Madrono Foundation

The Madroño Foundation is a Kohout family foundation administered through Woody Creek Management Group in Denver, Colorado, with $25.4 million in assets as of mid-2025. This is a deliberately private grantmaking institution that operates exclusively through invited relationships — the website is unambiguous: "The Foundation currently does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding."

The Kohout family — Thea, Martin, Elizabeth, and Christopher, joined by Secretary/Treasurer Jennifer Crossett — constitutes the entire volunteer board. No staff compensation appears in any year's 990-PF filing, a telling detail about operating style: this foundation moves quickly, informally, and through personal conviction rather than bureaucratic review cycles. There are no program officers to cultivate, no LOI portals to navigate, and no published deadlines to track.

The giving philosophy centers on social and environmental justice with a decidedly progressive orientation. Reproductive rights, climate action, immigrant services, LGBTQ+ equity, and racial justice are recurring themes across ten years of grant history. The foundation favors frontline organizations — those doing direct service and movement advocacy simultaneously — over policy think tanks, academic institutions, or large national nonprofits without community roots.

Geographically, the foundation concentrates its giving in California (6 tracked grants) and Washington state (5), with meaningful presence in Texas (3) and New York (3). Despite being headquartered in Denver, Colorado does not appear prominently in the grantee list, suggesting the Kohouts fund where their relationships and values-aligned networks exist rather than in their own backyard.

Grant sizes run $5,000 to $200,000 across tracked awards. The $100,000 level appears most frequently (five grants), while multi-year cumulative relationships — like 18 Reasons at $200,000 across two grants — reveal how trust deepens over time. First-time relationships likely begin in the $25,000–$50,000 range.

For organizations seeking entry, the most realistic pathway is a warm introduction from a current grantee, a shared board member, or a peer foundation operating in the same issue space. Cold outreach to info@madronofoundation.org is possible but should be brief, values-focused, and grounded in genuine alignment with their specific program areas — not broad social justice language.

The Madroño Foundation's annual giving fluctuates substantially, reflecting the discretionary nature of family foundation grantmaking rather than a formal payout formula. Cumulative charitable disbursements from 2015 through 2024 total approximately $6.3 million. Peak giving occurred in 2020 ($1,361,971) and 2024 ($1,048,032); the quietest year was 2023 ($115,000–$155,000), which appears to have been a temporary pullback, not a strategic shift, given the 27-organization cohort funded in 2024 and again in 2025.

Assets have grown steadily: $10.9 million (2015) → $17.4 million (2022) → $22.8 million (2024) → approximately $25.4 million (mid-2025), a 132% increase over the decade. Net investment income in 2021 reached $796,439 and in 2023 reached $697,460, providing the portfolio returns necessary to support ongoing distributions.

From the database's 20 tracked grants totaling $1,465,000: - Average grant: $73,250 - Median grant: $100,000 (the most frequent award level, appearing 5 times) - Range: $5,000 to $200,000 (the $200K figure represents two cumulative grants to 18 Reasons) - Grants at $100,000+: 10 grants - Grants at $25,000–$50,000: 4 grants - Grants below $25,000: 6 grants

By cause area in the tracked grantee set: - Reproductive justice / health: $525,000 (36%) — National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice ($175K), National Abortion Federation Hotline ($125K), Planned Parenthood Great Northwest ($125K), Planned Parenthood Northern California ($100K) - General operating support: $400,000 (27%) — Chief Seattle Club, Foundation Communities, Front and Centered, The Orion Society (all $100K each) - Humanitarian / social services: $260,000 (18%) — immigrant services, food access, medical debt, housing - Environmental protection: $160,000 (11%) — Washington Environmental Council ($125K), Sustainable Markets Foundation ($25K), Center for Environmental Law & Policy ($10K) - Education / media: $120,000 (8%) — Texas Tribune ($50K) and others

The majority of grants carry general operating support designations rather than restricted project funding — a hallmark of high-trust relationship grantmaking. The website's grants page confirms 27 organizations funded in each of 2024 and 2025, suggesting Madrono is entering a higher-volume phase of giving as assets and investment income have grown.

The database-matched peers share Madrono's approximate asset range ($25.3–$25.4 million) within the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE category, but diverge substantially in focus, geography, and public transparency:

Madrono stands apart from its size-matched peers in one critical dimension: it maintains a public website with a decade-long grantee list and a clearly stated mission, making it among the more transparent family foundations in this asset bracket. Most comparable foundations at this scale maintain no public web presence whatsoever and file the bare minimum required 990-PFs.

The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation carries recognizable philanthropic lineage and likely receives relationship overtures through the broader Bloomberg philanthropic ecosystem. Madrono operates more quietly through Woody Creek Management Group, a Denver family office, which insulates the Kohouts from unsolicited outreach while preserving their discretion.

For organizations working in reproductive rights, environmental justice, or immigrant advocacy in California, Washington, or Texas, Madrono offers a niche that few $25 million private foundations in this peer group explicitly serve with comparable progressive political alignment and general operating support orientation.

No press releases, media coverage, or formal public announcements from the Madroño Foundation appeared in searches conducted through June 2026. The foundation deliberately maintains a low public profile consistent with family philanthropy at this scale and operating style.

The most concrete recent data comes from the foundation's grants page and ProPublica 990-PF filings. In both 2024 and 2025, Madrono funded approximately 27 organizations — the highest annual cohort volume in the foundation's documented history and a meaningful signal of expanding engagement. Total grants paid in 2024 reached $1,048,032, returning to the historically active giving range after the anomalously quiet 2023, which saw only $115,000–$155,000 in disbursements and may reflect a temporary board-level pause or a year with delayed grant payments.

Assets have grown from $17.4 million (2022) to approximately $25.4 million by mid-2025, a 46% increase that creates sustained capacity for $1 million or more in annual giving through at least 2026 and 2027, assuming investment returns hold near recent averages of $400,000–$800,000 annually.

Recurring grantees visible across multiple grant years on the foundation's website include the Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Indigenous Environmental Network, The Climate Center, and Undue Medical Debt (now RIP Medical Debt). These repeated relationships — some spanning five or more years — confirm that multi-year partnerships, not one-time gifts, are the dominant mode of engagement.

No leadership changes, staff hires, or new program announcements were publicly discernible as of June 2026. The volunteer board composition (Kohout family plus Jennifer Crossett as Secretary/Treasurer) appears stable across all available 990-PF filings from 2019 through the most recent year.

Since the Madroño Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, traditional grant-writing tactics — polished LOIs, online portal submissions, or cold email attachments — will not open doors here. A different playbook is required.

Establish a warm connection first. The highest-leverage action is an introduction through an existing Madrono grantee. Organizations such as 18 Reasons (San Francisco food education), Chief Seattle Club (Indigenous housing and services, Seattle), Front and Centered (environmental justice, Washington), Washington Environmental Council, the Texas Tribune, or any of the Planned Parenthood affiliates funded by Madrono operate in networks that intersect with the Kohouts' giving. A peer introduction to the foundation carries far more weight than any cold outreach.

Geography determines fit. California and Washington dominate the tracked grantee geography (11 of 20 known grants combined). Texas appears as a meaningful secondary market. Colorado, despite being the foundation's home, has fewer visible grantees. Organizations based in CA, WA, or TX working in the core focus areas have the strongest positioning. Those based elsewhere should articulate a national-scale impact or a specific programmatic tie to these geographies.

Use precise movement vocabulary. The foundation's stated priorities are specific: reproductive justice (not just reproductive health), environmental justice (not just conservation), immigrant rights (not just services). Using the same language as their funded organizations signals authentic community embeddedness. Avoid corporate, government-adjacent, or overly academic framing.

If reaching out cold, be brief. A 3–5 sentence email to info@madronofoundation.org describing your organization's work, geographic alignment, and connection to Madrono's known focus areas is appropriate as a first contact. Reference a grantee you genuinely know if that connection exists. Request a brief introductory call — do not attach a proposal.

Timing: The foundation does not publish application deadlines or review cycles. Outreach in early Q1 (January–February) aligns with typical family foundation board planning conversations for the year ahead. Avoid outreach in November–December, a common quiet period.

Size calibration: First-time requests should be $25,000–$50,000 for a defined project or pilot — not the $100,000 median, which the data suggests is reserved for established relationships. Frame initial asks as an entry point into a longer partnership.