About Us
Since 1993, Sightline Institute has been the independent, nonpartisan think tank for Cascadia—from the Rockies to the Pacific and from Alaska to Oregon.
Our mission + vision
Sightline Institute’s mission is to make Cascadia a global model of sustainability: strong communities, a green economy, and a healthy environment.
We envision an economy and way of life throughout the region that are environmentally sound, economically vibrant, and socially just. We believe that if Cascadians succeed at reconciling ourselves with the natural heritage of this place—the greenest part of history’s richest civilization—then we can set an example for the world.
Our funding
Sightline is proud to hold high ratings from nonprofit accountability groups Candid (GuideStar) and Charity Navigator, including for judicious financial management and transparency.
We are an independent 501(c)(3) organization. Over 90 percent of our funding comes from individual donations and grants from charitable foundations, and over 90 percent of our funding directly supports our people and accomplishments. We are deeply grateful to our generous community of donors for believing in and supporting our work.
Our equity commitment
Sightline understands its mission as intertwined with and strengthened by efforts to right current inequities and remedy historic wrongs. A shared future of clean air and water; low-carbon cities with abundant housing options; thriving communities and economies powered by abundant clean energy; and a robust democracy fairly representing its many people—all require us to work across communities, sectors, interests, partisanship, and backgrounds to seize the ample opportunities to pursue these shared goals together.
In practice, this means infusing deep curiosity and a commitment to equity into everything we do, from hiring practices to message testing, research methods to coalition building, work planning to press strategies. The results of doing so? We’ve found that our research is better, our policy proposals smarter, and our organization healthier—which all mean bigger, more durable wins for Cascadia to reconcile people, place, and prosperity.
The values that guide us
Community
We are all in this place together, sharing its burdens and benefits, rising or falling together. Sightline stands for strong communities.
fairness
We stand for a well-governed economy that generates widely shared prosperity. We stand for public policies that support people equally.
opportunity
We stand for a society that generates opportunity: where all can thrive and where everyone has a chance to flourish.
Responsibility
Our way of life depends on a healthy natural heritage and strong public institutions. We stand for stewarding our inheritance well.
