Aileen Balahadia engaged community members at the final Tukwila Village Farmers Market of the season on October 12. | Photo credit: Mel Ponder Photography

Neighbor to Neighbor expands to SeaTac/Tukwila

SeaTac/Tukwila communities are creating a region where residents work together so everyone thrives; N2N’s expansion aims to bolster their efforts with support and new investments.

For more than 30 years, Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) has advanced racial equity by investing in the power of place and community. This commitment continues with the addition of our fourth neighborhood: SeaTac/Tukwila. With this expansion, N2N will now serve four communities in the region, in addition to South Seattle, White Center, and Kent.

The decision to expand our reach was informed by extensive conversations with current and former N2N grantees, trusted community partners familiar with South King County, and the N2N Advisory Committee. The N2N Advisory Committee includes representatives from all neighborhoods who volunteered their insights and helped us reach a final decision.

Map of Seattle Foundation partner neighborhoods
Map of Seattle Foundation partner neighborhoods

After robust discussions, expanding to SeaTac/Tukwila and supporting their local efforts was an inspiring and logical choice for Seattle Foundation. With a rich ethnic and racially diverse local culture, the SeaTac/Tukwila communities are creating a region where residents work together so everyone thrives. These neighborhoods boast a wide range of grassroots organizations and community activities including working to uplift youth, supporting small BIPOC-owned businesses, generating affordable housing solutions, creating culturally appropriate social services, and advocating for more green spaces for their residents. N2N is eager to bolster their efforts with our investments and support.

Moreover, by including the SeaTac/Tukwila neighborhoods in our grantmaking strategy, we are creating geographic continuity in our approach and supporting neighborhood connections and coalition-building.

N2N uplifts the agency of the people often placed in direct harm due to systemic inequities. Investing in the communities most impacted by systemic oppression means maintaining long-term relationships and proactively building trust. We begin our collaboration with SeaTac/Tukwila with the same commitment to building relationships and trust we have shown to all our community partnerships.

To mark the news of this expansion, N2N partnered with the Food Innovation Network to co-sponsor the final Tukwila Village Farmers Market of the season on October 12. N2N supported local farmers, small business caterers, and introduced ourselves to residents, community organizations and other partners.

Grassroots organizations serving the SeaTac/Tukwila area can apply for a N2N grant in early 2023, with quarterly deadlines on January 30, April 30, July 30, and October 30. This funding remains open to our current neighborhoods as well.

In addition to welcoming SeaTac/Tukwila based applications into our grant process, we are also recruiting several contractors and vendors, including Community Advocates and technical assistance partners, and new Advisory Committee members to help guide our grantmaking strategy. Our recruitment efforts will ensure that we are led by the community from the start.

Many N2N supporters showed up at the farmers market to share their excitement about the expansion into the SeaTac/Tukwila neighborhoods. Photo credit: Mel Ponder Photography

We welcome connections with local grassroots organizations at any time. Please contact Program Consultant Aileen Balahadia, with questions about Neighbor to Neighbor and the application process.

We look forward to this exciting opportunity to partner with and support local efforts to empower our neighborhoods.

Aileen Balahadia manages the Seattle Foundation’s grassroots grantmaking program Neighbor to Neighbor, which invests in and partners with community members affected by poverty and racial disparities to increase their engagement, power and influence.