The Alta Foundation Wants to Help Children with Special Needs in Washington
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Based in the small unincorporated community of Kingston, Washington, and on the Kitsap Peninsula, the Alta Foundation operates as a private grantmaker supporting local needs. This is the foundation of attorney Dana Sweany-Schumacher, who serves as its president. The Alta Foundation maintains a low public profile, and only minimal information is available about its grantmaking guidelines or future plans. However, the foundation has been operating for quite a few years already and has developed a definite focus for its funding.
Here's what we know so far about the Alta Foundation and its grantmaking in Washington.
Children with special needs
More than anything else, the Alta Foundation is a funder for children with special needs. The foundation has prioritized serving this population group with donations for support and educational enrichment. Alta has shown strong interest in young people in the foster care system and in high school graduation rates. Most of this funder’s grants are for general operating support and range between $20,000 and $30,000.
Other areas of interest
In addition to special needs children, the Alta Foundation also supports education more generally, as well as various health and human services efforts. In the past, it has shown interest in cancer care and end-of-life care. The Memorial Foundation in Yakima, Home Port Learning Center in Bellingham and Treehouse in Seattle have received Alta Foundation grants. All grantmaking typically takes place within the state of Washington.
Approaching Alta for support
The Alta Foundation does not have a website to guide grantseekers or publicize its grantmaking activities. It tends to fund the same few familiar organizations year after year rather than spreading its grantmaking around to new and emerging groups.
According to recent tax records, the Alta Foundation does not accept unsolicited funding requests, so this may be a challenging funder to connect with. However, foundation officers may be reachable by phone for general inquiries and to make an initial introduction.
Several years ago, the foundation accepted unsolicited funding requests and had a March 1 deadline for grant applications. Therefore, it may be worth a telephone call to ask about the current policy and whether new opportunities exist to get involved with the Alta Foundation at this time.
You can read more about the Alta Foundation and other locally focused foundations in our Washington grantmaking guide.
