Funding Areas

The Brainerd Foundation’s mission is to protect the environment of the Northwest and to build broad citizen support for conservation. We accomplish this by investing in nonprofit organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and the Yukon Territory within the following funding areas:

  • Dogwood Initiative wants to make British Columbia the global model for sustainable land reform. One of their current campaigns is to secure the ban on oil tanker traffic off the B.C. coast. This ban is now under threat. Photo by the Dogwood Initiative.

    Conservation Policy

    Achieving policy gains at the regional, state (or provincial) and local levels that ensure protection of our region's air, land and water.

  • Student volunteers count male sage grouse at dawn. Photo by Jay Gore.

    Place-based Conservation

    Achieving landscape and wildlife protection through community engagement and empowerment. Our current priority landscapes are: the High Divide, the Crown of the Continent, and Central Oregon.

  • The now free-flowing Rogue River (upstream of Gold Hill, Oregon) after the removal of the Gold Ray Dam, which has been a major project of Brian Barr and the Freeways for Fish program at the Geos Institute. Photo by the Geos Institute.

    Conservation Capacity

    Improving the ability of conservationists to communicate effectively, advance legal strategies and strengthen overall organizational capacity. This program area supports service providers, strategic research, and organizational efforts that build stronger institutions.

Other Grant Programs

  • Grassroots Fund

    Strengthening small Northwest conservation organizations confronting critical challenges in their communities. This fund supports groups offering innovative approaches at the grassroots level and working in geographies or on issues that build on the foundation’s current strategies and goals.

  • Opportunity Fund

    Supporting Northwest organizations confronted with a timely opportunity to protect critical ecosystems, impact significant conservation policy debates, or address critical organizational issues.