The Healy Foundation

The Healy Foundation operates from a trust-based philanthropy framework that distinguishes it sharply from most private foundations of comparable size. Every grant is 100% unrestricted general operating support — the foundation deliberately treats its nonprofit partners as the experts in their own work and declines to impose project-specific restrictions or require detailed outcome reporting tied to grant deliverables. This philosophy reflects the values of founder Cameron Healy, a serial entrepreneur behind Kettle Foods, Kona Brewing, and Sequential Biofuels, who built the foundation on the premise that frontline organizations are better positioned than funders to allocate resources toward community impact.

The foundation concentrates exclusively on Oregon and Hawaiʻi, supporting a portfolio of more than 200 organizations across three program areas: Youth, Environment, and Community. Youth grants emphasize educational attainment (school-based programs, mentorship, and leadership development), foster care advocacy, and childhood poverty reduction. Environmental grants fund land and water conservation, habitat restoration, clean water protection, and climate change mitigation across both states. Community grants — the smallest allocation — are awarded reactively, typically in response to acute needs such as food insecurity, homelessness, or crisis response, rather than as sustained funding relationships.

Historically, the foundation invited organizations to submit a Letter of Inquiry through its online portal (reviewed within seven days), with approved applicants proceeding to a full application ahead of quarterly board meetings in February, May, August, and October. Grants ranged from $1,000 to a $50,000 maximum.

That landscape has fundamentally changed. The Healy Foundation announced it will sunset on December 31, 2029, and has shifted to a fully invitation-only model. Unsolicited applications are no longer accepted. The foundation is now deploying approximately 20% of its $74 million endowment annually — roughly $14-15 million per year — compared to $2.5-2.7 million in grants paid historically. Executive Director Suzanne Geary (compensation: $178,656 in FY2023) leads a small professional team, supported by a board chaired by Cameron Healy with family member Tim Healy and independent directors Diane Hall, Marc Cramer, Manu Powers, Laney Patrick, Sumpuran Khalsa, and Susan Snow.

The Healy Foundation's financial trajectory reveals a mid-size private foundation ($74.1 million in assets as of FY2023) that operated conservatively for most of its history but has entered a dramatically accelerated terminal distribution phase. From FY2014 through FY2023, total assets roughly doubled — from $30.1 million to $74.1 million — driven largely by a $31.5 million contribution received in FY2019, almost certainly a major personal transfer from founder Cameron Healy.

Annual giving tracked this growth steadily: $1.60 million total giving in FY2015; $1.97 million in FY2019; $3.28 million in FY2020; $3.65 million in FY2021; $3.79 million in FY2022; $3.85 million in FY2023. Grants paid directly to nonprofits (excluding program-related expenses and scholarships) followed a parallel curve: $1.05M (FY2014), $1.26M (FY2019), $2.32M (FY2020), $2.46M (FY2021), $2.66M (FY2022), $2.62M (FY2023). The gap between total giving and grants paid reflects scholarship disbursements, stewardship programs, and operational expenses counted within giving.

Individual grant sizes historically ranged from $1,000 to a hard $50,000 maximum, with the broad portfolio (200+ partners) and $2.6 million annual distribution implying an implied median grant in the $10,000–$15,000 range — a high-volume, modest-size model. Youth and environmental grants dominate, estimated at 85-90% of the portfolio by dollar value, consistent with the grantee database showing organizations like 1000 Friends of Oregon, American Rivers, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, Friends of the Children, MAʻO Organics, and Youth Rights & Justice. Community/human services grants account for roughly 10-15%.

The wind-down fundamentally restructures these dynamics. At 20% annual spend-down from $74 million, the foundation is distributing approximately $14.8 million per year — 5.6x its FY2023 grants paid. Over the five-year sunset period (2025-2029), projected total capital deployment reaches $50-60 million. This volume almost certainly requires significantly larger individual grants, likely well above the historic $50,000 cap, concentrated among the foundation's most established partners in Oregon and Hawaiʻi.

The following table compares The Healy Foundation to four peer foundations of similar asset scale, all categorized under Human Services (NTEE P):

Within its asset class, The Healy Foundation is distinctive in three respects. First, its geographic hyper-concentration on just Oregon and Hawaiʻi is unusual for a $74 million foundation — most comparable foundations operate nationally or across broader regions. Second, the deliberate 20% annual spend-down means Healy will distribute more absolute capital over five years than any peer of similar size maintaining a perpetual endowment at the standard 5% distribution rate. Third, its 100% unrestricted grantmaking philosophy places it at the leading edge of the trust-based philanthropy movement, contrasting with peers that typically impose project-specific restrictions and reporting requirements.

The closest geographic comparable, Echo Valley Foundation (WA, $83.8M), serves the Pacific Northwest but lacks Healy's Hawaiʻi focus and public-facing application infrastructure. Organizations seeking funders after Healy's 2029 sunset should map the Pacific Northwest and Hawaiʻi philanthropic landscape for trust-based, unrestricted funders with environmental and youth development priorities.

The defining recent development is the foundation's formal sunsetting announcement, confirmed on thehealyfoundation.org and across major grant directories as of early 2026. The Healy Foundation will cease all operations on December 31, 2029. In the interim, it is distributing 20% of its endowment annually — approximately $14.8 million per year based on FY2023 assets of $74.1 million — compared to the $2.62 million in grants paid in FY2023. This is a deliberate acceleration reflecting founder Cameron Healy's conviction that deploying capital to trusted partners now is preferable to perpetuating the foundation indefinitely.

In 2024-2025, the foundation completed its transition from an open application model to a fully closed, invitation-only system. The previously functional grant portal — which accepted LOIs year-round, processed them within seven days, and fed four annual board review cycles (February, May, August, October) — is no longer operational for new applicants. This represents a fundamental shift in how the foundation engages the nonprofit sector.

The foundation also celebrated its 30th anniversary of grantmaking, acknowledging partnerships with hundreds of organizations across both states since its founding in 1997 by Cameron Healy. No major leadership changes have been announced: Suzanne Geary continues as Executive Director (compensation grew from $140,100 in FY2021 to $178,656 in FY2023, reflecting expanded responsibilities during wind-down planning). Cameron Healy remains Chairman. The Scholarships & Fellowships and Stewardship programs remain active. No new geographic areas or program categories have been added — the spend-down is focused entirely on deepening existing commitments.

The operative reality for grant seekers in 2026 is unambiguous: The Healy Foundation is not accepting unsolicited applications and will not do so through its December 2029 sunset. The advice below is calibrated accordingly.

If you are an existing grantee: The spend-down creates a genuine opportunity to negotiate larger, multi-year unrestricted grants. With roughly $14.8 million to deploy annually against a historic $2.6 million grants-paid run rate, the foundation must increase per-partner allocations dramatically. Proactively contact Executive Director Suzanne Geary at info@thehealyfoundation.org or (503) 222-1899 to request a relationship conversation. Frame the discussion around organizational capacity and scaled impact — what multi-year unrestricted support at 3x-5x current levels would enable your mission to accomplish. Avoid project-specific budgets; the foundation's philosophy is explicitly anti-restricted.

If you are not yet in the portfolio: The only viable path is a brief, relationship-first outreach. Send no more than 300 words to info@thehealyfoundation.org summarizing your organization's mission, geographic fit (Oregon or Hawaiʻi specifically), and alignment with youth development, environmental conservation, or acute community needs. Do not attach a proposal. Emphasize any organic connections to current grantees — referrals from organizations like Friends of the Children, Aloha Harvest, MAʻO Organics, American Rivers, or Youth Rights & Justice significantly increase the likelihood of engagement.

Language and framing: Mirror trust-based philanthropy terminology: 'organizational capacity,' 'unrestricted general operating support,' 'community-led,' 'long-term mission resilience.' Avoid metrics-heavy, deliverables-oriented language, which signals misalignment with the foundation's values.

What not to do: Do not attempt the online grant portal (closed to new applicants). Do not submit proposals from national organizations without specific, named Oregon or Hawaiʻi programs. Do not approach for sustained community/human services funding — these are reserved for acute crisis response.

Scholarships & Fellowships: Contact the foundation directly at info@thehealyfoundation.org for current program details; this may be the most accessible remaining entry point.