Vibrant Communities

We are committed to supporting community-driven goals that build an opportunity-rich region and positively influence policies and practices across Greater Seattle. Residents who plan and lead community building efforts are essential to our region’s quality of life. They are the best positioned to understand their neighborhood’s needs, to gather its assets, and to spearhead change. Local residents trained to serve as community and civic leaders strengthen families, schools, neighborhoods and communities across our region.

Learn more (pdf) about the Vibrant Communities element. 


Amplify community voices

As the face of our region changes, we need new approaches to match our changing demographics. One of our strategies to achieve this is to amplify the voice and influence of underrepresented communities to increase community-led advocacy and policy-change efforts.

Strategy Approaches:

  1. Support targeted leadership development efforts that increase the representation of communities of color and other underrepresented populations
  2. Strengthen community organizing and other movement-building efforts to increase community engagement
  3.  Support nonpartisan civic activities that engage residents in political and social processes
  4.  Advance community-led advocacy and campaigns to influence local policy

Build collective power

Supporting community leadership in change efforts that directly impact those communities leads to more effective results and improved sustainability of long-term progress. We are guided by a strategy of increasing community connections within and across communities to build collective power for change.

Strategy Approaches:

  1. Invest in place-based approaches that bring residents together across geography to create locally-designed and led solutions
  2. Support engagement activities that bring historically underrepresented communities into planning processes and strengthen relationships with local leaders and policymakers
  3.  Support partnerships and coalition-building to connect mutual interests of diverse communities
  4.  Provide immigrants and refugees with the tools and resources necessary to successfully engage in community-change efforts

Grassroots capacity-building

We support building power in communities where residents are best positioned to understand their neighborhood’s needs, gather its assets and spearhead change. We’re guided in this work by a strategy of building grassroots capacity by strengthening the nonprofit infrastructure of organizations representing communities of color and other marginalized groups.

Strategy Approaches:

  1. Support targeted leadership development efforts that increase the representation of communities of color and other underrepresented populations
  2.  Strengthen community organizing and other movement-building efforts to increase community engagement
  3.  Support nonpartisan civic activities that engage residents in political and social processes
  4.  Advance community-led advocacy and campaigns to influence local policy

You can increase your impact by donating to our Vibrant Communities Fund and connecting with one of our philanthropic advisors to meet your giving goals.


Resources