Washington · Nonprofit
COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT
COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT (Washington) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $93,028 to it, the largest being MARIE LAMFROM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TRUST ($26,500). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $357k
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $93k
- Net assets
- $128k
What Columbia Play Project does
Mission
Columbia Play Project provides inclusive spaces and programs for the young and young-at-heart to have shared play experiences that inspire them to discover their passions.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Pop-up museum: Columbia Play Project's pop-up museum delivers mobile, hands-on stream (science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math) experiences to children and families across clark county. Programming is hosted at schools, community events, libraries, and partner sites, increasing access to high-quality learning experiences. Activities include construction play, art-making, science exploration, and collaborative problem-solving designed to support early childhood development and caregiver-child interaction. In 2025 cpp expanded the reach of its mobile programming, serving diverse communities through both free and fee-for-service events and strengthening partnerships with local organizations.
$68,074 spent$29,028 earned by the program57% of program spendingIndoor play space: Columbia Play Project hosts a monthly free indoor play space, providing a consistent, welcoming environment for young children and caregivers to play, connect and team together. Held at community based locations, this program offers developmentally appropriate exhibits and activities that encourage exploration, creativity, and social interaction. The indoor play space reduces barriers to access by offering free entry and intentionally serving families who may not otherwise have access to children's museum experiences. In 2025 cpp continued to grow attendance and deepen community partnerships, positioning the program as a cornerstone of its community engagement efforts.
$18,741 spent16% of program spendingWiggles and giggles: wiggles and giggles is a ticketed, family-focused program that combines interactive play with live entertainment such as music, movement, and performance. Designed to engage both children and caregivers, the program supports early learning through joyful, shared experiences. Events feature hands-on activities alongside guest performers, including musicians and educators, creating an accessible entry point for famililes to engage with cpp's programming. In 2025 wiggles and giggles continues as a key earned-revenue program while maintaining a strong focus on educational value and community connection.
$7,440 spent$3,044 earned by the program6% of program spendingAdditonal programs include community events such as family play day, grandparents' play day, and seasonal or partner-based programming, as well as smaller-scale educational workshops and outreach activities. These programs collectively expand cpp's reach, support community-building, and reinforce its mission to provide inclusive, play-based learning opportunities. In 2025 Columbia Play Project hired its first executive director, strengthening organizational leadership and capacity to expand programs and advance planning for a permanent children's museum.
$24,585 spent$6,728 earned by the program21% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $118,840.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $123k to $221k (+80%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2022 0% · 2023 0% · 2024 51% · 2025 54%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
89% of COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 5 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Amelia Shelley
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2021 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $5k → $16k.
3 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 17% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
34% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 64% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
58% of COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT's grant income comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $16k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT has grown faster than three-quarters of the 16,849 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
28% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT?
- COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT (Washington) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $93,028 to it, the largest being MARIE LAMFROM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TRUST ($26,500). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $93,028 in grants to COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT?
- MARIE LAMFROM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TRUST is the largest funder on record, with $26,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like COLUMBIA PLAY PROJECT find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Columbia Play Project →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2021–2025), and the filings of 9 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing