Seacoast Trust: Generational abundance

By Kaylah Duncan, Development Manager

In 2023, the Seacoast Trust investment policy was completed and the all-Indigenous Investment Committee began investing the fully capitalized fund of approximately $21 million with help from an adviser.

Spruce Root added a full-time staff member dedicated to development, with a strong focus on growing the corpus of the Seacoast Trust. The fundraising team convened again, and a strategy for a second campaign to raise an additional $20 million that will guide much of the work in 2024.

Thank you to our major contributors Sealaska, The Nature Conservancy, Rasmuson Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Edgerton Foundation, Chorus Foundation and Wilburforce Foundation, as well as the numerous generous individual donors. Investment returns have been strong (since inception, the portfolio has returned +7.5 percent). The current value of the Seacoast Trust is approximately $23 million, with the overall goal of reaching $100 million.