EST · MMXXVI

Ziwahatan Chase

Endowment

FOR GENERATIONS YET UNBORN

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ABOUT THE ENDOWMENT

An institution built not for
today, but for eternity.

In June of 2026, husbands Josh Chase and Alex Ziwahatan Chase established the Ziwahatan Chase Endowment — a private philanthropic institution founded upon the conviction that the most consequential acts of stewardship are those whose benefits may not be fully realized for decades, or centuries, or beyond the span of living memory.

The Endowment was not established in response to any single crisis, nor in pursuit of recognition. It was conceived as a permanent institution — one that would exist and operate with quiet integrity long after its founders are gone.

FOUNDING PRINCIPLE

"Those entrusted with means bear a responsibility to the unborn — to every generation who will inherit the world we choose to leave behind."

JOSH CHASE & ALEX ZIWAHATAN CHASE · FOUNDERS

The name itself carries meaning. Ziwahatan Chase unites two families, two traditions, and a shared belief: that those entrusted with means also bear a responsibility to the unborn.

THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE, BEAUTY, AND CONSERVATION — ONE UNIFIED PURPOSE

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."

A PRINCIPLE THE ENDOWMENT HOLDS AS ITS OWN

MISSION & PHILOSOPHY

To improve the condition of humanity — not for this generation alone, but for every generation that will follow.

Philanthropy, as commonly practiced, tends toward the immediate: the visible wound, the measurable outcome, the news cycle. The Ziwahatan Chase Endowment was founded on a different premise — that the most consequential needs of civilization often lie beyond the visible horizon, and that an institution willing to think and act across generations can achieve what no single lifetime can accomplish alone.

Future trustees of this institution will inherit not merely assets, but obligations: to honor the spirit of the founding, to exercise independent judgment, and to keep faith with the generations who have not yet arrived to speak for themselves. The Endowment does not respond to trends. It does not pursue visibility. It invests in the long arc of human potential.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Stewardship

To hold in trust what cannot be owned — the living world, the cultural inheritance, the possibilities of future generations.

Patience

To resist the urgency of the immediate in favor of the wisdom of the long horizon. Some of the most important work takes generations.

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Integrity

To act with transparency, accountability, and consistency — whether or not anyone is watching.

Knowledge

To invest in the expansion of human understanding, in the conviction that wisdom well-applied is the most durable form of progress.

SUPPORTED AREAS

Eight fields.
One unifying purpose.

Scientific Research

LONGEVITY & LIFE EXTENSION

The Endowment supports rigorous scientific inquiry into the mechanisms of aging and the extension of healthy human life — among the most consequential investments civilization can make.

Environmental Conservation

PRESERVATION OF THE NATURAL WORLD

Committed to the protection of wild places, living ecosystems, and the biodiversity upon which all life depends — guided by the conviction that what is lost in nature is seldom recovered.

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Reforestation

RESTORING THE LIVING CANOPY

The Endowment funds large-scale reforestation efforts — not merely the planting of trees, but the patient, careful restoration of complete forest ecosystems across generations.

Education

THE FOUNDATION OF EVERY CENTURY

We support educational initiatives that expand access, deepen understanding, and cultivate the intellectual character necessary for a flourishing civilization across all peoples.

Innovation

INVESTING IN HUMAN INGENUITY

Patient investment in foundational research and applied innovation — ideas that may not bear fruit within the current generation, but whose long-term potential justifies sustained commitment.

Arts

THE CULTIVATION OF BEAUTY

The arts are not ornamental but essential — music, literature, visual art, and cinema are primary means by which civilizations understand themselves and achieve something beyond the merely useful.

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History

MEMORY AS STEWARDSHIP

A civilization that cannot remember cannot truly think. The Endowment supports historians, archivists, and institutions devoted to the preservation and interpretation of the human past.

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Cultural Preservation

THE IRREPLACEABLE MADE PERMANENT

Languages, traditions, oral histories, and indigenous knowledge systems are disappearing. We support efforts to document, preserve, and transmit the full diversity of human culture.

Each domain was chosen because patient, sustained investment — across decades rather than funding cycles — can produce transformational, lasting change.

ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIPS · STATE OF OREGON

Three awards. Three futures.
One enduring belief in the young.

Each year, the Ziwahatan Chase Endowment presents three scholarship awards to graduating high school seniors in Oregon — one in the arts, one in the sciences and environment, and one in the biosciences and medical sciences. Applications open in December 2026. Award amounts will be announced at that time.

Nowbodhi Award

FOR THE ARTS

Awarded annually to a graduating Oregon high school senior who demonstrates exceptional creative vision, artistic discipline, and a commitment to beauty as a lasting human endeavor.

Ziwahatan Award

FOR SCIENCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Awarded annually to a graduating Oregon high school senior whose work and study reflect a deep curiosity about the natural world and a dedication to its understanding and preservation.

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Futurist Award

FOR LONGEVITY, BIOSCIENCES, AND MEDICAL

Awarded annually to a graduating Oregon high school senior who is pursuing the frontiers of human health — extending life, advancing medicine, and imagining the biology of the next century.

APPLICATIONS OPEN DECEMBER 2026
OPEN TO GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS IN THE STATE OF OREGON