Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington Foundation

What Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington Foundation does

The Land Surveyors' Association of Washington Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization, independent from the Land Surveyors' Association of Washington (LSAW), that received its IRS tax-exempt status on April 28, 2010. Headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, the Foundation's stated mission is to promote educational, scientific, and charitable activities in the fields of surveying, mapping, and land information sciences by providing scholarships and grants to students entering the land surveying profession and to educators who advance the profession in Washington State.

The Foundation's core products are seven named scholarship vehicles: a general LSAW Foundation Scholarship, the competitive Jim Coan Memorial Scholarship (requiring a 3.0+ GPA), and five other memorial scholarships honoring deceased industry figures (John W. Linzee, John Thalacker, Mike Mickiewicz, North Olympic Surveyors, and Inland Empire Surveyors). Applications are submitted annually by June 1 via email, and award amounts are determined by the Board of Directors based on application quality, available funding, and donor instructions. The Foundation funds itself through individual donations, LSAW chapter contributions, silent auctions, 50/50 raffles, Giving Tuesday campaigns, and memorial fund contributions, with online donations processed through Square checkout.

The Foundation partners with seven educational institutions across four states (Renton Technical College, Clark College, Bellingham Technical College, Yakima Valley College in Washington; Oregon Institute of Technology; Idaho State University; Great Basin College in Nevada), maintains a booth at the annual LSAW State Conference, and operates with 1–10 employees/volunteer contacts. Total scholarship disbursements have grown from $5,000 in 2011 to $34,000 in 2025, reflecting an expanding fundraising footprint but at a sub-$1M scale relative to typical nonprofit benchmarks.

Name

Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington Foundation

Legal name

Land Surveyors' Association of Washington Foundation

Website

https://lsawfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The LSAW Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, independent from LSAW, that awards scholarships to students pursuing land surveying careers at seven partner colleges across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada, funded by donations, memorial funds, and annual fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Foundation / Scholarship Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Surveying education scholarships
• Nonprofit foundation grants
• Land surveying profession
• Student scholarship funding
• Geomatics education support

Headquarters

HQ city

Friday Harbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The LSAW Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization that provides financial support in the form of scholarships and grants to students pursuing land surveying education at supported colleges in Washington and the Pacific Northwest, and to educators who advance the profession. It administers multiple named scholarship funds (including general and memorial awards), raises money through donations, memorial contributions, silent auctions, raffles, and Giving Tuesday campaigns, and awards annual scholarships determined by its Board of Directors.

Product overview

The LSAW Foundation operates as a unified scholarship program offering multiple named scholarship products to support students entering the land surveying profession. The foundation administers seven distinct scholarship offerings: the general LSAW Foundation Scholarship, the Jim Coan Memorial Scholarship (competitive award for students with 3.0+ GPA), the John W. Linzee Memorial Scholarship, the John Thalacker Memorial Scholarship (with geographic preference), the Mike Mickiewicz Memorial Scholarship, the North Olympic Surveyors Memorial Scholarship, and the Inland Empire Surveyors' Memorial Scholarship. All scholarships are awarded annually to students enrolled in qualifying Washington college programs or specified out-of-state institutions with a desire to work in Washington State.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LSAW Foundation Scholarship Annual general scholarship awarded to qualifying students pursuing a career in land surveying who are enrolled in Washington college programs or eligible programs at Oregon Institute of Technology, Idaho State University, and Great Basin College with a desire to work in Washington State.
• Jim Coan Memorial Scholarship Competitive scholarship awarded annually to an exceptional college student enrolled in a Washington State survey program with a GPA of 3.0 or better, established in memory of Jim Coan, a notable Washington Professional Land Surveyor and educator.
• John W. Linzee Memorial Scholarship Memorial scholarship established in October 2024 to honor John W. Linzee, a long-time supporter of surveying education who passed away unexpectedly following surgery.
• John Thalacker Memorial Scholarship Memorial scholarship open to all applicants pursuing a career in land surveying, with preference given to students who reside in or are enrolled in a Surveying degree program in Island, San Juan, Skagit or Whatcom counties.
• Mike Mickiewicz Memorial Scholarship Memorial scholarship open to all applicants pursuing a career in land surveying.
• North Olympic Surveyors Memorial Scholarship Memorial scholarship open to all applicants pursuing a career in land surveying.
• Inland Empire Surveyors' Memorial Scholarship Competitive memorial scholarship open to all applicants pursuing a career in land surveying.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Renton Technical CollegecoreOthers3000 NE 4th St., Renton, WA 98056. Contact: Entry Advising (425) 235-5840. One of the primary Washington institutions with a surveying program supported by the foundation.
• Clark CollegecoreOthers1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, WA 98663. Contact: Brian Miyake, Surveying & Geomatics Advisor (360) 992-2369. Washington institution with surveying and geomatics program.
• Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT)coreOthers3201 Campus Drive, Klamath Falls, OR 97601. Contact: SuJin Lee, Assistant Professor (541) 885-1495. Regional institution offering Geomatics program, eligible for foundation scholarships with preference for students wanting to work in Washington.
• Bellingham Technical CollegecoreOthers3028 Lindbergh Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225. Contact: Colin Hopps, GEOMATICS (360) 752-8414. Washington institution with geomatics program supported by the foundation.
• Idaho State UniversitycoreOthers921 South 8th Ave, Stop 8380, Pocatello, ID 83209-8380. Contact: Robert Liimakka, MS, PLS / Coordinator (208) 282-5705. Regional institution with surveying program, eligible for scholarships with preference for Washington work intent.
• Great Basin CollegecoreOthers1500 College Parkway, HTC 133, Elko, NV 89801. Contact: Byron Calkins, Program Advisor (775) 327-2206. Regional institution offering online learning in surveying, eligible for foundation scholarships.
• Yakima Valley CollegecoreOthersPO Box 22520, Yakima, WA 98907. Contact: Rajkumar Raj, Engineering Faculty & Dept. Head (509) 574-4752. Washington institution with engineering faculty and surveying-related programs.
• 1 Alliance GeomaticsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerChampion of the Jim Coan Memorial Scholarship effort. Contributed to establishing the memorial scholarship fund in honor of the late notable Washington Professional Land Surveyor.
• Land Surveyors' Association of Washington (LSAW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation is an independent entity separate from LSAW. LSAW hosts annual state conferences where the Foundation maintains a booth. The Foundation was created to support the surveying profession through educational activities.
• LSAW Foundation Board of DirectorscoreOthersThe Board of Directors evaluates scholarship applications and determines award amounts based on application quality, available funding, and donor instructions.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) Foundation: The national professional surveying society's affiliated foundation, which awards scholarships across the U.S. It is comparable as a peer surveying-education grantmaking entity operating at a broader geographic scale than the LSAW Foundation.
• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Foundation: A national foundation supporting awards and scholarships in the geospatial sciences, including surveying-related disciplines. Comparable as an adjacent education grantmaking body for students in land information and geomatics fields.
• American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Scholarship Program: A national engineering industry scholarship program administered through ACEC and its foundation. Comparable as an adjacent trade-association-driven scholarship endowment model serving students in related built-environment professions.

Regional players

• Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS) Foundation: Texas's state surveying professional society foundation, providing scholarships and education support to surveying students. Comparable as a parallel state-level surveying-education grantmaking foundation.
• California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA) Education Foundation: A state-level surveying association education foundation serving California surveying students. It is directly comparable as a state-level scholarship and education grantmaking vehicle for the surveying profession, the same role LSAW Foundation plays in Washington.
• Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO): Oregon's statewide professional land surveying association, which supports surveying education and scholarship activity in the same Pacific Northwest region where the LSAW Foundation operates.
• Florida Surveying and Mapping Society (FSMS) Foundation: Florida's surveying society foundation offering scholarships to land surveying students. Comparable as another state-level surveying-education grantmaking body in the same niche.

Others

• Engineers Foundation of Ohio / State Engineering Foundation Scholarships: State-level engineering society foundations that award scholarships to engineering and surveying-adjacent students. Comparable as additional state-level professional society scholarship funds operating in the same education-grantmaking category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lsawfoundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington Foundation