Total Assets (2012):[1] $26,187,673
Total giving (2012): $2,581,024
Total assets in 2008 (when spend-down commenced):[2] $30,216,336
Prominent Grants:[3] The Brainerd Foundation has invested in over 300 organizations in order to meet its goals of promoting conservation capacity and policy in the Northwestern United States. Among those organizations are Earthjustice, the Oregon Bus Project Foundation, the Montana Wilderness Association, Trout Unlimited, and the Washington Environmental Council.
Summary: The Brainerd Foundation is a small family foundation established by Paul Brainerd in 1995, with a focus on promoting conservation in the Northwest. Brainerd made his fortune as a pioneer in desktop publishing, having founded Aldus, the company that produced PageMaker. In establishing his foundation, Brainerd aimed to both promote a healthier environment and build broader support among citizens to work toward greater environmental protection. In 2008, Brainerd announced his intention to spend down the foundation’s funds by 2020.[4]
The Brainerd Foundation focuses its grantmaking on promoting advocacy, policy implementation, and capacity building to encourage environmental protection. The Foundation has five major program areas: Conservation Capacity, Conservation Policy, the Grassroots Fund, the Opportunity Fund, and Place-Based Conservation. Funding to promote policy, advocacy, and capacity-building is focused on grantee organizations across the U.S. Northwest, including Alaska, Oregon, Montana, and Washington, among others.