YONDER is a small, highly targeted funder that prioritizes cultural and literary arts—especially translation and presentation of literature—while also supporting higher education scholarships and a few community-focused causes. Their grants skew large and concentrated: a single multi‑million award to a literary translation organization dominates giving, complemented by sizable education support and modest gifts to regional arts and community nonprofits. The foundation appears regionally minded (Puget Sound arts infrastructure and local animal welfare) but will also fund mission-driven national organizations aligned with peace and social justice values.
A $3,000,000 grant to the Center for Art of Translation anchors Yonder’s recent giving and shows the scale of its commitment to literary translation and presentation of literature. The foundation also backed Bryn Mawr College with $600,000 for the Cynthia Lovelace Sears ’59 Endowment Scholarship Fund and the Cynthia Lovelace Sears ’56 Student Support Fund, and gave $300,000 to the American Friends Service Committee for general support. Those awards place Yonder in a narrow set of funders that mix major arts support with higher-education funding and values-based philanthropy. Yonder’s grant list also includes smaller gifts to regional arts and community groups in Washington, plus selected national nonprofits. The pattern points to a funder that is focused rather than broad: literary arts and translation are central, while scholarship support and a few community-facing organizations round out the portfolio. Its recent gifts are all to U.S. recipients, with the strongest presence in Washington state. The foundation’s grantmaking is concentrated enough that a few awards account for most of the annual total, yet it still touches several distinct nonprofit types, from literary institutions to student-support funds and service organizations.
Literary arts are the clearest through line in Yonder’s recent grants. It gave $3,000,000 to the Center for Art of Translation for general support, a signal that translation and the presentation of literature sit at the center of its funding choices. The foundation also supports higher education scholarships and student aid. In 2023, it awarded $600,000 to Bryn Mawr College for the Cynthia Lovelace Sears ’59 Endowment Scholarship Fund and the Cynthia Lovelace Sears ’56 Student Support Fund, connecting its grantmaking to scholarship maintenance and student support. A third strand is values-based social support. Yonder provided $300,000 to the American Friends Service Committee for general support, showing interest in peace and social justice work. In 2025, it also made a $40,000 general-support grant to Kitsap Humane Society, adding local animal welfare to the mix.
Yonder’s typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $170,000 at the 75th percentile, but its giving is highly concentrated: a few large awards sit alongside many smaller ones. The foundation gave $4,000,000 annually, and one 2023 grant alone accounted for $3,000,000. Grants appear across multiple years in the recent list, with major support in 2023 and a set of smaller awards in 2025. The organization is a private foundation and also funds individuals, though the recent grant sample shown here is entirely to institutions. Most listed grants are general support, with one scholarship/endowment designation and one student-support designation.
$100K
$8K
$100K
$107K
Most grants fall between $5K and $170K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$170K
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Concentrated, small-number giving: few grants overall with one very large award dominating total dollars; a mix of one-time large gifts and smaller regional operating/project grants rather than broad, distributed funding or many repeat micro‑grants.
Notable grantees: Center for Art of Translation, Bryn Mawr College, Shunpike, American Friends Service Committee, Kitsap Humane Society
Washington is the main recipient state, accounting for 46% of grants and appearing in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Silverdale, Bremerton, and Port Townsend. That cluster suggests a strong Puget Sound orientation even though Yonder also funds organizations outside the state. The recent grants list is entirely U.S.-based, with recipients in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New York as well as Washington. Among named places, Seattle and the Kitsap County area recur in the Washington giving.
Yonder’s recent grants point most clearly to literary translation and presentation of literature, higher education scholarships and student support, and a smaller set of community nonprofits. The largest grant went to the Center for Art of Translation, and other awards went to Bryn Mawr College, the American Friends Service Committee, and Washington-based arts and service organizations.
Yonder’s grant sizes are uneven, with a $5,000 25th percentile, $10,000 median, and $170,000 75th percentile. The recent list also includes a $3,000,000 award and a $600,000 scholarship/endowment grant, showing that a small number of large grants drive much of the total.
Washington is the top state by grant count, with 46% of grants going to recipients in WA. Recent Washington recipients include groups in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Silverdale, Bremerton, and Port Townsend, indicating a strong concentration in the state’s Puget Sound region.
No. Arts and literature are central, but the recent grants also include higher education scholarship support, peace and social justice work, and animal welfare. Examples include Bryn Mawr College for scholarship and student support, the American Friends Service Committee for general support, and Kitsap Humane Society for general support.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KITSAP HUMANE SOCIETY | SILVERDALE, WA | $40,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SHUNPIKE | SEATTLE, WA | $20,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| HOUSING RESOURCES BAINBRIDGE | BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FEED THE HUNGER FUND | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| KITSAP REGIONAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION | BREMERTON, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FEED THE HUNGER SAN MIGUEL | LAREDO, TX | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| COPPER CANYON PRESS | PORT TOWNSEND, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| BRYN MAWR COLLEGE | BRYN MAWR, PA | $609,105 | 2024 | CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '59 ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '59 STUDENT SUPPORT FUND |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $150,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CENTER FOR ART OF TRANSLATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $3,000,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| BRYN MAWR COLLEGE | BRYN MAWR, PA | $600,000 | 2023 | CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '59 ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '56 STUDENT SUPPORT FUND |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $300,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
KITSAP REGIONAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FEED THE HUNGER SAN MIGUEL
GENERAL SUPPORT
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '59 ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '59 STUDENT SUPPORT FUND
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
$150,000GENERAL SUPPORT
CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '59 ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND CYNTHIA LOVELACE SEARS '56 STUDENT SUPPORT FUND
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
$300,000GENERAL SUPPORT