The Berwick Degel Family Foundation concentrates on funding legal and rights-based advocacy, with a strong emphasis on immigrant and civil-rights legal services in Washington State alongside support for progressive policy and women’s human-rights organizations internationally. They provide sizable, unrestricted general operating support to mission-driven advocacy groups and legal institutions, often as repeat funder relationships.
The Berwick Degel Family Foundation C/o James a Degel stands out for repeatedly backing immigrant legal defense and rights advocacy at a high level in Washington. Its largest recent grants include two $500,000 general operating awards to Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, paired with major support for the Legal Foundation of Washington, which received both program grants and earlier funding. The foundation also extends support beyond Washington when the work aligns with its rights-based priorities, including grants to Madre in New York and Ixim Ac in Mexico. Across the recent record, the foundation favors mission-driven organizations working on legal services, civil rights, and social justice. General operating support appears frequently, suggesting an emphasis on organizational strength rather than tightly restricted projects. Recipients include advocacy groups, legal institutions, and organizations serving immigrants and women’s rights constituencies. The pattern also shows continuity: several organizations are funded in both 2023 and 2024, indicating ongoing relationships rather than isolated awards. In Washington, the foundation’s giving reaches groups such as Casa Latina, Legal Voice, Northwest Health Law Advocates, and Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane, alongside broader support for equal-justice infrastructure.
Immigrant legal defense is a central theme. The foundation gave $500,000 to Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in 2024 for general operating budget support, following a $500,000 grant in 2023 for the same purpose. That same rights-oriented lens extends to related legal capacity work, including $333,333 to the Legal Foundation of Washington in 2024 and $373,333 in 2023 for program grants. Women’s human-rights advocacy is another clear focus. In 2024, the foundation awarded $325,000 to Madre for general operating budget support, after giving the organization $60,000 in 2023. It also backed One Equal Heart Foundation with $230,000 in 2024 and $50,000 in 2023, both as general operating support. The foundation also funds regional civil-rights and justice organizations. Just Lead Washington received $250,000 in 2023, while Legal Voice, Casa Latina, and Northwest Health Law Advocates each appear with recurring general operating grants.
$5M
$3M
$2M
$5.1M
Most grants fall between $10K and $70K, with a median of $28K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$28K
75th Percentile
$70K
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Berwick Degel Family Foundation C/O James A Degel.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 93 | $14.1M | 94.9% |
| 2 |
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Relatively concentrated portfolio of a small number of large grants, often unrestricted/general operating; repeat multi-grant relationships with core legal and advocacy grantees; mix of strong Washington State focus with selective international human-rights support.
Notable grantees: Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Legal Foundation of Washington, MADRE, Just Lead Washington, One Equal Heart Foundation
Typical grant size sits at $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $27,500 at the median, and $70,000 at the 75th percentile, though the recent record also includes much larger awards to a few core partners. The pattern is heavily relationship-based: Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Legal Foundation of Washington, Madre, Legal Voice, Casa Latina, and others appear in multiple years, often with repeat general operating support. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. Its grants are mainly unrestricted or operating-focused, including annual fund and endowment support, with some program grants.
Washington receives the bulk of the foundation’s giving, with 78% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state and Washington also ranking first by grant count. Seattle is the main recipient city, with multiple grants to Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Legal Foundation of Washington, Casa Latina, Legal Voice, Northwest Health Law Advocates, and others. Outside Washington, the foundation gave to New York-based Madre, Oakland-based International Media Project, and Mexican recipient Ixim Ac. The recipient distribution is overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with 94.2% of grants in the United States and 5.8% in Mexico.
The foundation supports immigrant legal defense, legal services, civil-rights advocacy, women’s human-rights organizations, and related capacity-building work. Recent recipients include Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Legal Foundation of Washington, Madre, Casa Latina, Legal Voice, and Just Lead Washington.
Yes. Several recipients appear in both 2023 and 2024, including Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Legal Foundation of Washington, Madre, Legal Voice, Northwest Health Law Advocates, Casa Latina, One Equal Heart Foundation, and Treehouse. Many of those awards are for general operating budget support.
The grant-size distribution is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $27,500 at the median, and $70,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent record also includes larger operating and program grants, including $500,000 awards to Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
Washington is the main giving state, accounting for 78% of grants to recipients in the HQ state and ranking first by grant count. Seattle is the most common recipient city in the recent grants list, followed by other Washington locations such as Spokane.
The foundation mainly uses general operating support, but its recent grants also include program grants, annual fund support, and endowment support. The top recent examples include operating grants to rights and advocacy organizations, plus program grants to the Legal Foundation of Washington and endowment gifts to Endowment for Equal Justice.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
| 5 |
| $130K |
5.1% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES | SEATTLE, WA | $1,000,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ENDOWMENT FOR EQUAL JUSTICE | SEATTLE, WA | $1,000,000 | 2026 | ENDOWMENT |
| NORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT | SEATTLE, WA | $600,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| LEGAL FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON | SEATTLE, WA | $540,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM GRANTS |
| ONE EQUAL HEART FOUNDATION | SEATTLE, WA | $320,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| NORTHWEST HEALTH LAW ADVOCATES | SEATTLE, WA | $300,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| JUSTLEAD WASHINGTON | SEATTLE, WA | $250,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| UC IRVINE FOUNDATION | IRVINE, CA | $250,000 | 2026 | KOREMATSU CENTER OPERATIONS |
| VASHON MURRY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK | VASHON, WA | $200,000 | 2026 | CAPITAL CAMPAIGN |
| KUOW PUBLIC RADIO | SEATTLE, WA | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| CASA LATINA | SEATTLE, WA | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| PEACE & JUSTICE ACTION LEAGUE OF SPOKANE | SPONKANE, WA | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| TREEHOUSE | SEATTLE, WA | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| LEGAL VOICE | SEATTLE, WA | $60,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| SEATTLE SYMPHONY | SEATTLE, WA | $50,000 | 2026 | ANNUAL FUND - OPERATING BUDGET |
| IXIM AC | CD | $30,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ACT THEATRE | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| SEATTLE ART MUSEUM | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2026 | ANNUAL FUND - OPERATING BUDGET |
| COLLEGE SUCCESS FOUNDATION | ISSAQUAH, WA | $20,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ST VINCENT DE PAUL OF SEATTLE KING COUNTY | SEATTLE, WA | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| CAPACES LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE | WOODBURN, OR | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| IGNACIAN SPIRITUALITY CENTER | SEATTLE, WA | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| UC IRVINE FOUNDATION | IRVINE, CA | $1,500,000 | 2025 | KOREMATSU CENTER OPERATIONS |
| COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES | SEATTLE, WA | $1,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| NORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT | SEATTLE, WA | $600,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| JUSTLEAD WASHINGTON | SEATTLE, WA | $500,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| LEGAL FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON | SEATTLE, WA | $353,333 | 2025 | PROGRAM GRANTS |
| ONE EQUAL HEART FOUNDATION | SEATTLE, WA | $220,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| MADRE | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| CASA LATINA | SEATTLE, WA | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PROJECT | OAKLAND, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ENDOWMENT FOR EQUAL JUSTICE | SEATTLE, WA | $100,000 | 2025 | ENDOWMENT |
| LEGAL VOICE | SEATTLE, WA | $60,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| NORTHWEST HEALTH LAW ADVOCATES | SEATTLE, WA | $60,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| SEATTLE SYMPHONY | SEATTLE, WA | $50,000 | 2025 | ANNUAL FUND - OPERATING BUDGET |
| PEACE & JUSTICE ACTION LEAGUE OF SPOKANE | SPONKANE, WA | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| TREEHOUSE | SEATTLE, WA | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| IXIM AC | CD | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ACLU FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| SEATTLE ART MUSEUM | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2025 | ANNUAL FUND - OPERATING BUDGET |
| ACLU FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATIONG BUDGET |
| ACT THEATRE | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| KUOW PUBLIC RADIO | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| COLLEGE SUCCESS FOUNDATION | ISSAQUAH, WA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| CAPACES LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE | WOODBURN, OR | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ST VINCENT DE PAUL OF SEATTLE KING COUNTY | SEATTLE, WA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| NORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT | SEATTLE, WA | $500,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| LEGAL FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON | SEATTLE, WA | $333,333 | 2024 | PROGRAM GRANTS |
| MADRE | NEW YORK, NY | $325,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
| ONE EQUAL HEART FOUNDATION | SEATTLE, WA | $230,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET |
ONE EQUAL HEART FOUNDATION
$320,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
JUSTLEAD WASHINGTON
$250,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
VASHON MURRY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK
$200,000CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
KUOW PUBLIC RADIO
$100,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
TREEHOUSE
$75,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
$50,000ANNUAL FUND - OPERATING BUDGET
IXIM AC
$30,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
IGNACIAN SPIRITUALITY CENTER
$5,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
JUSTLEAD WASHINGTON
$500,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
ONE EQUAL HEART FOUNDATION
$220,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PROJECT
$100,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
$50,000ANNUAL FUND - OPERATING BUDGET
TREEHOUSE
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
IXIM AC
$30,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
ACLU FOUNDATION
$25,000GENERAL OPERATIONG BUDGET
ACT THEATRE
$25,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
COLLEGE SUCCESS FOUNDATION
$15,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET
ONE EQUAL HEART FOUNDATION
$230,000GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET