Our Philosophy
Ending homelessness and protecting wilderness—Campion Foundation’s keystone goals—require policy change. Public policy change can have far more significant impacts than we could otherwise attain with foundation dollars.

We cannot buy enough housing to end homelessness, nor can we purchase the remaining wilderness in need of protection. Rather, we must use the “unique perch” of philanthropy to engage a variety of different vehicles to influence the public sector.


Campion Foundation

Leveraging resources, taking informed risks, investing in leaders and seizing opportunities — these are the Campion Foundation’s guiding principles. We bring these principles ─ along with a strong sense of urgency ― to our three philanthropic areas: protecting wilderness, ending homelessness and strengthening nonprofits.

We strongly believe that:

  • The wildest places in the western United States and Canada should be preserved forever.
  • Homelessness is not an inevitable part of communities but should be a rare and temporary hardship.
  • A strong and vibrant nonprofit sector is a powerful force for social change.

In order to catalyze lasting change, we believe that supporting advocacy, in all of its forms, is among the highest leveraging activities available to philanthropy. Supporting a range of high-impact advocacy efforts — from carefully targeted grants to using our own unique perch as philanthropists — is an essential component to our foundation strategy.

The Campion Foundation funds projects by invitation only in three program areas: protecting wilderness, ending homelessness and strengthening nonprofits. Applicant organizations must be classified as 501(c)(3) by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.