A Letter from Our CEO
As I reflect on 2024, I’m filled with appreciation for the energy, resilience and deep commitment of our Philanthropy Northwest network. This was a pivotal year for our organization. The first full year of living into our new mission, vision and values, and the debut of a refreshed strategic plan that is both bold and rooted in place.
At its core, our mission calls on us to grow philanthropy’s capacity to do the transformative work of redistributing resources and power to underinvested communities across the Northwest. This call to action shaped our programs, partnerships and priorities in 2024.
We saw this come to life through our Thriving Communities program, where we began laying the groundwork to equitably distribute over $40 million in federal resources to communities disproportionately impacted by environmental harm. This work is a direct expression of our values: equity, place and integrity. It also reflects our belief that those closest to the challenges are best positioned to lead the solutions.
Throughout the year, we embedded our values into every corner of our work:
• In our network programs, we created space for learning and growth by launching new peer cohorts, deepening conversations around trust-based philanthropy and spotlighting community-rooted leadership through our “Can we talk about…” podcast.
• Through our public policy and advocacy, we helped elevate regional voices at the national level, building bipartisan relationships and using our platform to ensure that funders and nonprofits have a seat at the table as decisions about public resources are made.
• With our consultancy, The Giving Practice, we continued supporting foundations across the country in reimagining governance, strategy and organizational culture in alignment with equity-centered practices and values.
• And of course, we reconnected in person at our PNW24 conference in Missoula, our first since 2019. That gathering reflected the very heart of our work: building relationships, honoring place and finding joy in the power of community.
Looking ahead to 2025, we’re excited to keep building on this momentum. We’ll continue traveling across our six-state region, listening deeply and showing up where we’re needed most. We’re also preparing to celebrate a major milestone: Philanthropy Northwest’s 50th anniversary in 2026. It’s a time to reflect on the past, but more importantly reimagine what’s possible for our collective future.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we are transforming philanthropy in the Northwest by making it more responsive, more just and more rooted in community.
With gratitude,
Jill Nishi CEO, Philanthropy Northwest
Milestones
February
We brought a delegation of staff and members to Foundations on the Hill, our annual trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional leaders, in a collective effort to strengthen the partnership between nonprofits and the government.
May
We launched our Navigating Courage cohort for senior leaders and our Together In Divided Times cohort for rural funders.
March
We announced our new strategic direction.
We re-introduced our national consultancy as The Giving Practice at Philanthropy Northwest.
Our board of directors participated in a learning session led by the Disability & Philanthropy Forum on inclusion and justice in the context of disability rights.
July
We began welcoming new staff members to our team based out of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to support our Thriving Communities program.
October
We hosted our PNW24 conference in Missoula, Montana, our first in-person conference since 2019.
We launched Season Two of our Can we talk about…? podcast focused on leading for racial equity on the ground.
We launched applications for our Thriving Communities program for communities and tribal nations who have been negatively impacted by environmental changes in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
September
We began our partnership with Trust-Based Philanthropy Project (TBPP) to offer trustbased philanthropy consulting rooted in TBPP’s frameworks and approach.
Our staff participated in a learning session led by Headwater People Consulting where we learned about Indigenous history and solutions surfaced by Native communities.
November
We welcomed five new board members and a new slate of board officers.
Four of our staff members participated in the United Philanthropy Forum’s Racial Equity Learning & Action cohort focused on strengthening racial equity readiness, stamina and impact. We were joined by seven philanthropy-serving organizations from throughout the country.
Collective Vision Towards Equity
2024 was our first year living into our new strategic direction.
OUR MISSION
We grow philanthropy’s capacity to do transformative work toward redistributing resources and power to underinvested communities in the Northwest and beyond.
OUR VALUES
Equity: We promote systems and practices that support just outcomes for people regardless of race, ethnicity and intersectional identities, including gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion and immigration status.
Racial Justice:
We stand for a society where Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities have the dignity, resources, power and selfdetermination to fully thrive.
OUR VISION
Equity and racial justice for all communities.
Place: We are inspired and grounded in the diversity of our region’s people and cultures, and we honor its lands as the traditional and present home of Northwest Indigenous peoples.
Integrity: We hold ourselves accountable for acting in alignment with our values and maintaining high standards of transparency, honesty and openness.
Courage: We aspire to catalyze change in the philanthropic sector by being bold with our actions and our voice.
Joy: We create space for creativity, connection and fun in our work.
Empowering People
COHORTS
We hosted the Navigating Courage cohort for senior leaders and the Together in Divided Times cohort for rural funders.
Navigating Courage™: Senior Leaders Cohort
We partnered with Dr. Robin Martin to bring our members The Navigating Courage™ masterclass, designed to hold space for senior leaders to step into their personal leadership and drive impact in their spheres of influence.
“After having participated in a tremendous number of cohorts, trainings and sessions, this I can honestly say this has been one of the best. The way in which the content was laid out, the expertise and approachability of Robin and team, the almost instantaneous vulnerability the cohort members leaned into was beautiful.”
— NAVIGATING COURAGE COHORT PARTICIPANT
Together In Divided Times: Rural Funders Cohort
Many of the communities we serve experience both connectedness and increasing polarization. This cohort brought together rural funders to make sense of divided times and find productive and sustainable footing for the advancement of their work. Find out more about the cohort on our blog.
“Peer learning is particularly important for rural funders as there are fewer of us and we are so dispersed throughout the region. We can become isolated, caught in the endless doing or stuck in our echo chambers. I’m grateful to Philanthropy Northwest for their efforts that nurture collaborative action and relationship building.”
— TOGETHER IN DIVIDED TIMES COHORT PARTICIPANT
Empowering People continued
CONFERENCE
More than 350 attendees joined us at our PNW24 conference at the University of Montana in Missoula for our first in-person conference since 2019.
Over three days, we heard from inspiring speakers who are moving our sector forward, made new friends, reconnected with peers, discovered fresh ideas from our field, ventured into our host city through learning tours and dine arounds, and more! Together, we explored what a more equitable future for philanthropy could look like.
PEER NETWORKS
We created unique spaces for our members to connect with each other regularly, advance their learning, discover new opportunities and tackle tough challenges.
These peer networks included:
•Alaska Funders Group
•BIPOC Folks in Philanthropy Group
#MicDropMoments from PNW24
“We as a sector have an immense opportunity to cultivate the brightest horizon possible for all of our communities, and I have so much gratitude for all of you – my Philanthropy Northwest peers – and our collective commitment to a brighter, more equitable society.” — MIKE HALLIGAN
“If philanthropy means the love for humanity, how are we showing up for humanity?”
— TEMI BENNETT
•Black Folks in Philanthropy Group
•Corporate Funders Group
•Democracy Northwest Funders Group
•Regional Community Philanthropy Group
•Rural Funders Group
PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST NETWORK CALLS
We hosted bi-monthly conversations featuring experts on key issues and emerging topics critically important to our sector and our communities.
In 2024, we dove into topics like foundation spend outs, generative AI, the needs of asylum seekers, equitable government contracting practices and more.
STORYTELLING
We uplifted personal stories from our network, highlighting the many different backgrounds, experiences and reasons behind why we do this work. Check some of them out below:
• Brenda Solórzano on Building a Trust-Based Organization: Reflections on 7 ½ years at Headwaters Foundation
• Navigating Courage: Black women redefining the landscape of equity and racial justice
• Place and Joy: Living Into Our Values at Philanthropy Northwest
BY THE NUMBERS
unique participants engaged in Philanthropy Northwest programs
Empowering People continued
INFLUENCING THE NETWORK
Our staff and senior advisors spoke at conferences and convenings in and outside of our region to share our learnings and thought leadership across our network and the rest of the sector.
Seattle, WA
Satterberg’s “Community Champions Mixer” was a funder and nonprofit panel focused on the topic equity in philanthropy. Panelists shared the promising work they are seeing in the field as well as areas for improvement.
At Magic Cabinet’s “Unlocking Abundance: A Conversation about DAF Reform” gathering we discussed the future of donor-advised funds reform and what role Northwest philanthropy leaders can play in driving national and regional conversations around legislation, regulation and best practices for equitable grantmaking.
During Peak Grantmaking’s “PEAK2024 Annual Convening,” we spoke at a panel about recalibrating how funders approach racial equity and how grants professionals can guide their organizations in doubling down on racial equity. We also were part of a session on the need for philanthropy’s involvement in advocacy and public policy, and the role that philanthropy-serving organizations can play in supporting this work.
St. Louis, MO
At United Philanthropy Forum’s Conference for philanthropy-serving organizations, we led a session called “Advancing Racial Equity through Cohort Learning” where we spotlighted our 12-year Building Community Philanthropy cohort.
Los Angeles, CA
Our TGP senior advisors designed and led sessions at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations’ (GEO) conference on shifting philanthropic culture and facilitating racial equity conversations across divides.
Virtual
Our policy team attended Montana Nonprofit Association’s Virtual Conference to share Philanthropy Northwest’s approach to fixing the charitable deduction in tax policy.
We spoke at Asian Americans/ Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy’s (AAPIP) Advocacy Training Series to talk about the what, why and how of advocacy.
Strengthening Organizations
THE GIVING PRACTICE
BY THE NUMBERS
33 and 44 clients served projects completed
THE GIVING PRACTICE
Our national consultancy, The Giving Practice, offered strategic planning, organizational development and facilitation support anchored in advancing a more equitable sector.
TRUST-BASED PHILANTHROPY
In 2024, our TGP senior advisors began offering trust-based philanthropy consulting in partnership with the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project.
PODCAST
BY THE NUMBERS
600 podcast listeners
Building on the success of our inaugural podcast on leading for racial equity in philanthropy, we kicked off our second season.
Season two of Can we talk about...? highlights a diversity of voices from our sector on the nuances of operationalizing equity commitments in varying contexts.
BUILDING COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY (BCP) INITIATIVE
We closed our 12-year journey with our Building Community Philanthropy cohort. With 21 partners in Washington and Portland, Oregon, the BCP initiative served as a model for how philanthropy can support shared learning, networking and action to foster more resilient, equitable and inclusive communities.
#MicDropMoments from BCP
“In philanthropy it’s often ‘who’ is in the way. Not ‘what’ is in the way.”
— TAI SIMPSON
Building Thriving Ecosystems
PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY
Through our public policy and advocacy work, we use our collective voice and influence to advocate for federal policies that promote the equitable distribution of public and philanthropic funding toward communities historically overlooked. In 2024, we engaged in efforts to support this work: We updated our public policy filter to enable us to take quicker and decisive actions on emerging issues.
We supported programs to address the legal landscape on affirmative action and raceconscious practices, and we established a policy position supporting the freedom of public and charitable institutions to consider racial disparities in their practices. Learn more about our race-conscious practices position in this one-pager
We engaged in advocacy with our network to oppose H.R. 9495, a federal bill that would threaten due process rights of nonprofits. Learn more about our position supporting the charitable sector’s free speech and due process in this one-pager.
Foundations On The Hill
Creating positive change calls on the philanthropic sector and governments to work collaboratively to support sustainable and vibrant communities. In 2024, we brought a delegation of members from throughout our region together in Washington, D.C., for Foundations on the Hill to advocate on issues of critical importance to our sector. These policy priorities included:
Charitable Giving: We support a universal charitable incentive that enhances giving more equitably and efficiently across a wider, diverse base of donors across the income spectrum, to provide more charitable resources to communities. Learn more about our universal charitable giving incentive position in this one-pager.
Donor-Advised Funds: We support greater transparency and payout of donor-advised funds (DAFs), and increased education and research to help us deepen understanding of the complexities and considerations to inform our stance on specific proposals. Learn more about our donor-advised funds position in this one-pager.
Johnson Amendment: We support the Johnson Amendment, the law prohibiting 501(c)(3) charitable organizations from endorsing, opposing or contributing to political candidates and engaging in partisan campaign activities.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples: We support policies that address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people, especially women, girls and Two-Spirit individuals, and call upon philanthropy and all levels of government to prioritize this issue.
Nonprofit-Government Partnership: We support improving the partnership between nonprofits and governments to ensure that public resources are accessible to nonprofit service providers, especially small charities, rural organizations and people of color-led charities historically left out of such opportunities. Learn more about our nonprofit-government partnership position in this one-pager
Building Thriving Ecosystems continued
THRIVING COMMUNITIES PROGRAM
BY THE NUMBERS
145,523 views on our job bank generated
We launched the Thriving Communities Program as the regional grantmaker for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 271 federally recognized tribes).
In the fall, we welcomed applications for this grants program to distribute over $40 million for communityled projects addressing environmental challenges and disparities in the region.
JOB BANK
We connected job seekers with philanthropic and nonprofit sector jobs in the Northwest.
Our members can post their open positions on our job bank for free! Check out our job bank here.
Here’s a sneak peek at what we are working on in 2025 and beyond.
Responding in real time to the emerging needs of our network:
This year we face a complex and uncertain landscape. Fulfilling our shared mission to redistribute resources and power to underinvested communities in the Northwest will require consistency, partnership and courage. Philanthropy Northwest is hosting programs and creating resources to help our network continue showing up for each other and for the communities who count on us.
Traveling and relationship building throughout our region:
Our staff is meeting with our members, partners and community leaders where they live and work across our six-state region. We will spend more time on the ground, deepen our connections and listen to understand our network’s aspirations and challenges.
Redesigning our website:
We are embarking on a redesign project this year to make our website an even better resource for our community.
Preparing for our 50th anniversary:
2026 will mark 50 years of Philanthropy Northwest as a trusted partner and peer collective. We’re thinking of ways to celebrate this important milestone with the people and organizations who have shaped our network over the last half-century.