Your donation makes a difference.
Your donation gives us the broadest flexibility to put your funds to work for the Reserve. Examples of prior needs:
Scholarships for research and education interns
Building expansions and remodels
Furniture for the guest house and training room
Operating expenses for the Foundation office
Maintaining the research buoy
Equipment and instruments for the research lab
Your donation enhances the Reserve’s education programs that make the magic of the estuary ecosystem come alive. More than 10,000 school children, teachers, and community members visit the Reserve for FREE classes and experiences. Your support helps fund:
Seasonal educator to provide hands-on science education
Teacher training on climate change
Educational equipment such as student microscopes and plankton nets
Public presentations and classes for adults and youth
You have two choices for investing your endowment donation. Both are aimed at building capital so that yearly returns can be used, as needed, for continued growth or emergent needs.
Please note your choice - Legacy Stewards or Skagit Community Fund - as part of your donation or contact the Foundation to discuss, for more information, or to clarify.
One is the “Legacy Stewards Endowment” owned by the Padilla Bay Foundation with funds managed by a professional investment firm - currently Baird. This Endowment gives us the greatest flexibility in how funds are invested and returns are used, with the lowest management fee.
The other is owned and managed by the Skagit Community Fund (SCF). This Endowment, combined with other organization Endowments with the SCF, allows SCF initiated grants for many beneficial uses around the Valley. The management fee is higher and the Foundation has no investment say.
We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit so your donation may be tax-deductible (you can consult your tax accountant).