IP Funder Spotlights provide quick rundowns of the grantmakers that are on our radar, including a few key details on how they operate and what they’re up to right now. Today, we look at the Satterberg Foundation and how it aims to promote a just society and a sustainable environment.
What this funder cares about
Founded in 1991, the Satterberg Foundation seeks to promote a just society and a sustainable environment in the Pacific Northwest. The foundation has evolved to center trust-based philanthropy and putting power in the hands of grantees — particularly in BIPOC communities. The foundation mostly supports causes in Washington, with some grants going to California, and more recently to Arizona and a few other states.
Why you should care
Satterberg has followed an impressive path over the years that led it to its current focus on racial justice. On the heels of the pandemic and a watershed summer of racial reckoning, the foundation doesn’t just want to share funds, but put real power in the hands of its partners. Part of this work involves doubling down on the long-standing grantees the foundation has supported, focusing on sustained support for a list of more than 300 nonprofits. Satterberg also launched the $50 million Reparative Action Fund, a 10-year commitment to redistribute new funding to Black and Indigenous-led movements and organizations working at local, regional and national levels. The foundation is also developing the Metropole Building Project, slated to open in 2023, as a home for nonprofits who serve or are led by communities of color.
Where the money comes from
Named to honor Elmer and Ruth Satterberg, the foundation was created from the family’s stake in the Paccar transportation company. Grantmaking began in 1991 with $13,916 in grants, and by 2019, the foundation had disbursed over $33 million. A bequest following the 2012 death of family member William Helsell boosted the Satterberg Foundation’s assets to more than $400 million.
Where the money goes
The foundation focuses mostly on its home state of Washington, and secondarily, California. However, the foundation’s grants database shows more giving happened in other states in 2021, with Arizona appearing to be a growing area of focus. That year also saw some grants headed to the Southeast, including Louisiana, Tennessee and Georgia. Core funding remains in California and Washington, and grants in additional geographies run mainly through the Reparative Action Fund.
The most recent financial data is available here, and a grants database can be accessed here. Recent grantees have included Abolish Private Prisons, Black Feminist Fund, CASA Latina, Friends of the Children Seattle, and Grist Magazine. Grantees highlighted by the foundation include the Young Women’s Freedom Center, which works to end the criminalization and incarceration of young women and trans youth of all genders.
Open door or barbed wire?
The Satterberg Foundation has an accessible and transparent website, but no longer accepts unsolicited letters of interest, proposals or grant applications, as it has shifted focus to long-term support for trusted partners, and its Reparative Action Fund. It does practice and advocate for trust-based philanthropy, focusing on multiyear, general operational funding and building authentic relationships.