Brainerd Foundation

The Brainerd Foundation’s grantmaking funded organizations in the Pacific Northwest that advocated policies that would fund conservation efforts, prohibit conventional energy projects, and address indigenous issues. ¹

Background

The Brainerd Foundation was founded in 1995 by Paul Brainerd, creator of the PageMaker desktop publishing software, after he sold his software company Aldus to Adobe for $525 million. Brainerd’s portion used $50 million from the proceeds of the sale to found the Brainerd Foundation to fund environmentalist efforts in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He proceeded to work as its president, while his sister, Sherry Brainerd, was vice-president. ¹

In 2005, the Brainerd Foundation adopted a plan to expand its funding of environmentalist advocacy groups to include the funding of newly created environmentalist campaigns attempting to change public perception of environmental issues, according to a statement by Brainerd Foundation’s then-co-executive director Ann Krumboltz. ²

In 2018, the Brainerd Foundation announced that it planned to roughly double its $2.5 million in annual grantmaking to expend its remaining assets and sunset by 2020. ²

GeekWire reported in 2018 that between 1995 and 2018, the Brainerd Foundation had disbursed over $66 million in grants to just over 300 environmentalist groups. It also reported that in 2018, the Brainerd Foundation project the Social Venture Partners, consisting of a coalition of activist investors, had “initiatied” the Brainerd Foundation to shift its grantmaking to fund race and equity advocacy in its final years. ¹

Activities

Northwest Conservation Philanthropy Fellowship

The Northwest Conservation Philanthropy Fellowship was a fellowship program organized by the Brainerd Foundation that hosted an annual cohort of Seattle-based donors. During the cohort, the Brainerd Foundation’s co-directors advised the donors on environmentalist issues, policy initiatives, and campaign strategies to support. ³

Social Venture Partners

In 1997, the Brainerd Foundation created Social Venture Partners (SVP), a coalition of Seattle-based investors that Brainerd Foundation partnered with to create a grantmaking pool. By 1998, Brainerd Foundation founder Paul Brainerd reported that it had about 60 partners that had committed to SVP’s required $5,000 two-year minimum contribution.  He also reported that SVP solicited younger investors with newfound wealth and consulted them on engaging in philanthropy. ⁴

SVP partners collaborated through committees on how the funds would be spent, and Brainerd reported to Philanthropy Roundtable in 1998 that at its founding, its partners had agreed to use the funds to support children’s issues and education. ⁴

By 2017, SVP grew to having over 3,500 partners across 43 cities in nine countries. Between 1997 and 2017, SVP had disbursed over $63 million in grants to 840 organizations. ⁵

Employee Campaign Contributions

Persons reporting Brainerd Foundation as their employer exclusively donated to the campaigns of Democratic Party candidates from the 2000 through the 2022 election cycles, according to Federal Election Commission data. Brainerd Foundation employees contributed $521,272 to Democratic candidates and campaigns. ⁶

Leadership

Paul Brainerd was the founder and president of the Brainerd Foundation, from its formation in 1995 until its dissolution in 2020. From 1980 to 1983, Brainerd was vice president of Atex, and from 1973 to 1980, he was an assistant to the operation director for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company. ⁷

Financials

The Brainerd Foundation’s final tax return was filed in 2020 and reported $1.62 million in net assets and $18,261 in liabilities for its end of year balances. ⁸ From 2018 through 2020, the Brainerd Foundation reported $8.2 million in grants, contributions, and gifts disbursed. ^{9 10 11}