Washington · Nonprofit
PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST
PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST (Washington) receives grants from 104 organizations whose IRS filings report $33,028,866 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($11,237,251). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $5.8M
- Funders on record
- 104
- Grants received
- $33M
- Net assets
- $3.3M
What Philanthropy Northwest does
Mission
Philanthropy Northwest grows philanthropy's capacity to do transformative work towards redistributing resources and the power to underinvested communities in the northwest and beyond.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
Two grants from the us environmental protection agency were awarded to implement the environmental justice thriving communities program. Philanthropy Northwest will administer over $40 million in epa grants over three years to support locally driven initiatives in alaska, idaho, oregon, and washington. These funds will support efforts that tackle environmental challenges and promote public health and well-being.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
The giving practice (tgp) delivers tailored consulting services to philanthropic organizations and partnerships throughout the northwest and across the country. Our team supports foundations and collaboratives in strengthening their strategies, operations, and partnerships to more effectively align funding with community priorities. Tgp's work spans coaching and organizational development, cross-sector collaboration, strategic planning, mission-aligned investing, evaluation, and facilitation.
$1,578,235 spent$1,269,077 earned by the program31% of program spendingEpa thriving communities: Philanthropy Northwest is administering over $40 million in epa grants over three years to support locally driven initiatives in alaska, idaho, oregon, and washington. These funds will support efforts that tackle environmental challenges and promote public health and well-being. Thriving communities grants will support projects developed and led by local organizations, including efforts such as environmental cleanups, emergency planning and response, workforce development in sustainability sectors, youth engagement, air and water quality improvements, local food systems, healthy housing, and more.
$1,124,975 spent22% of program spendingThe building community philanthropy (bcp) special initiative has helped strengthen the capacity of community foundations, united ways and identity-based foundations to drive meaningful progress in their communities across washington state.
$884,441 spentof which $360,000 as grants$14,220 earned by the program17% of program spendingPnw built meaningful connections with member organizations and prospective membership organizations through calls, meetings, and network calls. In 2024, this included developing and maintaining relationships with 147 members, including 123 renewed members, 15 new members, and 9 former members. In 2024, membership and programs led the organization of pnw24, pnw's bi-annual conference. Pnw24 is the largest gathering of philanthropy practitioners, with over 350 attendees who participated in 29 breakout sessions and 7 breakout sessions. In addition, at pnw24, the program team worked with over 850 participants through 2 cohorts, 7 peer networks, bi-monthly network calls (expert-supported conversations on key issues and emerging topics), and uplifted personal stories from our network. Our policy work included developing educational materials to support members and the philanthropic sector in general to develop understanding of key policy issues, including hr 9495, the universal charitable incentive, donor-advised funds, and the johnson amendment, among others. We also supported a delegation to participate in the annual foundations on the hill event in washington, d.c.
$1,466,586 spentof which $1,486 as grants$394,650 earned by the program29% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,054,237.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2017 to 2018, from $11M to $7.6M (−31%).
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: 2020 36% · 2021 5% · 2023 12% · 2024 20%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 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
Jill Teiko Nishi
CEO
Board chair
Alex Mckay
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2020 and FY2021 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 21 funders to 23 funders, grant income rose $1.9M → $2.0M.
15 of 104 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 33% 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 PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 104 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
PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 34% 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
37% 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 PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 53% · 2018 78% · 2019 43% · 2020 29% · 2021 35% · 2022 60% · 2023 68% — growing more concentrated.
“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
26% of PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 53% 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
76% of PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST's grant income comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $11M arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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.
Government funding PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $60.0M on record — $60.0M federal, $6k state.
- Environmental Protection Agency$60.0M
- SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PUBLICATIONS$6k
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 PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST
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
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
90%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST: 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 PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST?
- PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST (Washington) receives grants from 104 organizations whose IRS filings report $33,028,866 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($11,237,251). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST have?
- IRS filings report 104 organizations giving $33,028,866 in grants to PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST, 55 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $11,237,251 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST 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 104 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