Our History: 1995
Polar bear sow and cub. Photo by Tim Greyhavens.The Brainerd Foundation was formed to safeguard the environment and build broad citizen support for environmental protection in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. In 1995, Paul Brainerd invited his sister, Sherry Brainerd, to join him on the board to oversee this new endeavor. Sherry, also an entrepreneur from the business world, shares his passion for protecting the region where they grew up. It was the summer of 1995 that Paul, executive director Deb Callahan and program officer Jim Owens toured the region, hosting gatherings with local leaders and volunteers in more than 18 communities. These gatherings gave Paul, Deb and Jim an opportunity to learn about the landscape and the community of organizations and activists who sought to protect the region's extraordinary natural resources. Informed and inspired by these meetings, the foundation launched its grantmaking program, with an emphasis on protecting endangered ecosystems, preventing toxic pollution and developing effective communication strategies.
Grantmaking Highlights
In its first year of grantmaking the foundation laid the groundwork for what we hoped would be important initiatives for the Northwest environmental community.
The start-up of ONE/NW (Online Networking for the Environment) was initiated by an early commitment of funding from the Brainerd and Bullitt Foundations, and nurtured by Paul Brainerd's entrepreneurial guidance as a founding board member. The purpose of this new organization was to help environmentalists in the region make effective use of electronic networking, by providing technical assistance, training and other services. ONE/NW's role in the region has grown exponentially during the past decade, dramatically increasing the technical savvy of thousands of activists and organizations.
In Alaska, groups came together to learn more about communication strategies and message development. Funded through a grant to the Alaska Conservation Foundation, this communications initiative became a model for similar collaborative efforts in other parts of the region.
In Washington State, the foundation saw a modest investment in research reap enormous rewards. With environmental protection threatened by a proposed ballot initiative on "takings," a grant to the University of Washington's Institute for Public Policy allowed dissemination of an economic analysis of the proposed ballot measure. This research was ultimately a critical element in the ultimate defeat of the initiative.