CO2 Foundation
Seattle, WA · EIN 83-3981914. Reported 83 grants totalling $3,894,004 to 62 recipients across tax years 2020-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. CO2 Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $47,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $71,250; the smallest was $50 and the largest $190,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Central | Princeton, NJ | $290,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Conservation Biology Institute | Corvallis, OR | $236,650 | 6 | 4 | 2025 |
| Grist Magazine Inc | Seattle, WA | $195,469 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $189,744 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Conversation US | Waltham, MA | $182,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Ecoadapt | Bainbridge Island, WA | $171,250 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Oregon Environmental Council (oec) | Portland, OR | $150,750 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $145,098 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Common Goal | Brooklyn, NY | $99,623 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Northern Arizona University Foundation | Flagstaff, AZ | $95,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Urban Institute | Washington, DC | $95,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Climate Foundation | Seattle, WA | $85,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of Washington - Friday Harbor Labs | Friday Harbor, WA | $84,746 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| WGBH Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $76,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Goodpower | Charlestown, MA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (secoora)(for Scdrp) | Charleston, SC | $73,150 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Action for the Climate Emergency (ace) | Charlestown, MA | $71,250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc | Arlington, VA | $71,250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mongabay | Menlo Park, CA | $71,250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| National Council for Occupational Safety and Health | Austin, TX | $71,250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Tech for Change | San Diego, CA | $71,250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Utah Film Center | Salt Lake City, UT | $71,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Environmental Defense Fund | New York, NY | $67,687 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate (mthphc) | Red Lodge, MT | $66,835 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Social Good Fund (for America Adapts) | Richmond, CA | $58,425 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| League of Conservation Voters - Chispa Az | Phoenix, AZ | $57,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (ypccc) | New Haven, CT | $51,862 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Earth Overshoot - Transmediavision | Mount Vernon, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Point Reyes Bird Observatory | Petaluma, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Preventable Surprises | Brooklyn, NY | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Transmediavision USA Inc | Bow, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Urban Sustainability Directors Network (usdn) | Sanford, NC | $49,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gbh Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $47,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Point Blue Conservation Science | Petaluma, CA | $47,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Yale Program on Climate Change Communication | New Haven, CT | $47,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians | Portland, OR | $46,012 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Zero Foodprint | San Francisco, CA | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Urban Ecology (for Kneedeep Times) | San Francisco, CA | $42,750 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Knee Deep Times | San Francisco, CA | $40,375 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wisconsin Academy | Madison, WI | $39,250 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Utah Film Center (for the Here Now Project) | Salt Lake City, UT | $38,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| West Virginia University Foundation Inc (for West Virginia University Exte | Morgantown, WV | $34,200 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Inquiring Systems Inc | Santa Rosa, CA | $32,830 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $27,550 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Seattle Foundation | Seattle, WA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Foundation for Water & Energy Education | Spokane, WA | $23,750 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Gbh | Boston, MA | $22,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Urban Ecology - Kneedeep Times | San Francisco, CA | $20,575 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| Planning Ahead | Durham, NC | $19,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Methow Valley Citizens Councilresilient Methow | Twisp, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate | Red Lodge, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Nature Forward Inc | Chevy Chase, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of Washington | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Unthinkable | Salt Lake City, UT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Foundation for Water and Energy Education | Spokane, WA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Here Now Project | Chicago, IL | $3,750 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Environmental Defense Fund (edf) | New York, NY | $3,562 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chispa Arizona a Program of the League of Conservation Voters Education Fun | Phoenix, AZ | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (atni) | Portland, OR | $2,422 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hasten Regeneration | Palo Alto, CA | $1,730 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Water and Energy Education (fwee) | Spokane, WA | $1,250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Washington Green Schools | Seattle, WA | $209 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
10 of 62 (16%) received money in more than one year over the 6 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 35%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Climate Central Inc
CONTINUING SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ATTRIBUTION MODELING, CONNECTING WITH EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS. / EXPAND OUR REACH TO NEW AUDIENCES WITH WEBINARS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND EVENT-SPECIFIC TOOLS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING AND HELP COMMUNITIES PLAN FOR AND RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS. - University of Washington Foundation
ASSESS WITH THE USE OF NEW CLIMATE MODEL SIMULATIONS IF HEATWAVES COULD BE PRE-EMPTIVELY COOLED DOWN WITH TARGETED AEROSOL INJECTION UPSTREAM FROM THE HEATWAVE LOCATION. / CO-PRODUCE ACTIONABLE PREDICTIONS THROUGH A COLLABORATION WITH SCIENTISTS AND ARCTIC INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS -- DOWNSCALE EARTH SYSTEM MODELS TO PROVIDE LOCALLY RELEVANT, ACCESSIBLE, AND POTENTIALLY LIFE-SAVING INFORMATION. - Yale University
CONTINUING YALE CLIMATE CONNECTIONS SPANISH LANGUAGE HUB WORK, ON NEW PLATFORMS. / AUTOMATE LIFESAVING EXTREME WEATHER ALERTS AND CLIMATE EDUCATION DURING MOMENTS OF INCREASED PUBLIC INTEREST. - Common Goal
RAISE AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO A GLOBAL FOOTBALL COMMUNITY AND SECURE ACTION FROM INDUSTRYSTAKEHOLDERS. - The Conversation US
CONTINUE GETTING EXTREME WEATHER SCIENCE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC! - Grist Magazine
TRAVELOG-STYLE MULTI-COMMUNITY STORYTELLING TOUR, FOCUSING ON EXTREME WEATHER IMPACTS AND SOLUTIONS.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 42 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | $50 | $50 |
| 2021 | 1 | $159 | $159 |
| 2022 | 9 | $335,137 | $46,012 |
| 2023 | 11 | $303,580 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 27 | $1,004,030 | $45,000 |
| 2025 | 34 | $2,251,048 | $71,250 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. CO2 Foundation has 48 of them, worth $264,494. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Climate Central | Princeton, NJ | $50,000 |
| Ecoadapt | Bainbridge Island, WA | $50,000 |
| Climate Central Inc | Princeton, NJ | $10,000 |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $9,987 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $7,500 |
| Grist Magazine | Seattle, WA | $5,180 |
| Zero Foodprint | San Francisco, CA | $5,000 |
| Northern Arizona University Foundation | Flagstaff, AZ | $5,000 |
| The Conversation US | Waltham, MA | $5,000 |
| Urban Institute | Washington, DC | $5,000 |
| Grist Magazine Inc | Seattle, WA | $4,835 |
| Climate Foundation | Seattle, WA | $4,500 |
| The Conversation US | Waltham, MA | $4,350 |
| Oregon Environmental Council (oec) | Portland, OR | $4,250 |
| WGBH Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $4,000 |
Where its money goes
23% of its giving went to organizations in Washington. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $47,500. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Washington.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from CO2 Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 6 returns (tax years 2020-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 2442 Nw Market St 971, Seattle, WA, 98107. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 83-3981914 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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