Our Vision for the Future

By Alesha Washington

Seattle Foundation has undergone many changes in recent years. As we look forward, we want to share more of our journey and what’s next for Seattle Foundation.

Progress is impossible without change. As I approach my first year as president & CEO of Seattle Foundation, this has never been clearer to me. I’ve thought a lot about the changes the organization has seen, but also about the changes to come as we continue to evolve. As I look to the future, I want to share more of our journey to date, and what’s next for Seattle Foundation to become the positive force this region needs and expects us to be.

Journey to Date

For 75 years, Seattle Foundation has built influence and credibility through continued support of philanthropic efforts in our region. But we have also made mistakes, particularly by underinvesting in communities of color who advocated for change. While we have worked to address this harm in recent years, we have only just begun. Seattle Foundation stewards more than $1 billion in assets from individuals and families who entrust their giving to us, but the institution itself is a $12 million nonprofit, that since 2019, has also been challenged with a structural deficit – meaning expenses are outpacing predictable revenue. I joined Seattle Foundation fully aware of the challenges I inherited – and the tough decisions that needed to be made to sustain the organization. Despite the challenges ahead, I was inspired by what was possible. It’s why I made the life-changing decision to move to a new city and take on this role. 

Vision for the Future

I believe Seattle Foundation must play a critical role in fostering a joyful and equitable future for all those who call this region home. I believe that we can achieve this by holding a vision centered on racial equity, shared prosperity, and belonging. I believe we will achieve this vision by operationalizing this commitment in everything that we do, including how we approach grantmaking in an accessible and equitable way, how we show up as a civic partner and leader, how we leverage our proximity to wealth to move resources to where they are needed most, how we continue to evolve as an innovative and efficient organization, and how we see the incredible people who work for and with us in their full humanity.

We entered 2023 knowing that to achieve this vision, we would need to restructure our organization to address the financial deficit and invest in new roles and initiatives to build toward the future. We’ve taken several actions to tackle the deficit including: reducing non-employee expenses for the past two years; initiating a temporary pay reduction for myself and the senior leadership team; eliminating vacant roles; and lastly, making the excruciating decision to eliminate five roles across the organization that were currently filled by team members.

None of the restructuring decisions we made were easy. But as a business, we are on a solid path toward sustainability in our operations in the next several years while managing our immediate shortfalls through cash reserves. We are making critical investments in our technology infrastructure to make our systems more efficient for both our grantees and our fundholders alike. I will also rebuild the senior leadership team over the course of this year to ensure we are well positioned to serve our diverse and expansive community well.

Leadership to Support Our Evolution

The first priority in rebuilding my leadership team is positioning three individuals to advance the role we can play in the fight for racial, social, environmental, and economic justice.

First, I am thrilled to welcome Sean Goode to Seattle Foundation as the head of impact and learning. Sean will focus on enhancing our grantmaking practices and will lead a collective approach to finding more effective ways to connect wealth to community impact. Sean is an incredible community leader, advocate, and has quickly become a thought partner for me in imagining how we transform philanthropy to be a true ally in creating an equitable future for all. He most recently served as the executive director of CHOOSE 180, a nonprofit that transforms systems of injustice and supports the young people who are too often impacted by these systems. His work has focused on community-based restorative practices and building a community of support to change systems and lives through the power of grace. Sean will officially start in June, after a brief sabbatical.

Portrait-style photo of Kris Hermanns

Once Sean joins the Foundation, Kris Hermanns, who currently leads our strategic grantmaking and partnerships, will step fully into a role that realizes her experience in civic leadership. She has been with Seattle Foundation for four years and has been fiercely engaged in the civic leadership space — she is the architect of the COVID 19 Response Fund and the subsequent Fund for Inclusive Recovery and serves as the fund manager for the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund. I could not be more energized by Kris’ leadership of our civic leadership efforts, especially given her wealth of knowledge around community impact; strong relationships with community leaders, policymakers, and grantees; and a passion for systemic policy change in this region.

Portrait-style photo of Michael Brown, Executive-in-Residence for Community Partnerships

These efforts would not be complete without the thought partnership and wisdom of Michael Brown, who leads Civic Commons. In this role, he will continue to provide vision and leadership to elevate community voices and unite different sectors around mutually agreed goals to build the collective muscle needed to address the root causes of inequity in Greater Seattle. Who we are today as an institution would not have happened without Michael, who has been with the Foundation since 2001 and in that time, has worked to cement racial equity, inclusion, and belonging as a core part of our community impact work.

I cannot wait to see what this powerhouse of talent, alongside the rest of our incredible staff, will be able to do and build together.

My Commitment to You

As we move into this next chapter of growth and evolution, I know that we cannot do this work alone. I also know that what we are aiming to do is not easy. This work will require patience, determination, discovery, and humility. It will require us to remain committed to the necessary and imperfect work of striving to be in right relationship with all of you – our community.

There will be strides forward and lessons learned. Navigating the aftermath of our organizational restructure has helped me see that even though we needed to make critical decisions for Seattle Foundation’s sustainability, we missed the opportunity to be open and bring our community of support along on this journey. We missed the opportunity to stop and explain why. I am grateful for those who were willing to share this feedback with me.

As we go forward, I want you to know that I am committed to journeying with you, and truly seek your guidance and partnership as we aim to be of greater service to our community. The work ahead of us is a collective effort and I am honored to be able to do this with you.

Yours in partnership,

Portrait-style photograph of Alesha Washington, president and ceo

Alesha Washington
President & CEO
Seattle Foundation