Horizons Foundation

Horizons Foundation of Washington is a tightly controlled family foundation — the Hadac family holds every leadership position — with a giving philosophy centered on mission-aligned, Washington-first grantmaking. Unlike community foundations shaped by donor-advised fund holders, Horizons operates entirely from its own investment portfolio (zero external contributions received across all reported fiscal years) and applies a consistent, values-driven lens across three program areas: environment, social services, and arts.

The giving philosophy rewards organizational mission clarity above all else. The foundation funds both project-based work and general operating support, but requires applicants to articulate specific tasks and budget line items — precision is prized over aspiration. The three-tier process (LOI → synopsis → full application) is designed to screen for fit early and reduce administrative burden on both sides. For returning grantees, the process is deliberately lightweight: a 2-page synopsis in most cycles, with full applications required only on rare occasions.

First-time applicants must accept that relationship-building precedes funding. The LOI is an introduction, not an application — it signals whether the fit warrants investing further staff time. Lead with a clear statement of which focus area you address (environment, social services, or arts), the specific problem in Washington state you're solving, and a precise budget figure. Vague or multi-focus framing will not advance.

Executive Director Stephen T. Hadac has held the role continuously across all available filings at a consistent $85,000 compensation, making him the primary and likely sole point of staff contact. This is a zero-additional-employee operation; all decisions involve the full family board. Organizations that earn initial funding should treat the relationship as multi-year — the mandatory 12-month reapplication waiting period and required post-grant reports mean each funding cycle is part of a longer dialogue. Arts applicants must contact Stephen Hadac directly in early spring to confirm timing before the approximately April 1 deadline.

Annual grants paid have remained remarkably stable from 2019 through 2023, ranging from $1.19M (2022) to $1.31M (2020 and 2023), while total giving (including other charitable disbursements) runs slightly higher at $1.42M–$1.55M per year. The five-year average grants-paid figure is approximately $1.27M annually. In fiscal year 2024, total giving reached $1.44M against $29.1M in assets — a payout rate of approximately 5%, consistent with IRS minimum distribution requirements for private foundations.

Individual recipient names are not disclosed in the electronic IRS 990-PF dataset (reported as bulk attachments), making per-grant analysis indirect. However, triangulating the website's program structure with historical filing data reveals a significant structural shift: in 2012–2013 the foundation distributed 117–132 individual grants — implying average awards of roughly $8,000–$10,000 each at similar total giving levels. By 2019–2024, the grant count consolidated dramatically, implying substantially larger average grants per recipient.

The Arts program is the clearest data point: grants are explicitly capped at $5,000 each and represent 5% of total giving, or roughly $65,000–$75,000 per year spread across an estimated 12–15 annual awards. This means Environment and Social Services absorb approximately 95% of giving — roughly $1.1M–$1.35M annually — across a more limited number of substantive grants, likely in the $25,000–$150,000 range each.

Asset growth is the most dramatic financial trend. Total assets grew from $6.3M (2012) to $6.7M (2015) with minimal movement, then surged to $24M (2022), $26.7M (2023), and $29.1M (2024) — a 4.6x increase in nine years driven entirely by investment income and capital gains. No outside contributions have been received across any reported year. Geographic concentration is absolute: all documented grantees since 2019 are in Washington state.

Horizons Foundation of Washington occupies a mid-size niche among Washington state family foundations — large enough to make meaningful program-level grants but small enough to operate with a single paid staff member. The table below compares it to four peer Washington-based funders with overlapping focus areas.

Horizons Foundation of Washington is distinctive in three ways relative to peers. First, it is the most accessible entry point in this peer set: unlike Wilburforce, Bullitt, and Russell — which primarily or exclusively fund by invitation — Horizons accepts unsolicited LOIs from new organizations with no prior relationship required. Second, it is the only genuinely multi-issue funder in this group, covering environment, social services (specifically reproductive rights and domestic violence), and arts under one programmatic roof. Third, as the smallest in assets and annual giving, individual grants carry proportionally greater importance per program, but the pathway to funding is more direct than at larger, more bureaucratic peers.

No major leadership changes or public announcements were identified for the Horizons Foundation of Washington in 2025 or 2026 beyond routine annual grantmaking. Executive Director Stephen T. Hadac has held the role continuously across all available 990 filings (2012–2024), and the board structure — Lucy J. Hadac as President, Karen Clarke Hadac as Secretary, Robin Hadac as Director, Jerald Foster as VP — has been stable for at least four consecutive reported years. The foundation operates entirely without outside staff; there are no additional employees listed in any 990 filing.

The most significant recent activity is financial: total assets grew from $24M (2022) to $26.7M (2023) to $29.1M (2024) — a 21% increase over two years — driven entirely by investment performance and capital gains. This growth positions the foundation to sustain or modestly grow its approximately $1.3M annual grantmaking pace without drawing down principal.

The 2026 Arts grant cycle opened with an approximately April 1 spring deadline — the most predictable annual date this funder publishes publicly. Environment and social services grants review on a rolling monthly schedule with no fixed calendar deadline.

Important disambiguation: A separate, entirely unrelated organization called Horizons Foundation (EIN 942686530, San Francisco, CA) is a prominent LGBTQ community funder that recently announced $1.46M in Bay Area grants and $68M in net assets. These are completely distinct organizations. Grant seekers must confirm they are engaging with the correct entity at horizonsfoundationwa.org, not horizonsfoundation.org.

Lead with your focus area, not your organization. Open every submission — LOI and synopsis alike — by naming which of the three programs you are applying to (Environment, Social Services, or Arts) and the specific Washington-state problem you address. The foundation board reviews across multiple areas; anchoring your submission immediately signals fit.

Submit your LOI in the body of an email. This is an explicit instruction on the foundation's application page. Do not attach a PDF or Word document — send the LOI as plain email text to horizonsfoundation1@gmail.com. Disregarding this instruction signals you did not read their materials.

Prepare two separate budgets before you draft the synopsis. The 2-page synopsis requires a separate agency budget and a separate project budget — not a single combined spreadsheet. The agency budget demonstrates organizational solvency; the project budget shows how grant dollars translate to specific tasks. Both must show line-item amounts, not rounded totals.

Time your submission to the monthly review cycle for environment and social services. The board reviews these programs monthly, and decisions come within 4–8 weeks of synopsis receipt. There is no fixed annual deadline; submit when your project is ready, not arbitrarily. Factor in the full 2–4 month process when working backward from a project start date.

For Arts, move quickly in early spring. Arts proposals must reach the foundation by approximately April 1 for the spring board meeting. Contact Stephen Hadac by phone — (206) 323-8061 — or email in January or February to confirm the exact 2026 date and verify the program is still open before investing time in a proposal.

Build in the 12-month reset. Returning grantees cannot apply within 12 months of their last award. Map this constraint onto your grant calendar annually — do not assume you can apply consecutively. Use the waiting period to complete your post-grant report and cultivate the relationship through program updates to the executive director.