Laidir Foundation
Laidir Foundation is a Seattle, Washington-based private foundation that supports efforts to address critical global challenges through policy improvement and innovative solutions. It describes its mission as improving people’s lives as much as possible with limited resources by supporting ambitious and effective organizations working in areas it believes have strong potential for impact.
Laidir Foundation at a glance
In short: Laidir Foundation gave $4.0M across 22 grants in 2024 (avg $184K), top state District of Columbia. 62% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $4,037,000
- +24.0% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 22
- +57.1% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $183,500
- -21.1% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $100,000
- Total assets
- $71,509,054
- +10.5% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 62% first-time grantees (13 of 21, 2024; small sample)
- Primary geography
- District of Columbia (22% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Laidir Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 7551 28Th Ave Ne, Seattle, WA 98115
Phone: (406) 848-4274
Website: https://laidirfoundation.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Laidir Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Sightline Institute ($525K). Together the top 10 received $3.3M.
Grant Size Distribution
69 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $100–250K range: 26 grants of 69 (38%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s 2024 grant dollars went to recipients in multiple states. The largest reported shares went to organizations in the District of Columbia (22%), New York (21%), California (15%), Washington (14%), and New Jersey (12%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Laidir Foundation open to new grantees?
62%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 13 of 21 grantees (62%) were first-time recipients. With only 21 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $151K; repeat grants $259K. How we count
Medians: $100K first-time, $255K repeat.
- 29% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving grew 71% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 114% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $2.4M (2021) to $4.0M (2024). In 2024 it made 22 grants totaling $4.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sightline Institute Seattle, WA | To further the mission of sightline institute's housing and urbanism program. | $525,000 |
| Princeton University Princeton, NJ | Support the Craig Samuel Falls Ai Policy Fellowship | $500,000 |
| Effective Institutions Project Tarrytown, NY | To Support the Effective Institutions Project. | $390,000 |
| Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Washington, DC | To further the mission of ipa to discover and promote effective solutions to global poverty problems. | $350,000 |
| Techcongress Washington, DC | For US Ai Safety Institute Fellowships | $340,000 |
| Longview Philanthropy Claymont, DE | To Support Longview's Grantmaking Advisory Work | $300,000 |
| Founders Pledge New York, NY | To support founders pledge's work in increase the positive social impact of entrepreneurs. | $250,000 |
| Effective Ventures Foundation USA Inc San Francisco, CA | Rethink Wellbeing Program - $205,000 | $205,000 |
| Village Enterprise San Carlos, CA | To further the mission of village enterprise to provide africans with tools and resources to start sustainable small businesses. | $200,000 |
| Players Philanthropy Fund Towson, MD | Prevent domestic violence - $100,000support efforts to simplify teaching and increase learning - $35,000support kaya guides efforts to improve mental health - $25,000 | $160,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Laidir Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $71,509,054 | $11,240,624 | $4,445,853 | $4,037,000 | 22 | $4,037,000 | $2,240,647 | $3,542,617 |
| 2023 | $64,714,283 | $9,662,609 | $3,826,070 | $3,256,625 | 14 | $3,366,787 | $4,095,145 | $3,007,960 |
| 2022 | $58,877,744 | $17,822,279 | $2,690,302 | $2,451,220 | 11 | $2,451,220 | $8,738,613 | $2,343,497 |
| 2021 | $43,862,995 | $7,463,532 | $2,722,568 | $2,365,960 | 11 | $2,365,960 | $4,357,729 | $2,303,513 |
| 2020 | $39,124,960 | $308,331 | $2,483,307 | $2,380,681 | 11 | — | $282,595 | $2,188,977 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Laidir Foundation reported a distributable amount of $3.5M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation supports work to reduce extreme poverty, including developing and piloting interventions, evaluating their impact, and helping effective approaches attract funding to scale. Its governance interests include strengthening institutions’ problem-solving and decision-making, improving talent pipelines into government, reducing political polarization, and supporting multilateral cooperation.
For artificial intelligence, the foundation supports work to inform policymakers about AI capabilities, develop policies that may reduce risks across possible futures, and provide research and coordination as public goods. Its website also lists enabling housing and clean energy development as a focus area.
The 2024 grants illustrate the range of organizations supported. Sightline Institute, which received $525,000, describes its mission as making the Cascadia bioregion a model of sustainability. Effective Institutions Project, which received $390,000, says it seeks and incubates strategies to improve institutional decision-making around the world. Innovations for Poverty Action, which received $350,000, was funded to support its work on effective solutions to global poverty problems. Other recipients included organizations whose stated missions involve charitable giving by entrepreneurs, evidence-based efforts to improve the world, international peace, and support for farming families.
Grantmaking
The foundation reported $4,037,000 in grants for 2024. Its itemized filing data lists 22 grants, ranging from $50,000 to $525,000, with a median grant of $100,000. Notable grants included $500,000 to Princeton University for the Craig Samuel Falls AI Policy Fellowship, $390,000 to Effective Institutions Project, $350,000 to Innovations for Poverty Action, and $340,000 to TechCongress for US AI Safety Institute fellowships.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Brian Lonergan as a director and president, and Matthew McBay as a director and vice president.
Laidir Foundation is led by Brian Lonergan, Director, President & Treasurer on every filing since 2020; none of the 2 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Brian Lonergan
Director, President & Treasurer
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Matthew McBay
Director & Vice President
On filings since 2020
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Laidir Foundation
How much does Laidir Foundation give each year?
Laidir Foundation gave $4.0M across 22 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $3.3M across 14 grants.
What is Laidir Foundation's typical grant size?
Laidir Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $100,000, and its average grant was $183,500, across 22 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Laidir Foundation that year got $151K on average.
Where does Laidir Foundation give grants?
Laidir Foundation's top state is District of Columbia, with 22% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (21%) and California (15%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (5 grants), New York, NY (2 grants) and San Francisco, CA (2 grants).
Does Laidir Foundation give general operating support?
Occasionally: 5% of Laidir Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 22) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Laidir Foundation's largest grantees?
Laidir Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Sightline Institute ($525,000), Princeton University ($500,000) and Effective Institutions Project ($390,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 35% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Laidir Foundation?
Laidir Foundation reported $71.5M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $4.0M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $3.5M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Laidir Foundation fund?
The foundation supports work to reduce extreme poverty, including developing and piloting interventions, evaluating their impact, and helping effective approaches attract funding to scale. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Laidir Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Laidir Foundation's EIN?
Laidir Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-2519767. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does Laidir Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 15, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 11, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Laidir Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Laidir Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/laidir-foundation-morg_a0a28b84066049338b2743771a80bfd6
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_472519767_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Laidir Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/laidir-foundation-morg_a0a28b84066049338b2743771a80bfd6},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-13. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Laidir Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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