Between the wide storefronts of Caffe Fiore and Zayda Buddy's Pizza and Bar on Leary Avenue is a barely noticeable staircase that is more often than not used as additional seating for the Caffe Fiore crowd.

At the top of that staircase is the Quixote Foundation, a small family foundation that hopes to make its impacts on a host of progressive causes more noticeable than its entryway.

With an April 9 announcement that it will be spending its remaining $15 million in assets by 2017, the Quixote Foundation is hoping to make that impact sooner rather than later.

The Quixote Foundation was founded in 1997 in Madison, Wisc., by Stuart Hanisch, who, as his son and current foundation president Erik Hanisch said, had more money that he needed and a family with a long history of philanthropic giving.

The foundation, which moved to Ballard in 2003, is primarily interested in the areas of environmental equity, reproductive rights, election integrity and media reform.

From 1997 to 2007, the foundation gave more than $1.9 million to environmental protection, more than $1.1 million to U.S. election integrity, more than $1.6 million to economic justice, nearly $1 million to media reform and more than $800,000 to reproductive rights.

On April 9, the Quixote Foundation announced its plans to use up its remaining funds, or spend down, by 2017 because of a current mix of unique opportunities and factors, said June Wilson, co-executive director of the foundation.

At the moment, there are issues around the media and green jobs that would benefit from immediate attention, she said.

Co-executive Director Lenore Hanisch said net neutrality is a pressing issue and by supporting green jobs now, the foundation can keep the momentum behind those jobs going.

The economy is also a factor in the Quixote Foundation's decision to spend down.

Over the past two years, the economic downturn has caused a loss in the foundation's endowment, Wilson said.

She said being able to give something in this economic climate feels so much more significant than holding on to it.

If the Quixote Foundation was not dissolving in 2017, it would typically spend 5 percent of its funds per year. Now it is free to spend more than that, Wilson said.

The challenge now is to look where the foundation can get the best return for its money, Erik Hanisch said.

He said it feels weird to know the foundation will be ending in seven year.

"I hope that all the dreams, all the goals have a life beyond this institution," he said.

Wilson said everything and everyone eventually dies, the question is what is the legacy that will be left behind.

Lenore Hanisch said the Quixote Foundation will live on in the organizations it impacts in these remaining years.

Though it is still bittersweet, she said. It's not everyday an organization announces its business plan with a set end date publicly. It's also not everyday that someone essentially fires themselves, she said.

Lenore said the foundation loves Ballard. It could have gone anywhere, but they choose Ballard and are proud to be here, she said.

She said she likes to bring the foundation's partners and allies to Ballard and show off the neighborhood.

A grant partner recently told Lenore that if there is anything someone can do or give, now is the time to do it.

She said her hope for Ballard right now is that its residents will each spend down in their own way by focusing on their passions and giving everything they can.