Our grantmaking reflects the values of the Laird Norton family. We give in program areas that reflect the family's shared interests: Arts in Education, Climate Change, Human Services, and Watershed Stewardship. The Foundation also has a youth grantmaking program called the Sapling Fund that supports new giving priorities each year. More information about the specifics of our grantmaking and the organizations we have supported recently can be found on our program pages.
Please note:
The Foundation does not provide grants for individuals, scholarships, endowments, capital campaigns, for-profit organizations, or unincorporated associations or groups.
We do not fund international organizations.
No grants are made to religious institutions for religious purposes.
We generally do not support publications, documentary films, television productions, or similar media projects.
Please see each program page for additional giving guidelines or geographic focus areas.
We recognize that we have limited resources, nonprofits have limited time, and few unsolicited letters of inquiry have historically led to a grant. Given these realities, we do not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry and do not have an open application process.
If you have thoroughly reviewed the Foundation’s priorities as described on our grantmaking program pages and you believe your organization is a good match, you can email our staff (lnffstaff at lairdnorton dot org) with a brief description of your work. Please be aware that we rarely make grants to organizations that we first learn about through these types of email inquiries, and have limited staff capacity to respond to every message. Our team will be in touch only if there is an interest in learning more about your work.
Because we strive to center relationships in our grantmaking, we want to honor the time and resources that each partnership requires. The Foundation often supports organizations through longer-term funding relationships, and therefore have limited capacity to explore new grant partners each year.
Grantmaking Process
Each of our grantmaking programs is led by a Fund Advisory Committee comprised of Laird Norton family members who shape giving priorities and make funding decisions. Each Committee's grant recommendations are then approved by the family members who sit on our Board of Directors.
Our three professional non-family staff members support the family's grantmaking, through grants management and organizational administration. Staff members spend time in community to continually learn about our giving areas, and hold relationships with grantees and other partner organizations.
