Washington · Nonprofit
THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION
THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION (Washington) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $524,677 to it, the largest being SEATTLE FOUNDATION ($200,600). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 62% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $633k
- Funders on record
- 13
- Grants received
- $525k
- Net assets
- $2.2M
What The Steamer Virginia V Foundation does
Mission
Restoration, preservation, operation, and interpretation of the National Historic Landmark vessel Steamer Virginia V, the largest operational wooden passenger steamship in the United States. The vessel is used for public events, education programs, and private charters.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Restoration/Preservation: During 2024, the Foundation's Director of Engineering conducted 62 work parties in which 21 volunteers contributed over 1,600 hours of their time performing routine mechanical/electrical maintenance, painting, and a variety of repairs to keep the ship in optimal condition. Volunteers contributed an additional 175 hours performing logistics supporting this preservation work. Noteworthy accomplishments include: Completed installation and USCG-approval of two remote boiler-shutdown switches (work begun in 2023); annual maintenance on ship's service generators (filters, oil change, etc.); correction of leaks in the hot-water space-heating system; annual contract pressure washing of bilges and the oily water holding tank; opening/inspection of the boiler drums and firebox; opening/inspection of main engine cylinders and main bearings; replacement of mechanical seals at the high pressure piston rod; and opening/inspection of the condenser end bells, with a determination that they are in sound condition. In February, the ship spent two weeks moored at Shilshole Bay Marina for the purpose of soaking the hull in saltwater for its preservative benefit. Liferafts…
$166,190 spent37% of program spendingOperation: VIRGINIA V was built in 1922 and is the only traditional wooden steamship built to carry freight and passengers that is still regularly operating under steam on the tidal waters of the United States. VIRGINIA V conducted 64 discrete voyages over the course of 49 operating days in 2024, including 29 cruises open to the public, 9 wedding-related charters and 11 other private charters, carrying a total of 3,947 passengers. Eight of these public cruises were free, one-hour Steamship Sunday trips made on four days June-October in collaboration with our neighbors, The Center for Wooden Boats. Two public cruises were provided in collaboration with Seattle's Museum of History and Industry, which provided themed programs during those trips. In May, the ship visited Port Orchard, WA for its first annual Mosquito Fleet Festival, conducting three well attended public cruises and providing open-ship time for free tours. The ship circumnavigated Vashon Island, and made an extended trip to Olympia to attend the Harbor Days Festival over Labor Day Weekend, providing public cruises during transits between Tacoma and Olympia, and three public cruises at the event. One regular employee,…
$233,520 spent$247,292 earned by the program52% of program spendingInterpretation/Education: VIRGINIA V held over 120 days of open-ship at Lake Union Park and Puget Sound ports during 2024, welcoming 11,360 people for free visits. Our Senior Docent and volunteers led guided tours for almost all of these occasions, acquainting visitors with the ship and the history of the Puget Sound mosquito fleet. During 17 private and 14 public dockside events, the ship welcomed over 1,284 additional visitors. During cruises, crew routinely engaged passengers to tell the ship's story or describe its operation, and docents were specifically aboard during Steamship Sunday cruises to interpret the ship and the Lake Union/Portage Bay maritime history. The ship's steam engine remains fully visible to visitors and passengers. Engineering crew provided detailed interpretation of this artifact, in service since 1907 when it was installed on the ship that became VIRGINIA IV, and our Captains welcomed passengers into the wheelhouse underway when the safety of vessel operation permitted. Foundation staff and volunteers revel in sharing the ship and did so at every opportunity. The Foundation continued its summer internship program for high schoolers, hiring three students…
$51,189 spent$2,000 earned by the program11% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$0 spent0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $450,899.
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 2020 to 2021, from $1.4M to $2.1M (+53%).
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: 2018 0% · 2020 6% · 2021 27% · 2022 29% · 2023 5% · 2024 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
60% of THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 7 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
Alicia Barnes
Executive Director (hired March 2023)
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $201k → $26.
7 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 62% 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 THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION’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
THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 38% of grant income and the top three 76%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
69% 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 THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 97% · 2019 96% · 2020 85% · 2021 69% · 2022 62% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“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
33% of THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 38% 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
62% of THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION'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 $200k that is directly attributable, 86% of it comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $325k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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
THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION
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
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
63%
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 THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION: 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 THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION?
- THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION (Washington) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $524,677 to it, the largest being SEATTLE FOUNDATION ($200,600). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 62% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $524,677 in grants to THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION?
- SEATTLE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $200,600 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE STEAMER VIRGINIA V FOUNDATION 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 Steamer Virginia V →
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 13 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