and other wildlife through education habitat protection and environmental advocacy.

Environment
2
Cowlitz Economic Development Council

Foster Growth in the Community

—
3
Friends of Seattle Waterfront

To bring people, communities, and resources together to ensure waterfront park thrives as a vibrant gathering space - uplifting locals, fostering connections and honoring seattle's natural beauty and stories.

Community Improvement
4
South Whidbey Tilth Association

Educate about,support, and promote biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture

Food & Nutrition
5
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
6
Greater Metro Parks Foundation dba Tacoma Parks Foundation

Greater Metro Parks Foundation's mission is to cultivate a community invested in providing parks and recreation access to all.Its vision is plentiful, equitable access to nature, play, and recreation in Tacoma.

Unclassified
7
Forks Timber Museum

Educate public about heritage of the olympic peninsula emphasizing timber industry and forestry

Arts & Culture
8
Futurewise

Futurewise works throughout Washington state to encourage healthy, equitable and opportunity-rich communities, and to protect our most valuable farmlands, forests and water resources through wise land use policies and practices.

Environment
9
Tacoma Events Commission

To organize and present memorable special community events that honor our diverse heritage, inspire unity, and contribute to building vibrant communities.

—
10
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
11
Tacoma Public Library Foundation

Strengthening Tacomas thriving communities by fueling our public library system through philanthropy and outreach.

Education
12
Washington Bikes

Washington Bikes works to ensure that all who ride a bicycle in Washington have safe comfortable and convenient places to ride. Organization advocates for bicyclists rights and shapes policies.

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Tacoma Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Alchemy Indoor Skate Park & Education Center. 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

19 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. 19 of the 26 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/19
Grantees still filing
14/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EVERGREEN EMPOWERMENT GROUP: $212,000 · OtherEVERGREEN EMPOWERMENT GROUPPIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT: $92,793 · OtherPIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICTE3 WASHINGTON: $60,000 · OtherE3 WASHINGTONPIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT: $36,278 · OtherPIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICTLINC MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC: $18,260 · Other+7 more: $83,599 · Other+7 moreGREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $222,425 · PhilanthropyGREATER TACOMA COMMUNI…+1 more: $5,500 · PhilanthropyFoothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition: $48,000 · EnvironmentFoothills Rail…TACOMA TREE FOUNDATION: $38,000 · EnvironmentTACOMA TREE FO…SUSTAINABLE CONNECTIONS: $27,260 · EnvironmentSUSTAINABLE CO…ForeverGreen Trails: $17,027 · EnvironmentForeverGreen T…PUYALLUP RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL: $10,000 · EnvironmentPUYALLUP RIVER…TACOMA GARDEN CLUB: $10,000 · EnvironmentTACOMA GARDEN …DOWNTOWN ON THE GO: $119,300 · Public BenefitDOWNTOWN ON T…AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY CHAPTER: $20,000 · Public BenefitAMERICAN LEAD…FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $52,450 · EducationWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · EducationTACOMA FARMERS MARKET: $28,000 · Human ServicesFOR THE PEOPLE: $20,000 · Civil Rights
Other$502,930Philanthropy$227,925Environment$150,287Public Benefit$139,300Education$72,450Human Services$28,000Civil Rights$20,000

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 budgetGREATER TACOMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $222,425 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetDOWNTOWN ON THE GO: $119,300 over 1y, 38% of budgetE3 WASHINGTON: $60,000 over 2y, 41% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $52,450 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetFoothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition: $48,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetTACOMA TREE FOUNDATION: $38,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTACOMA FARMERS MARKET: $28,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetSUSTAINABLE CONNECTIONS: $27,260 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetAMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM TACOMA PIERCE COUNTY CHAPTER: $20,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetForeverGreen Trails: $17,027 over 1y, 26% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION INC: $12,500 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetAlchemy Indoor Skate Park & Education Center: $10,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetFOSS WATERWAY SEAPORT: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetGEORGE WEYERHAEUSER PACIFIC RIM BONSAI COLLECTION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetPACIFIC EDUCATION INSTITUTE: $5,500 over 1y, 0.4% 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.

Greater Tacoma Commun…Forest FoundationFuchsg & M Fdn TaiNames Family Foundati…The Russell Family Fo…Korum for Kids Founda…The Bamford FoundationThe Norcliffe Foundat…Sequoia FoundationKilworth Florence Cha…Credit Unions in the …Seattle Foundation
Greater Tacoma Community FoundationWA34.1× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Tacoma Community Foundation · Forest Foundation · Fuchsg & M Fdn Tai · Names Family Foundation · The Russell Family Foundation · Korum for Kids Foundation · The Bamford Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · Sequoia Foundation · Kilworth Florence Char Tr Fndn · Credit Unions in the State of Washington · Seattle Foundation

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 Puyallup Watershed Initiative funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Puyallup Watershed Initiative. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Puyallup Watershed Initiative?

    Find your warmest path to Puyallup Watershed Initiative 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 26 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Puyallup Watershed Initiative’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