Skip to content
The Noble Fir Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Noble Fir Foundation

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$3.7M
Granted FY2023
2
Grants FY2023
2
States reached
$3.7M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0182% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.

Philanthropy$3.7MEnvironment$107kEducation$93kHuman Services$61kArts & Culture$53kHealth$52kHousing & Shelter$30kInternational$15kOther$0
02FY2023 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $250k+1 grant · $3.7M
$3,689,463
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WILLIAM TRAVIS PENN AND JOHN WICHER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION$3,689,463
THE SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE FOUNDATION$10,000
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 (FY17–22, $41k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SOUND GENERATIONS: $10k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $8k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $8k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $6k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $5k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $5k → 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

VT
WA
OR
CA
VA
AZ
TX
FL
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.

10%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$403k · 15 repeat orgs$3.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +73% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2023, 15 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
7

Total granted

$403k
$66k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+73%
+17%

Still filing today

73%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.7M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
Arts & CulturePhilanthropyEducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesInternationalOther
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

  • WC
    WHIDBEY CAMANO LAND TRUST
    5× · 2017–2022 · $85k · revenue +139%
  • B
    BREAKTHROUGH
    2× · 2021–2022 · $60k · revenue +73%
  • SG
    SOUND GENERATIONS
    6× · 2017–2022 · $41k · revenue +88%

Funded once

  • BH
    Baylor Health Care System Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $30k · revenue +44%
  • BT
    BREAK THROUGH CENTRAL TX
    one grant, 2019 · $20k
  • SV
    SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS
    one grant, 2017 · $6k · revenue -66%
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
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
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
Association of Washington Cities

The association of washington cities builds connections between our state's diverse cities and towns, while providing our members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling…

—
4
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
5
Friends of Kexp

Kexp's mission is to enrich your life by championing music and discovery.

Youth Development
6
Life Science Washington

Life science washington is a non-profit trade and professional association dedicated to promoting innovation and responsible growth in the life sciences and biomedical industries in the state of washington. promotion and education are…

—
7
Humanities Washington

Humanities washington (hw) opens minds and bridges divides by creating spaces to explore different perspectives. we envision a state where all people seek a deeper understanding of others, themselves, and the human experience, in order to…

Arts & Culture
8
Puget Sound Restoration Fund

To restore habitat, water quality and native species in the puget sound

Environment
9
Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation

The aquarium of the pacific's mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the pacific ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.

Animals
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
Western Healthconnect

Support significant improvements in health care delivery and outcomes within the context of nonprofit, charitable ownership.

Health
12
Terraset

Terraset uses philanthropic capital to purchase permanent, high-quality carbon removal. we pool donations from individuals, foundations, family offices, and donor advised funds, and make strategic purchases of high-quality carbon removal…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cascade Public Media; the most unlike its peers is Baylor Health Care System Foundation. 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

16 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. 16 of the 25 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
14/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WILLIAM TRAVIS PENN AND JOHN WICHER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $3,689,463 · OtherWILLIAM TRAVIS PENN AND JOHN WICHER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION+14 more: $172,500 · OtherBREAKTHROUGH: $60,000 · EducationAUSTIN COLLEGE: $30,000 · EducationWHIDBEY CAMANO LAND TRUST: $85,000 · EnvironmentKUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO: $28,500 · Arts & CultureSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATER FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureCASCADE PUBLIC MEDIA: $8,000 · Arts & CultureHISTORIC WHIDBEY: $2,000 · Arts & CultureSOUND GENERATIONS: $41,000 · Human ServicesPLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES: $30,000 · Housing & ShelterBaylor Health Care System Foundation: $30,000 · Health
Other$3,861,963Education$90,000Environment$85,000Arts & Culture$48,500Human Services$41,000Housing & Shelter$30,000Health$30,000

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 budgetWHIDBEY CAMANO LAND TRUST: $85,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH: $60,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetSOUND GENERATIONS: $41,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN COLLEGE: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBaylor Health Care System Foundation: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO: $28,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $18,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Corps: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWEST HARVEST EMM: $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE REPERTORY THEATER FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCASCADE PUBLIC MEDIA: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS: $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetONE TREE PLANTED INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPRATHAM USA: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHISTORIC WHIDBEY: $2,000 over 2y, 0.6% 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 WHIDBEY CAMANO LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds BREAKTHROUGH ↗
  • Who funds SOUND GENERATIONS ↗
  • Who funds PLYMOUTH HOUSING GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Baylor Health Care System Foundation ↗
  • Who funds KUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds Mercy Corps ↗
  • Who funds NORTHWEST HARVEST EMM ↗
  • Who funds SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CASCADE PUBLIC MEDIA ↗
  • Who funds SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds ONE TREE PLANTED INC ↗
  • Who funds PRATHAM USA ↗
  • Who funds HISTORIC WHIDBEY ↗

How much its grantees rely on government

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 47%
  • Mercy Corps: 47% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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.

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 25 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Noble Fir’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