Laidir Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 47-2519767 · since 2015laidirfoundation.org·California, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Washington·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$4M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$50,000 to $500k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$100k

Typical grant (median)

22 grants in the latest filing

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.

Key takeaways

The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests, so a small charity should not send a cold proposal and should instead approach it only through an invitation or an existing contact.
If the work sits in one of its five themes (reducing extreme poverty, improving governance, risks from artificial intelligence, housing and clean energy, or mental and social health), it is worth exploring that fit, particularly for ambitious and effective organisations working where the foundation sees the greatest potential for impact.
About 8 in 10 of its 47 grants fall between $50,000 and $500,000, and half are about $175,000 or less, so a request in that typical band is a realistic size, though the band is not a ceiling and its largest grant was $540,000.
In the most recent filing, 51% of grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in the earlier filings, so existing relationships appear to matter.
No geographic focus is stated, so location alone should not decide whether to approach it.

Overview

Laidir Foundation is a US private foundation based in Seattle, WA.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The foundation supports organisations with promising, innovative approaches to reducing extreme poverty, including novel interventions, rigorous measurement and evaluation, and efforts to attract funding to scale effective interventions. Its governance work aims to strengthen institutions’ ability to support constructive problem-solving and informed decision-making. In artificial intelligence, it backs work to improve policymakers’ understanding, design policies that are beneficial or minimally harmful across future scenarios, and provide research and coordination to address risks. It also supports housing and clean-energy development, particularly by lowering barriers to building housing in high-cost urban areas. Its mental and social health work supports organisations developing and testing promising, scalable interventions. Across these areas, it focuses on ambitious and effective organisations working where it sees the greatest potential for impact.

Themes

Reducing Extreme Poverty
Improving Governance
Risks from Artificial Intelligence
Housing and Clean Energy
Mental and Social Health

Geographic Focus

No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California, District of Columbia, Washington, New York and New Jersey.

How to apply

The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 51% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 47 grants to organisations were about $175,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It focuses on ambitious and effective organisations working in areas it believes offer the greatest potential for impact.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

California22%

District of Columbia20%

Washington20%

New York16%

New Jersey5%

Rhode Island5%

6 other states: 12%

The largest single recipient received 16% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 51% of grant dollars went to organisations Laidir Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
34% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

22 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $100k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 22 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$50k–$100k41%

$100k–$250k27%

$250k–$500k23%

$500k–$1M9%

Median $100k (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

Sightline Institute · To further the mission of sightline institute's housing and urbanism program.
$525,0002024 tax year
Princeton University · Support the craig samuel falls ai policy fellowship
$500,0002024 tax year
Effective Institutions Project · To support the effective institutions project.
$390,0002024 tax year
Innovations for Poverty Action · To further the mission of ipa to discover and promote effective solutions to global poverty problems.
$350,0002024 tax year
TechCongress · For us ai safety institute fellowships
$340,0002024 tax year
Longview Philanthropy · To support longview's grantmaking advisory work
$300,0002024 tax year
Founders Pledge · To support founders pledge's work in increase the positive social impact of entrepreneurs.
$250,0002024 tax year
Effective Ventures Foundation USA · Rethink wellbeing program - $205,000
$205,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Matthew Mcbay — Director, Vice President &
Brian Lonergan — Director, President & Treasurer

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$2,690,302	$2,451,220	$59,545,946	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$3,826,070	$3,256,625	$70,389,498	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$4,445,853	$4,037,000	$81,429,538	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.