Nia Tero Foundation
Seattle, WA · EIN 82-1949563. Reported 138 grants totalling $14.3M to 84 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Nia Tero Foundation, the IRS classifies it under environment rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE C30) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 84 distinct organizations, with 12% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 41% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $25,000. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $10,000 and the largest $1,000,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Frontlines | San Francisco, CA | $1,694,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Conservation International Foundation | Arlington, VA | $1,500,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Onereef Worldwide Stewardship | Palo Alto, CA | $1,450,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boreal Songbird Initiative | Seattle, WA | $850,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Land Is Life Inc | New York, NY | $580,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Blackfeet Eco Knowledge Inc | Browning, MT | $549,820 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| If Not US Then Who | Tarzana, CA | $515,125 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rsf Social Finance Inc | San Francisco, CA | $510,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Conservation Agreement Fund a Nj Nonprofit Corporation | Lewes, DE | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rainforest Foundation Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $493,025 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Noabu Holdings LLC | Casper, WY | $485,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dtwo Ltd | San Francisco, CA | $448,930 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Pacific Resources for Education and Learning | Honolulu, HI | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| New York Botanical Garden | Bronx, NY | $265,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Office of the Un High Commissioner for Human Rights | New York, NY | $223,089 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Indian Law Resource Center | Helena, MT | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Page Seventy Three Productions Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Redford Center Inc | San Francisco, CA | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Resources Legacy Fund | Sacramento, CA | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sundance Institute | Park City, UT | $140,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Blackfeet Tribe | Browning, MT | $136,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Identity Inc | East Helena, MT | $115,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Iaf Inc | Las Vegas, NV | $110,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Point Hope Productions LLC | Port Clyde, ME | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Points North Institute | Camden, ME | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| New York University | New York, NY | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Women Make Movies Inc | New York, NY | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Big Sky Film Institute | Missoula, MT | $70,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Potlatch Fund | Seattle, WA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hawaii International Film Festival | Honolulu, HI | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dwadewayesta LLC | Newfield, NY | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Grist Magazine Inc | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Justin Deegan Dba Thunder Revolution Studio LLC | Bismarck, ND | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Native Movement | Fairbanks, AK | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Rhizomatica Communications | Philadelphia, PA | $49,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Conservation Strategy Fund | Arcata, CA | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| United Indians of All Tribes Foundation | Seattle, WA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Earth Island Institute Inc | Berkeley, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Na'ah Illahee Fund | Seattle, WA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Native American Rights Fund | Boulder, CO | $37,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Gathering Roots Wellness | Seattle, WA | $35,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pierce Conservation District | Puyallup, WA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Stillaguamish Tribe of Lndians | Arlington, WA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Babson College | Wellesley, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bartolo Doc LLC | San Juan, PR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brave Planet Films LLC | Boulder, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cousin Collective Inc | Loma Linda, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cultural Conservancy Sacred Land Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Deenaadai' Productions | Fairbanks, AK | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Internews Network | Arcata, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Internews Network | Arcata, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kulia Na Mamo | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New Mexico Film Foundation | Santa Fe, NM | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sierra Club Foundation | Oakland, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Southern Documentary Fund | Durham, NC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Thunderheart Media Inc | Gallatin Gtwy, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tibet Fund | New York, NY | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Two Row Productions LLC | Hogansburg, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Blackfeet Community College | Browning, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Common Counsel Foundation | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Duwamish Tribal Services | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Lhaq Temish Foundation | Bellingham, WA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Na Ah Illahee Fund | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Common Acre | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Territories of Pacific Islanders Washington-Utopia Wa | Kent, WA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Native American Journalists Association | Norman, OK | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Piegan Institute | Browning, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alaska Conservation Foundation | Anchorage, AK | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Barcid Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Independent Documentary Inc | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| El Centro De La Raza | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| La Bonga LLC | Springfield, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Made in Brooklyn Summit Corp | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Native Americans in Philanthropy | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Open Arms Perinatal Services | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Our Childrens Earth Foundation | Napa, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Photographers Without Borders Inc | Kalamazoo, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rights and Resources Institute Inc | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Spiret Foundation | Wheaton, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sustainable Seattle | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Queens Flowers LLC | Mililani, HI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Urban American Indian Alaska Native Education Alliance | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
32 of 84 (38%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- The Nature Conservancy
SUPPORT FOR BLUE ECONOMY PLAN - Boreal Songbird Initiative
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP & CONSERVATION - Amazon Frontlines
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS GUARDIANSHIP IN THE AMAZON - Conservation Agreement Fund
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS LED CONSERVATION EFFORTS - Rsf Social Finance Inc
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS PRACTICE AND WISDOM - One Reef Worldwide Stewardship
TRADITIONAL STEWARDSHIP MICRONESIA ATOLLS
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 62 of 84 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | $2,983,930 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 34 | $4,055,000 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 39 | $3,307,755 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 25 | $3,975,304 | $80,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
36% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $25,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
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Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Nia Tero Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 21 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 4 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 900 E Pine St 200, Seattle, WA, 98122.
EIN 82-1949563 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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