The Brainerd Foundation -

Funding

For 25 years, we have funded organizations that protect the environment of the Northwest and build broad support for conservation.

Photo via Montana Environmental Information Center

Conservation policy

Policy gains that ensure protection of our region's air, land, and water.

Learn more »

Photo by John Lambing

Place-based conservation

Landscape and wildlife protection through community engagement and empowerment.

Learn more »

Photo by Michael Scott

Conservation capacity

Building upon past investments and growing the next generation of conservation.

Learn more »

Recent successes

The Jumbo Valley in the Purcell Mountains of southeast British Columbia. via Wildsight

Jumbo Valley to stay wild

The Ktunaxa Nation Council has received approval from Environment and Climate Change Canada for funding to develop an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area more than 2-1/2 times the size of New York City in the Qat'muk area of the central Purcell Mountain range, including the Jumbo Valley, one of North America's most important wildlife corridors.

Go »

High on a ridge above the Hart River, in the Peel Watershed. by Juri Peepre via Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0, cropped

Peel Watershed Protected

In the Yukon, the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan was signed by all parties. New protections will now affect an area more than six times the size of Yellowstone National Park, in all, about 17% of the Yukon Territory. The Yukon Government and the Peel First Nations will implement the land use plan together.

Go »

Kitimat-Stikine, The Great Bear Rainforest by Jack Borno via Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

Canada passes new oil tanker moratorium

Crude oil tankers are now formally banned from the waters of the Great Bear Rainforest. Coastal First Nations were leaders in the campaign to get the tanker ban passed, having declared a ban on oil tankers in their territories years ago, under their own laws. They have been at the forefront of the movement to formalize this ban in Canadian law.

Go »

Read about more grantee successes »

Meet some of our grantees

Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation

Heart of the Rockies Initiative

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness

Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts

Win Win Network Education Fund

League of Conservation Voters Education Fund

Oregon Community Foundation

Idaho Conservation League

Meet more of our grantees »

What we've learned

Photo by Kathleen Whitson

When making grants, do the analysis—but trust instinct, too.

In this Chronicle of Philanthropy opinion piece, our founder, Paul Brainerd, shares his grantmaking philosophy. He advises grantmakers to make space for honest dialogue with grantees, look for the gaps, and invest in leadership potential.

Go »

Photo by Allison Carver

Letting go...and moving forward

After 23 years, moving an office is about more than furniture and boxes. For our co-director, Keiki Kehoe, it was also about reflecting on more than two decades of work and experiencing firsthand what our grantees have been telling us for a while now -- that the very nature of the workplace is changing.

Go »

Photo via Paul Brainerd

How Paul Brainerd's extraordinary career went from revolutionizing publishing to empowering enviros.

Our founder Paul Brainerd was featured in this special GeekWire series focused on important community issues, innovative solutions to societal challenges, and people and nonprofit groups making an impact through technology.

Go »