The Bullitt Foundation primarily funds environmentalist groups in the Pacific Northwest. In 2019, the foundation decided to spend down its endowment and cease grantmaking in 2024. ¹

Background

Dorothy Bullitt, who came from a wealthy family prominent in the timber industry, founded the Bullitt Foundation in 1952. Dorothy married attorney A. Scott Bullitt in 1918, and after he died in 1932, she embarked on her business career. ²

Bullitt managed real estate and acquired radio stations. She eventually founded King Broadcasting and its flagship television station, KING-TV. ³

By 1977, the Bullitt Foundation had funding of $1.3 million. Dorothy Bullitt’s children, Charles Stimson Bullitt and Harriet Bullitt, influenced her to focus on environmentalist giving. In those early days, the group funded groups that preserved a canyon and filed environmental lawsuits. ⁴

In 1991, Bullitt died, and her heirs sold King Broadcasting with most sale proceeds going to the foundation. ⁵

Activities

Grantmaking

Bullitt Foundation grants typically range between $40,000 to $120,000 and are aimed to leverage other donors. The foundation’s executive director claims that over 90 percent of its grants are designed to influence policy. It has increased spending in support of groups that want to stop using reliable conventional sources of energy. ⁶

Bullitt Foundation funded groups that supported Washington Initiative 1631, which would have imposed a carbon tax in Washington State. The group’s executive director tried to rally support for initiative in an op-ed published in Crosscut, which received funding from the group, a few days before the election. Voters overwhelmingly defeated the ballot initiative. ⁷

In 2019, Bullitt Foundation funded groups Climate Solutions, Washington Environmental Council, and Northwest Energy Coalition, which pushed for state legislation that mandated carbon emission reductions. It also funded Columbia Riverkeepers, which challenged the permitting of fossil fuel projects. ⁸

The Bullitt Center

On Earth Day 2013, the Bullitt Foundation opened the Bullitt Center in Seattle, which serves as its headquarters. The building, which cost $30 million, was intended to be carbon-neutral and the world’s greenest office building. Rainwater collected from the roof serves as its drinking water. Rooftop solar panels powered the building. Instead of normal flushing toilets, it had composting toilets. In order to promote alternative transportation, the building did not have a parking lot. The building attempted to avoid energy and water bills for 250 years. The group hoped the building would serve as a model for similar office buildings. ⁹

In July 2018, the group’s executive director complained that engineers were not adopting the building’s environmentalist features for their buildings around the world. ¹⁰

Spending Down

In 2019, the Bullitt Foundation announced that it was going to sunset its giving in 2024. The group’s board had always planned to eventually wind down giving. After 2024, the group will focus on owning the Bullitt Center, which will be leased out to environmentalist groups, and awarding its annual prize for environmental leadership. ¹¹

Leadership

The Bullitt Foundation executive director is Denis Hayes. Hayes helped organize the first Earth Day and led a solar research institute under President Jimmy Carter. He has been executive director since 1992. ¹²

Finances

According to the 2021 tax return, the Bullitt Foundation had $1,220,943 in revenue, $6,714,580 in expenses, and $65,390,606 in assets. ¹³

Among the groups that received grants were 350 Seattle ($100,000), Bluegreen Alliance Foundation ($80,000), Earthjustice ($70,000), National Caucus of Environmental Legislators ($60,000), the Oregon Environmental Council ($95,000), Renewable Northwest Project ($80,000), Seattle Foundation ($95,000), Sightline Institute ($95,000), Sustainable Northwest ($100,000), the University of Washington Foundation ($100,000), and Washington Environmental Council ($110,000). ¹⁴

1. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
2. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
3.  Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
4. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
5. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
6. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
7. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
8. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
9. Porada, Barbara. “The ‘World’s Greenest Commercial’ Building Opens in Seattle Today.” ArchDaily. April 22, 2013. https://www.archdaily.com/363007/the-world-s-greenest-commercial-building-opens-in-seattle-today.
10. Golden, Hallie. “Bullitt Center Innovations Haven’t Caught On—But Seattle Wants to Change That.” Crosscut, July 23, 2018. https://crosscut.com/environment/2018/07/bullitt-center-innovations-havent-caught-seattle-wants-change.
11. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
12. Bernton, Hal, and Evan Bush. “Bullitt Foundation, a Heavy Hitter in the NW’s Environmental Movement, Will Wind down Its Giving.” Seattle Times. June 11, 2019. http://web.archive.org/web/20220405062755/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/after-decades-of-investing-in-the-regions-environmental-movement-the-bullitt-foundation-will-wind-down-giving/.
13. Bullitt Foundation. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990PF). 2021. Accessed October 9, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/916027795/202232999349100118/full.
14. Bullitt Foundation. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990PF). 2021. Accessed October 9, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/916027795/202232999349100118/full.