Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 1947.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
94 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
31 people listed on the 990; $1.9M paid to officers and key staff.
Alesha Washington’s $481K as President & CEO is at the 50th percentile of top reported officer pay among 129 $100M+ philanthropy & grantmaking nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alesha Washington | $481,225 | $448,701 | $312,969 | — | — |
| Tony Mestes | — | — | — | — | $474,514 |
| David Bley | — | — | $243,793 | $357,188 | — |
| Kirstin Sandaas | — | — | — | $92,548 | $288,852 |
| Kristine Hermanns | $287,236 | $225,686 | $251,250 | $242,990 | $223,750 |
| Larry Buycks | $280,708 | — | — | — | — |
| Michele Frix Dassell | $274,059 | $217,048 | $214,756 | — | — |
| Josephine Wong | — | — | $270,050 | $164,700 | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Manages targeted funds and awards grants to support historically underinvested communities and address critical needs throughout the greater Seattle area.
Questions for The Seattle Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. The Seattle Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Donor-Directed Grantmaking
Seattle foundation's mission is to ignite powerful, rewarding philanthropy. With more than 600 individual, family, and corporate funds, this area of investment reflects the grantmaking directed by our donors to support a broad range of community interests and scholarships primarily in our region and washington state, and also extending…
Foundation-Directed Grantmaking
Seattle foundation manages targeted funds, called area of interest funds, on behalf of the community, to support defined interest areas. Similarly, our impact strategies reflect our priority to center equity and support organizations led by, and created for, historically and currently underserved communities, including black, native…
Community Leadership
Seattle foundation draws on our deep community insight and long history as a civic leader to launch and participate in cross-sector initiatives that amplify our reach and impact. Led by our commitment to equity and opportunity, our role as a civic leader is to align key stakeholders around strategies to address our region's greatest…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $106.8M | $153.2M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $1.01B | $1.09B |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $2.0M | $1.5M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.12B | $1.28B |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $137.6M | $136.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $987.0M | $1.14B |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $174.4M | $174.4M | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $1.5M | $1.5M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $1.8M | $1.8M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.5M | $848K | $551K | $89K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $6.8M | $3.9M | $2.5M | $410K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $316K | $180K | $117K | $19K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $859K | $490K | $318K | $52K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $571K | $325K | $211K | $34K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $231K | $132K | $86K | $14K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $175K | $175K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $30K | $30K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $120K | $120K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $6.2M | $3.4M | $2.8M | |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $10.5M | $7.8M | $2.7M | $15K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $629K | $123K | $80K | $427K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $160K | $91K | $59K | $10K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $770K | $439K | $285K | $46K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $887K | $506K | $328K | $53K |
| TravelLn 17 | $44K | $25K | $16K | $3K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $45K | $26K | $17K | $3K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $475K | $271K | $176K | $29K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $112K | $112K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $630K | $460K | $146K | $24K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $229K | $141K | $71K | $17K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $209.1M | $197.0M | $10.8M | $1.4M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $314.7M | $244.5M | $70.2M | $1.3B | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $186.7M | $182.6M | $4.1M | $1.2B | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $159.6M | $208.2M | −$48.6M | $1.0B | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $283.9M | $230.8M | $53.1M | $1.3B | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $303.7M | $209.1M | $94.6M | $1.1B | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $303,698,138 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $303,698,138 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $209,122,509 across 24 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,281,544,781 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,144,682,833 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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