Islands Fund

• Islands Fund funds conservation and stewardship, private land acquisition, land protection and conservation easements, alongside youth environmental education, outdoor programmes, scholarships and financial aid, school and university education, arts education, adaptive sports, mentoring, teen council work, summer camps, community programmes and general operations, so a nonprofit working in one of these areas has the best chance of a fit.
• Most grants to organisations sit between $20,000 and $500,000, with a median of $70,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic; the largest grant, around $2,450,000, went to Seattle Foundation, an organisation funded every year that regrants to others, so very large sums are not typical for most applicants.
• The foundation states it does not accept unsolicited requests and funds by invitation only, so a cold application is unlikely to succeed; organisations should look for a route to an introduction rather than submitting a speculative proposal.
• The pattern of giving is strongly relationship-led: 98% of its grant dollars to organisations in its most recent filing went to organisations it had also funded in the two previous filings, so this looks like a foundation that sustains long-term relationships rather than one that regularly brings in new grantees through open rounds.
• No geographic focus is stated, though its recorded grants are mainly in Washington, Colorado, Vermont, California and West Virginia.

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

• Seattle Foundation · Donor advised fund
  $2,365,0002024 tax year
• Aloha Foundation · 5 permanently restricted endowments
  $1,370,0002024 tax year
• Nature Conservancy (Colorado) · 777 dakota partnership stewardship endowment
  $1,000,0002024 tax year
• Nature Conservancy (Montana) · Northern great plains land protection and grassbank 2.0
  $850,0002024 tax year
• Nature Conservancy (Colorado) · Youth education and outreach, and southern high plains conservation
  $830,0002024 tax year
• Future Generations University · General operations and permanent leadership endowment
  $800,0002024 tax year
• Nature Conservancy (Washington) · Conservation and stewardship for wa state
  $600,0002024 tax year
• Yellowstone To Yukon · Private lands acquisition fund
  $500,0002024 tax year

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

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.