Best Washington Grants for Nonprofits

There is a wide variety of funding sources for nonprofits available in Washington State. Currently, there are more than 200+ individual open grants available, totaling $155,633,476 in funding. For organizations interested in pursuing grant funding in Washington, the median grant size is an impressive $25,000. Not only that, but there are currently 98 grant opportunities with awards over 25k. In addition, we have 42 grants that support general operating expenses, while more than 200+ grants fund programs and projects. More specifically, over 3,000+ grants focus on education and more than 2,000+ grant opportunities are focused on human & social services.

More than 200+ of the grants that are currently available in Washington come from private foundations, but there are also plenty of opportunities on the federal, state, and local government levels, as well as a few grants being offered by corporate sponsors. Here’s a breakdown of where you'll find the most grants available:

• Private Foundations: Currently there are 115 available grants from private foundations. Because the state of Washington has such a strong focus on the environment, many private grants focus on environmental conservation, habitat and ecosystem restoration, freshwater, marine and ocean conservation, and forestry. Private grantors who focus on these environmental issues include the Charlotte Y Martin Foundation, the Lazar Foundation, the Fish America Foundation, and the Wilburforce Foundation, to name only a few.
• Federal, State & Local Government: There are also an impressive 65 grant opportunities available at the state and local level that also focus on environmental issues like land/habitat conservation, environmental conservation, outdoor recreation, and water resource management. Some of these state and local opportunities are funded by agencies like the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. There are also a few grants available on the federal level from the USDA, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the United States Department of Agriculture, and these also focus on numerous environmental issues.
• Corporate Funders: There are 14 grants available from corporations, many of which fund opportunities for a variety of environmental issues in Washington, including grants from the Marathon Petroleum Corporation, First Interstate Bank, and Nature's Path Organic.

There are quite a few funding opportunities available, especially ones that focus on the environment, so you should do your research on not only the amount of funding being offered by these grantors but also their focus. Keep in mind that government grants often have larger awards than those on the corporate level, but they also have equally large compliance requirements.

Based on the data we have now, the best time to apply for grants in Washington is in Q2, which is when about 27.5% of deadlines for grants land. This period offers nonprofits the most opportunities to secure funding. However, Q4 has just a bit smaller of an amount of grant deadlines, with 24.8%. Comparatively, Q3 is the grant period with the least activity, coming in at only 23.2%. To maximize your odds of winning grant funding, be aware of the peak fundraising periods.

The nonprofit funding landscape throughout Washington has shown significant activity across the past several years. Based on the funding reports sent to the IRS, overall grant funding reached more than $9.78 billion in 2021 and then rose to more than $10.61 billion in 2022. The largest area for funding was single-organization support. Likewise, the top counties that received the most funding were King County, Snohomish County, and Pierce County.