The Burning Foundation
Seattle, WA · EIN 91-1815335. Reported 269 grants totalling $4,867,000 to 89 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. 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. The Burning 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 $16,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $15,000 and $20,000; the smallest was $6,000 and the largest $30,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Futurewise | Seattle, WA | $170,000 | 8 | 5 | 2025 |
| Puget Soundkeeper Alliance | Seattle, WA | $135,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Waterwatch of Oregon | Portland, OR | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of the San Juans | Friday Harbor, WA | $122,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Re Sources | Bellingham, WA | $120,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Greater Hells Canyon Council | Enterprise, OR | $115,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Methow Valley Citizens Council | Twisp, WA | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Oregon Natural Desert Association | Bend, OR | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Skagit Land Trust | Mount Vernon, WA | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Conservation Northwest | Seattle, WA | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| North Cascades Institute | Sedrowoolley, WA | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho | Yakima, WA | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cascade Forest Conservancy | Vancouver, WA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Room One | Twisp, WA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette Inc | Portland, OR | $99,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Responsible Forestry | Tacoma, WA | $98,000 | 6 | 4 | 2025 |
| Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center | Ashland, OR | $95,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Washington Association of Land Trusts | Seattle, WA | $95,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership | Washington, DC | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Central Oregon Landwatch | Bend, OR | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest Hawai'i Alaska Indiana Kentuck | Seattle, WA | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Twin Harbors Waterkeeper | Rochester, WA | $85,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wild Salmon Center | Portland, OR | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Advocates for the West | Boise, ID | $80,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Oregon Desert Land Trust | Bend, OR | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Silvix Resources | Portland, OR | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Sound Action | Vashon, WA | $80,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Firefighters United for Safety Ethics and Ecology | Eugene, OR | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Spokane Riverkeeper | Spokane, WA | $75,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Washington Wild | Seattle, WA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cascadia Wildlands | Eugene, OR | $73,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project | Fossil, OR | $72,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Capitol Land Trust | Tumwater, WA | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| North Olympic Land Trust | Port Angeles, WA | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Oregon Wild | Portland, OR | $70,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Audubon Society of Portland | Portland, OR | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Neighborcare Health | Seattle, WA | $65,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Earthrise Law Center | Portland, OR | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Legacy Forest Defense Coalition | Tacoma, WA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Washington Conservation Action Education Fund | Seattle, WA | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Swedish Medical Center Foundation | Seattle, WA | $51,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Native Fish Society | Oregon City, OR | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Wild Fish Conservancy | Duvall, WA | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Lands Council | Spokane, WA | $47,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Jefferson Land Trust | Port Townsend, WA | $46,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Bird Alliance of Oregon Inc | Portland, OR | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Columbia Insight | Hood River, OR | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Deschutes River Alliance | Portland, OR | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| National Audubon Society Inc | New York, NY | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts | Portland, OR | $37,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement | Omak, WA | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation | Bellingham, WA | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Wallowa Resources | Enterprise, OR | $33,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Foundation | Aberdeen, WA | $33,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bark | Portland, OR | $32,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cascades Carnivore Project | Hood River, OR | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Cascadia Wild | Portland, OR | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Crag Law Center | Portland, OR | $27,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Umpqua Watersheds | Roseburg, OR | $27,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Willamette Riverkeeper | Portland, OR | $27,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cascade Forest Conservancy | Portland, OR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ecosource Native Seed and Restoration | Burns, OR | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Friends of the Owyhee | Ontario, OR | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest | Portland, OR | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Klamath-Siskyou Wildlands Center | Ashland, OR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Washington Environmental Council | Seattle, WA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Audubon Society | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pacific Rivers | Portland, OR | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Whatcom Land Trust | Bellingham, WA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Audubon Washington | Seattle, WA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Columbia Riverkeeper | Hood River, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Defenders of Wildlife | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of the Salish Sea | Anacortes, WA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mary Bridge Children's Foundation | Tacoma, WA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Neighborhood Health Center | Portland, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| One Community Health | Hood River, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Roots Young Adult Shelter | Seattle, WA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sustainable Northwest | Portland, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Teen Feed | Seattle, WA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Western Environmental Law Center | Eugene, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wildearth Guardians | Santa Fe, NM | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Wetlands Conservancy Inc | Portland, OR | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Deer Creek Valley Natural Resources Conservation Association | Selma, OR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hunters of Color | Corvallis, OR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Oregon Agricultural Trust Inc | Salem, OR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thrive Hood River | Hood River, OR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Understory Initiative | Medford, OR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Washington Water Trust | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| YWCA Clark County | Vancouver, WA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
63 of 89 (71%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 78%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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.
- Friends of the San Juans
PROTECTING SHORELINES, SPECIES, AND COMMUNITIES - Silvix Resources
ADVANCING OLD FOREST CONSERVATION IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND BEYOND - Waterwatch of Oregon
STRATEGIC FRESHWATER CONSERVATION IN OREGON - Futurewise
PROTECTING WILDLIFE AND WATER RESOURCES THROUGH LAND USE - Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
CLIMATE RESILIENCY & OLD-GROWTH FOREST DEFENSE IN SW OREGON - Oregon Natural Desert Association
CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION IN OREGON'S HIGH DESERT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 227 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | $969,000 | $15,000 |
| 2022 | 52 | $867,000 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 50 | $855,000 | $15,000 |
| 2024 | 54 | $1,048,000 | $20,000 |
| 2025 | 56 | $1,128,000 | $20,000 |
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.
Where its money goes
54% 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 $16,000. 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Burning Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). 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: Po Box 15275, Seattle, WA, 98115. 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 91-1815335 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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