Sea Change Foundation is a private family foundation based in San Francisco, California, dedicated to achieving meaningful social impact through strategic philanthropy. Founded in 2006 by Nat Simons and Laura Baxter-Simons, the foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) organization and has distributed over $500 million in grants since its creation, establishing itself as one of the largest environmental funders in the United States.
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$208.5M
-7.4% YoY
Annual Giving
$37.4M
-18.0% YoY
Grant Count
9
-35.7% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$4.2M
+27.6% YoY
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Sea Change Foundation reported a distributable amount of $10.3M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation is exclusively focused on climate change mitigation and clean energy policy. Its philanthropic approach is guided by five core principles:
Focused Philanthropy: Given the urgency of acting quickly to avoid severe consequences of climate change, the foundation concentrates its grantmaking exclusively on climate mitigation and clean energy initiatives, providing fewer and larger grants than most foundations with similar budgets.
Flexibility and Urgency: The foundation strives to be an agile grantmaker, able to react quickly and opportunistically to shifts in the climate policy landscape. Grants are generally made with terms of one year or less to accommodate strategic shifts and maximize impact.
Leverage: The foundation recognizes that solving climate change requires enormous resources and seeks opportunities to engage both market forces and public policy, identifying a unique role for philanthropy in addressing market failures.
Collaboration: The foundation actively fosters collaboration within the nonprofit community and among philanthropic funders, recognizing that no single organization can address climate change alone.
Innovation and Tolerance for Risk: The foundation is committed to innovative philanthropy and is not deterred by unproven approaches, while managing risk through comprehensive due diligence processes.
Grantmaking
Sea Change Foundation maintains a strategic, concentrated approach to grantmaking with the following characteristics:
Grant Range
and Range:** The foundation provides fewer and larger grants than most foundations with similar budgets. Recent grant ranges span from $1 million to $24 million, with an average grant size of approximately $3.2 million based on 2023 data.
Average Grant
of approximately $3.2 million based on 2023 data.
Invitation Only
** Sea Change Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. The foundation operates on an invitation-only basis, with only existing grantees and prospective grantees who have been invited to submit proposals able to access their grant portal.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation maintains national and international geographic focus areas in its grantmaking.
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
Assets: $209 million (2024); $225.3 million (2023); $208.5 million (2024 per alternative source)
Annual Giving: $45.5 million (2023)
Total Revenues: $19.1 million (2024); $6.95 million (2023)
Total Expenses: $38.8 million (2024); $48.2 million (2023)
Total Liabilities: $1.37 million (2024)
Cumulative Grants Distributed: Over $500 million since foundation inception through 2023
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $208,518,596 | $225,257,068 | $229,495,527 |
| Revenue | $19,095,869 | $6,950,242 | $15,143,863 |
| Expenses | $38,799,779 | $48,213,459 | $47,859,770 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $38,471,216 | $47,295,884 | $47,807,628 |
| Net Investment Income | $21,500,550 | $17,315,304 | $16,332,022 |
| Distributable Amount | $10,259,959 | $11,338,770 | $11,170,511 |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 9 recipients in 2024
Grant Size Distribution
95 grants across all recorded years
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
Among its reported 2024 grants, the largest include United States Energy Foundation ($20,100,000), Building Decarbonnization Coalition ($5,000,000), United States Energy Foundation ($3,750,000).
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION SAN FRANCISCO, CA | Promote clean energy | $20,100,000 |
| UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION SAN FRANCISCO, CA | Promote clean energy | $3,750,000 |
| UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION SAN FRANCISCO, CA | General support | $2,000,000 |
| PARTNERSHIP PROJECT INC WASHINGTON, DC | Educate public about climate and clean energy | $3,000,000 |
| SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION OAKLAND, CA | Promote energy efficiency | $150,000 |
| BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION MINNEAPOLIS, MN | Promote energy efficiency | $175,000 |
| POTENTIAL ENERGY COALITION INC NEW YORK, NY | Educate public about climate and clean energy | $3,000,000 |
| BUILDING DECARBONNIZATION COALITION PETALUMA, CA | Promote clean energy | $5,000,000 |
| 2030 INC Santa Fe, NM | Promote energy efficiency | $175,000 |
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
- Nat Simons – Founder and Co-Director
- Laura Baxter-Simons – Founder and Co-Director
- Stephen Colwell – President (as of 2018)
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
From 2024 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATHANIEL SIMONS | PRESIDENT | — | — |
| LAURA BAXTER-SIMONS | CFO/SECRETARY | — | — |
| THOMAS STEINBACH | FORMER EXEC DIR | — | — |
| ANJALI JAISWAL | EXEC DIR | — | — |
Contact Information
Address: One Embarcadero Center, 22nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 830-9330
Email: info@seachange.org
Website: https://www.seachange.org/
Subject Areas
Focus areas based on grantmaking activity
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Sea Change Foundation fund?
The foundation is exclusively focused on climate change mitigation and clean energy policy. Its philanthropic approach is guided by five core principles: **Focused Philanthropy:** Given the urgency of acting quickly to avoid severe consequences of climate change, the foundation concentrates its grantmaking exclusively on climate mitigation and clean energy initiatives, providing fewer and larger grants than most foundations with similar budgets. **Flexibility and Urgency:** The foundation striv…
How do I apply for a grant from Sea Change Foundation?
Sea Change Foundation maintains a strategic, concentrated approach to grantmaking with the following characteristics: **Grant Size and Range:** The foundation provides fewer and larger grants than most foundations with similar budgets. Recent grant ranges span from $1 million to $24 million, with an average grant size of approximately $3.2 million based on 2023 data. **Annual Giving:** The foundation distributed $45.5 million in grants in 2023, with 14 grants totaling $45,537,500. **Recent Gran…
Where does Sea Change Foundation make grants?
The foundation maintains national and international geographic focus areas in its grantmaking.
What size grants does Sea Change Foundation award?
In 2024, Sea Change Foundation awarded 9 grants totaling $37.4M — an average of about $4.2M per grant, based on its IRS Form 990 filings.
How much is Sea Change Foundation required to give away each year?
Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2024, Sea Change Foundation reported a distributable amount of $10.3M on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
What is Sea Change Foundation's EIN?
Sea Change Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-4952986. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Sea Change Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Data last updated June 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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