OVERVIEW: The Washington Foundation for the Environment supports environmental education, awareness and action in the state of Washington.
IP TAKE: WFFE has recently shifted away from traditional grantmaking, but still offers accessible grant opportunities for individual students who are addressing environmental issues in Washington.
PROFILE: Established in 1979, the Washington Foundation for the Environment (WFFE) is a philanthropic organization based in Seattle, Washington. It is a well-established environmental group that has a long history of promoting environmental education, action and awareness. WFFE is made up of a board of 10 volunteers who have various expertise and experience working with environmental issues. There is no staff or permanent office for WFFE to keep overhead costs low. The foundation aims to "support environmental problem-solving.” It supports local efforts for environmental awareness and action among middle school and high school students in Washington.
The Washington Foundation for the Environment shifted its focus away from more general environmental activities to just efforts that involves middle school and high school students in 2019. WWFE has an annual event called the Seattle Environmental Slam that involves school-based teams that compete to make compelling presentations on timely environmental topics. WFFE has also hosted a Give Big event and encouraged donations to support its grantees. Past funding has gone towards connecting local residents with nature, educational workshops, youth leadership programs, field-based learning for youth and the integration of outdoor recreation into classroom studies. WFFE offers small grants up to $500 to middle and high school students who are pursuing environmental education projects.
Grants range between about $250 and $5,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on the greater Seattle region of Washington. Past local grantees include the Wenatchee River Institute, Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group and Capitol Land Trust.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications for student grants and has a grants committee that reviews applications before the entire board does. WFFE accepts applications via mail and email. It reviews requests about every six to eight weeks. Direct general questions to the foundation at grants@wffe.org.
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