What Stewardship Foundation does

Stewardship Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation established in 1947 by C. Davis Weyerhaeuser (originally as the C. Davis Weyerhaeuser Religious Trust) and headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. The foundation provides project grants, operating support, networking, and philanthropic counsel to Christ-centered organizations whose mission involves sharing their faith in Jesus Christ in word and deed, with a focus on poverty alleviation, justice and reconciliation, faith and discipleship, children at risk, and leadership development. Its beneficiary populations include the poor, the marginalized, the disadvantaged, and developing-world communities, and its geographic remit spans the Puget Sound region (Pierce, King, and Kitsap counties), national U.S. partners, and international programs in Africa, Asia, Europe/Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

The foundation's business model is structured grant-making rather than commercial revenue generation. Organizations must first submit a Letter of Inquiry, and full applications are by invitation only; grants are typically limited to 10% of a grantee's operating revenue and generally awarded for one year, with operating support reserved for organizations with prior funding relationships. In 2025, total giving amounted to $5.3 million. Operations are run by a small staff of 3-4 employees led by President Jon J. Beighle (joined 2024) and Grants Manager Joelle Dixon (joined April 2026), under a board chaired by William T. Weyerhaeuser and vice-chaired by Gail T. Weyerhaeuser. The foundation has suspended new Letter of Inquiry acceptance through the end of 2026 to conduct strategic planning, and it does not operate any technology platform, API, or AI-based products.

Name

Stewardship Foundation

Legal name

Stewardship Foundation

Website

https://stewardshipfdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stewardship Foundation is a Tacoma-based 501(c)(3) family foundation founded in 1947 that distributes project and operating grants to Christ-centered nonprofits serving the poor and marginalized in the Puget Sound region, across the U.S., and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Charitable grantmaking
• Faith-based philanthropy
• Nonprofit foundations
• Donor advised funds
• Christian ministry support

Headquarters

HQ city

Tacoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Disbursements: The foundation distributes financial resources through project grants and operating support to Christ-centered organizations. In 2025, total giving amounted to $5.3 million.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Stewardship Foundation is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable grant-making foundation that channels philanthropic capital to Christ-centered organizations and faith-based humanitarian initiatives. Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the foundation also serves supporting donors through donor-advised fund services.

Product overview

The Stewardship Foundation is a grant-making foundation, not a technology product company. It offers a portfolio of grant programs including project grants for specific initiatives and operating support/unrestricted funding for organizations with prior funding relationships. The Foundation's focus areas include poverty alleviation (both domestic and international), justice and reconciliation, faith and discipleship, children at risk, and leadership development (established and emerging leaders). Funding is provided primarily to Christ-centered organizations serving the Puget Sound Region, the United States, and the Developing World. The Foundation does not operate a technology platform, SaaS product, or developer-facing offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Charitable Grant Program
• Donor-Advised Fund Services

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• World Vision: Large Christian humanitarian organization operating across the same developing-world geographies (Africa, Asia, Latin America) where Stewardship Foundation channels international grants; comparable in mission areas (children at risk, poverty alleviation, faith and discipleship).
• Lilly Endowment: Major private foundation focused on religion, education, and community development; comparable in religion-centered grantmaking and private foundation structure, though vastly larger in scale.
• Pew Charitable Trusts: Large independent nonprofit with similarly broad thematic grantmaking across religion, public life, and global development; comparable private foundation operating model though secular in mission.
• Templeton Foundation: Large-scale faith-informed philanthropic foundation funding science, religion, and human progress globally; comparable in faith-rooted philanthropy but vastly larger in assets and programmatic scope.

Regional players

• M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust: Pacific Northwest-based private foundation that funds faith-based and other nonprofits, closely comparable in regional focus, faith-affiliated funding, and small staff operating model relative to grantmaking scale.
• Seattle Foundation: Community foundation serving the Puget Sound region with comparable geographic focus to Stewardship Foundation's Pierce, King, and Kitsap county work, though it operates as a community rather than private foundation.

Peers

• The Kern Family Foundation: Faith-aligned private foundation funding Christian education, leadership, and community transformation, similar in faith-centered grantmaking and operating-support orientation.

Others

• Medical Teams International: Faith-based humanitarian organization based in the Pacific Northwest and former employer of Stewardship Foundation's president; representative of the type of Christ-centered organization the foundation funds, especially for international development and disaster response work.

Direct peers

• Biblica (formerly International Bible Society): Christ-centered global ministry organization that is a likely Stewardship Foundation grantee type and operates in similar thematic areas of faith, discipleship, and Scripture engagement internationally.
• The Maclellan Foundation: Private Christian foundation supporting faith-based nonprofits globally, highly comparable in Christ-centered mission, integrated spiritual formation focus, and small family-style governance structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stewardship Foundation