Washington · Nonprofit
FORTERRA NW
FORTERRA NW (Washington) receives grants from 96 organizations whose IRS filings report $18,708,011 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($7,236,968). 65 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 70% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 96
- Grants received
- $19M
- Net assets
- $39M
What Forterra Nw does
Mission
To enhance, support and steward the region's most precious resources. Many of the projects which forterra undertakes is to achieve our mission through efforts that can often span several years. Net revenues from completion of these projects can be reinvested to fund the development of projects in future periods, covering net losses in years with no significant project closings.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Conservation: forterra's landscape-scale approach ensures the conservation of critical lands for communities throughout the region. Forterra has conserved more than 280,240 acres of land since our founding in 1989. At any given time, we are working on dozens of projects to conserve lands for community, habitat and recreation. We know how to work quickly and decisively to ensure vital lands are not lost but we also know that some projects take time to get right. These include the 4,000-acre port gamble forest which took more than 10 years and deep community partnerships to complete and the acquisition of 145 acres of culturally significant land in central washington for a planned tribal community. Some projects are small, but just as important, like camp kilworth which is one of the last undeveloped shoreline habitats in federal way, washington. Small or large, these projects add up and contribute to a healthy environment and resilient communities. No matter the size of the project, forterra brings a purposeful, innovated and interconnected approach that delivers success for our region.
$5,687,676 spentof which $3,929,789 as grants$93,767 earned by the program65% of program spendingCommunity real estate and planning: forterra looks across the rural and urban landscape to see the connection between people and land. We invest in towns and cities across the state. We leverage our land holdings and work in partnership with towns, cities, developers, and communities to improve infrastructure, housing, and cultural institutions. We have longstanding and deep relationships with communities across the region. We utilize our decades of experience in real estate, land conservation and coalition building to develop innovative solutions to address the shortage of attainable housing, benefit local businesses and communities, create jobs, other economic opportunities and support community wellbeing.
$1,445,588 spentof which $27,357 as grants$457,251 earned by the program17% of program spendingRestoration and stewardship: forterra partners with organizations and communities throughout the region to restore and strengthen public lands, parks and urban forests. Through our evergreen restoration program (erp) and evergreen carbon capture (ecc) program, forterra plants thousands of trees each year in partnership with local companies and individuals. Over their lifetimes, these trees will help offset hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide. Erp and ecc helps partner organizations and individuals to restore local forests and tree canopies. Partners have included sounders fc, mckinstry, delta air lines, and becu, along with dozens of individuals.
$840,257 spentof which $1,088 as grants$207,799 earned by the program10% of program spendingPolicy: forterra is a leader in the design and implementation of market-based growth management and conservation tools. Forterra has led the design, adoption, and continued implementation of transfer of development rights (tdr) programs at three different levels: 10 cities, 4 counties, and 1 regional program. Since 2009 these programs have conserved more than 100,000 acres of farms and working forests by transferring the development rights of these properties to support intentional growth in our region's cities. To support growth in cities using tdr, forterra led the creation of the landscape conservation and local infrastructure program (lclip), which gives cities a financial incentive to protect resource lands and make infrastructure investments. Forterra also works with communities throughout the region to engage constituents in planning and policy issues related to improving quality of life for residents.
$719,713 spentof which $176,260 as grants$29,384 earned by the program8% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $8,693,234.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 2019 to 2020, from $51M to $60M (+19%).
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: 2017 20% · 2018 21% · 2019 49% · 2020 40% · 2021 35% · 2022 51% · 2023 43% · 2024 55%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
91% of FORTERRA NW’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 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.
Chief executive
Michelle Connor
President & CEO
Board chair
De'Sean Quinn
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 32 funders to 33 funders, grant income rose $1.4M → $1.7M.
20 of 96 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 70% 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 FORTERRA NW’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 96 funders by total. 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
FORTERRA NW leans on a few funders — its largest provides 39% of grant income and the top three 59%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
77% 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 FORTERRA NW.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 22% · 2019 84% · 2020 22% · 2021 33% · 2022 22% · 2023 21% — 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.
How long its funders stay
40% of FORTERRA NW's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 68% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
70% of FORTERRA NW's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $5.7M that is directly attributable, 64% of it comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $13M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 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
FORTERRA NW runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 330 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 330 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding FORTERRA NW receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $3.3M on record.
- Environmental Protection Agency$1.8M
- Department of Housing and Urban Development$1.5M
- National Endowment for the Arts$25k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like FORTERRA NW
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
80% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
91%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 10 related entities
- Forterra Hamilton LLC · disregarded
- Forterra Roslyn LLC · disregarded
- Forterra Roslyn Nwic LLC · disregarded
- Forterra Strong Communities Fund Manager LLC · disregarded
- Forterra Builders LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FORTERRA NW: 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 FORTERRA NW?
- FORTERRA NW (Washington) receives grants from 96 organizations whose IRS filings report $18,708,011 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($7,236,968). 65 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 70% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does FORTERRA NW have?
- IRS filings report 96 organizations giving $18,708,011 in grants to FORTERRA NW, 65 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FORTERRA NW?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $7,236,968 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FORTERRA NW 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.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 96 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing