Partner news! Awards and Acknowledgements (April 2022)

Partners in the News

Updated 4/29/2022

COO Governance Group member and ED of the Multicultural Community Coalition is quoted in this Crosscut article, This King County initiative wants to prevent further gentrification:

“It was just very evident that we needed to broaden the Seattle EDI [Equitable Development Initiative] model to be countywide,” said Yordanos Teferi, executive director of the Multicultural Community Coalition which, along with dozens of other organizations, led the push for the program.

Puget Sound Sage is included in this Stranger article about Seattle’s future and current work to update the city’s Comprehensive Plan:

“What does building a more equitable city look like?” asked Ab Juaner, equity development coordinator at Puget Sound Sage, during Morales’s forum on Thursday. “It means centering the ones who’ve been most impacted by power imbalances, policy, planning, and market forces – all in the name of city growth.”

How art and culture work to empower a community focuses on the work and community found at Centro Cultural Mexicano:

“Music, art, food and dance are all key to cultural identity and creating an inclusive space where community members feel connected and comfortable. What most people don’t realize is that it can also be the perfect opportunity to provide crucial information about health and social services for the community it serves.

This is the strategy of one organization in King County, which is currently home to over 250,000 Mexican and Mexican American residents.”

Supportive Housing Sustains Native American Culture and Addresses Homelessness in Seattle, Washington:

“Since 1970, Chief Seattle Club, a nonprofit organization serving the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the local Native population, has attempted to address homelessness in its community with a culturally appropriate, holistic approach. The organization pursues its mission through programs that provide temporary housing, trauma-informed case management, community-building activities, and employment services. ʔálʔal (pronounced “all-all”), which means “home” in Lushootseed, is Chief Seattle Club’s first permanent affordable housing development and provides 80 units of housing primarily for people experiencing homelessness.”

Resources, Opportunities & Events

King County is establishing a community planning workgroup to support development of a new King County Equitable Development Initiative (KC EDI)! For background, in 2021 a coalition of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) led organizations urged King County Council to create a countywide equitable development initiative, modeled off the success of the City of Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative.

An equitable development initiative considers past policy decisions, historic inequities, and current conditions to improve access to opportunities to the most affected communities and allocate resources and investments, such as capacity building and capital funds, to communities at risk from displacement. 

Last month, the King County Council passed Motion 16062 requesting Executive Constantine to establish a countywide equitable development initiative and provide the Council with the framework, implementation plan, recommendations, and clear next steps with funding options.  

Want to help shape this initiative? King County residents are invited to apply to join the community planning workgroup!

Application is here: https://tinyurl.com/KCEDIapp

What is the community planning workgroup? Details here! You have until May 9 at 1pm to apply! 

Calling Kent youth: come get paid to learn how to organize your community with us!

ForFortyTwo is hosting a 10-week summer fellowship program for Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color youth (ages 15-21) in Kent, focused on community organizing. Fellows will commit 5-8 hours a week and receive a $1250 stipend upon successful completion of the program. This year, the program will be following a hybrid model, where it will be accessible online but there will be many optional but recommended in-person meetings. The program will run from 6/27 - 9/2. The application can be found at tinyurl.com/442fellow.

No prior experience is necessary— just a passion for dismantling systemic racism, and a desire to uplift our communities. The program will involve seminars where fellows will learn about topics such as race & power, abolitionist organizing strategies, histories that DON’T get taught in school, accountability and consent, environmental justice, and more. Fellows will also get the opportunity to support or lead projects relating to abolition, investing in BIPOC communities, empowering youth and students, and healing & mutual aid. Applications are due May 8th at 11:59pm. Please contact forfortytwo@gmail.com with any questions or access needs.

This summer, FEEST will is offering a new program, called Summer Stories! This will be an 8-week-long journey, with the goal of sharing skills with youth in our community for them to take with them as they grow as organizers. We will be diving in DEEP, to learn how we can use art as a tool, to fight for our liberation, in many different forms! This is an amazing paid opportunity, that begins in mid-June! Priority Deadline is May 13th, so if you want to learn more and apply, go here.

Cohort members will learn about 4 Pillars of Digital Storytelling:
1. The Power of the Written Word
2. Graphic Design for Beginners
3. Social Media 101
4. Hearing the Truth, from the Youth

All participants will also receive $25/ an hour stipend for participating in this 8 week long program!

TO QUALIFY FOR CONSIDERATION APPLICANTS MUST be a full or half time student at Tyee, Rainier Beach, Chief Sealth, Franklin, or Evergreen High School! All applicants will be contacted and informed by email if you will receive an interview based on your application and engagement with FEEST.

Alphabet Alliance of Color (AAOC) 2022 Alphabet Institute 

The Alphabet Institute is designed to facilitate leadership development within QTBIPOC communities in Seattle-King County by connecting a cohort of mentees to local leaders, organizers, healers, mentors & their projects & organizations. Apply by June 1st!

Applications for mentees, mentors and general leaders are here:
https://alphabetalliance.org/leadership-institute
Information sheet here.

Call for Applications: 2022 New Economy WA Frontline Community Fellowship!

Have an idea or an active project to make systemic change in our economy? Interested in getting support on your project and being part of a cohort of others with shared values? We are inviting Applications for systems change projects for a just, transformative and regenerative economy from individuals or organizations from communities of color on the frontlines of an unjust system.

The Fellowship Program objective is to support communities to experiment in making change to the underlying conditions of our economy, toward an economy of democracy and community control, that is sustainable and equitable, and creates shared economic well-being by fulfilling local BIPOC needs. This fellowship empowers emerging new economy leaders to advance their pilot initiatives. Four to five fellowships will be selected and allocated initial grants to advance their project and participate in a cohort of Frontline Community Fellows. As a Fellow, you will receive: 

  • Grant of $8,000 to $10,000

  • Relationship building and peer learning

  • Customized project support

  • Access to technical experts and professional development learning opportunities

  • Opportunities to showcase project and consult with funder communities and other partners

  • New this year, Fellows will join a participatory budgeting process for the 2022 New Economy Washington Fund, a community controlled funding pool of up to $100,000* to be distributed at the discretion of fellows and other new economy leaders and organizations

 Instructions and Application Form | Application Deadline is May 6, 2022!

BIPOC ED Coalition - Lessons in Solidarity

April 27 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Join for a virtual gathering with former leaders of the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC), a multicultural collaborative founded in 1982 to give voice to Seattle’s people of color communities. Panelists include: Cheryl Cobbs, Estela Ortega, Josephine Tamayo Murray, Kikora Dorsey, Larry Gossett, Richard Mar, and Theresa Fujiwara.

Through this conversation, we’ll hear about the genesis and journey of the coalition to advance racial and economic justice.

  • What were the relationships among members and with the community?

  • How did they learn to navigate differences?

  • What were lessons in collaboration?

We hope you’ll participate in learning about the power of BIPOC solidarity in shaping today’s advocacy for equity and justice.

All BIPOC leaders in the nonprofit sector are welcome to register for the event. We encourage you to share this event with your network.

RSVP Here!

API Chaya - Making TJ PODS-sible: A 4-part Series on Building Your Pod! Part 2

TJ Skill Shares | Making TJ PODS-sible: A 4-part Series on Building Your Pod!
Are you new to pod-mapping? Join us on this 4-part series on pod-mapping where we will dive deeper on how to build your own pod/s.

What is a pod? “Your pod is made up of the people that you would call on if violence, harm or abuse happened to you; or the people that you would call on if you wanted support in taking accountability for violence, harm or abuse that you’ve done; or if you witnessed violence or if someone you care about was being violent or being abused.” - Mia Mingus (Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective)

Over the course of four months API Chaya will cover the following topics:

  • Monday, March 28 |5:30-8 PM PST - Series 1: Why Pod-map?

  • Monday, April 25 | 5:30-8 PM PST - Series 2: How to Pod-map?

  • Monday, May 23 | 5:30-8 PM PST - Series 3: Conversations to have with your pod

  • Monday, June 27 | 5:30-8 PM PST - Series 4: Growing & sustaining your pod

Registration link: http://tinyurl.com/podmap22
For access needs, questions or concerns, contact priyan@apichaya.org.
**These are interactive sessions so please come prepared to engage & connect with fellow participants.

About API Chaya
API Chaya empowers survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking to gain safety, connection, and wellness. They build power by educating and mobilizing South Asian, Asian, Pacific Islander, and all immigrant communities to end exploitation, creating a world where all people can heal and thrive. Learn more at www.apichaya.org

Building Collective Futures: Economic Systems that Work for All

May 3 @ 9am PST
Join for a conversation on the power and possibilities of solidarity economies. This webinar will feature a moderated discussion between Jorge Santiago and Nwamaka Agbo about the history, principles, and practices of political and economic solidarity. We invite you to deepen your reflections on the individual and collective actions that move us toward building economic systems that make the equitable distribution of goods possible.

RSVP here!

Understand Government Contracting

Tuesday, May 3, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Register HERE to receive the zoom link, updates on events and other information!
This is a virtual event that will be dynamic for your business growth and well as building your network.

This is a collaborative effort with a host of amazing organizations to include the US Small Business Administration, City of Tacoma, Africatown Community Land Trust, Urban Impact Seattle, Black Dot, Urban Leagues, Seattle Credit Union, Seattle Public Library, Greater Seattle Business Association, WA Small Business Development Center, Minority Business Diversity Association, Business Impact NW, WA State Microenterprise Association and others. We are hosting quarterly events that specifically cater to the needs of black business owners. And we are intentional in our efforts to celebrate, educate and inspire Black business owners to RECOVER and THRIVE TOGETHER. 

Native Neighborhood Survey

Share your thoughts for a Native Neighborhood! The Indigenous Seattle Working Group and Na'ah Illahee Fund have been collaborating on a community survey that is made by and for Native and Indigenous Peoples who live, work, visit, or get services in Seattle. This survey is the first step toward building a Native Neighborhood that can be anything from a single building to multiple blocks.

What are your hopes and dreams for a Native Neighborhood in Seattle? Your answers to this quick 15-minute survey can help build a place of belonging for the Seattle Native Community. Information from the survey will be anonymously included in a report that will advocate for more funding and resources. After taking the survey, you can enter a drawing for prizes made by local Native artists. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Demarus Tevuk at skoden@naahillahee.org.

Survey Link Here!

Affordable Housing Week

The 7th Annual Affordable Housing Week is a series of education and advocacy events that highlight the role affordable housing plays in stabilizing our communities. Each year, HDC and partners bring together elected officials, city/county staff, advocates and King County residents to create momentum for investments and policies to ensure affordable, thriving and equitable communities.

This Affordable Housing Week, we hope to ignite an unprecedented investment in affordable housing across our region. We will collectively make it known that we are “ALL IN FOR HOUSING.” This is an opportunity to urge cities across King County to adopt new and effective strategies that address our urgent affordable housing needs.

Mark your calendars for a full week of events! Registration links and additional information for each event (and more!) coming soon!

Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy community conversations!

This year, the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) is partnering with community partners from across King County to host a series of community conversations to receive YOUR input on issues related to the VSHSL. VSHSL will be hosting more conversations as the year goes on, so stay tuned!

This community conversation is open to all King County residents, but will focus on communities in and around certain regions of King County at each conversation.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON ZOOM!

Conversations by community/city/region can be registered for here, including:

See the eventbrite page for all sessions!

AT THESE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS WE WILL:

  • Provide a brief update on the state of Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy

  • Learn from community partners and providers on what went well during the levy

  • Discuss what needs improvement going forward.

You can expect smaller breakout rooms and large group sharing. Live closed captioning for all Zoom participants will be provided. You have the right to language access services at no cost to you. To request these services, please indicate in the Eventbrite registration ticket. CONTACT: VSHSL@kingcounty.gov

Partner Job Opportunities

Current opportunities with COO community & institutional partners (updated 4/22/2022):

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