Community News! June/July 2025
NEWS, STORIES, AND RECENT ARTICLES FROM AND ABOUT COO PARTNERS IN COMMUNITY
This is a condensed version of our monthly newsletter distributed July 16. Get all the news by signing up for the monthly newsletter.
Save the Date: 2025 All-Partner Convening, Oct. 8-9
Communities of Opportunity will host the 2025 All-Partner Convening Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 17-18. With our community partner workgroup, we’re working on two days of learning and connection, plus the location. Watch for more information soon!
Learn about the most recent Convenings on our blog: “Embracing a Shared Vision,” Spring 2023 (pictured above), and “There Was No Stopping Us,” Winter 2023
Lunch and Learn – Voces del Tēpatl: Carrying Conference Lessons into Community Action
Aug. 25, noon-1 p.m.
Learn from a cohort of regional executive directors who attended the Hispanics in Philanthropy and Native Americans in Philanthropy conference (HIP-NAP) in New Mexico in June. These leaders will host this public “Lunch and Learn” to share out about their learnings and experience at the conference, and how that is translating and supporting their solidarity work moving forward.
You’ll hear from Edgar (Entre Hermanos), Liz (Southeast Seattle Education Coalition), Maria (ELLA), Roxana (Alimentando El Pueblo), and Sandy (Colectivo Legal Del Pueblo). They were supported by COO's Learning Community to attend as a collective.
If you'd like to request interpretation services, please register by Aug. 11 and indicate that when you register.
Learn More and Register for Voces del Tēpatl
Community News!
Best Starts Youth Development Grants Awarded
Congratulations to these 34 local organizations who are the awardees for the Best Starts for Kids Youth Development strategy RFP. They include our funded partner Look 2 Justice.
The Youth Development strategy resources programs that provide mentorship, leadership opportunities, and connections to community, and supports young people in learning about healthy relationships and positive identity development.
Read about the awardees and the work they're doing in their own words on the Best Starts blog.
New Funding for Child Care Facilities
More congratulations: Eleven early learning providers in King County are receiving a significant infusion of funding from the latest round of Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA) General Child Care Facilities Fund grants. They include our funded partner Open Doors for Multicultural Families in Kent.
Administered by Enterprise’s Pacific Northwest Market, these investments will expand and improve early learning facilities — bringing much-needed capacity to a system under strain and helping more families access the care they need.
Read more about the funding on the Department of Community & Human Services blog.
Partners Win Grants for Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline Strategy
L-R: Moderator Lydia Assefa-Dawson; Sophia Benalfew, Ethiopian Community of Seattle; Lalita Uppala, Indian American Community Services; Miguel Maestas, El Centro.
And even more congratulations, to the 12 organizations awarded grants from the Best Starts for Kids Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline strategy. They include our funded partner White Center Community Development Association.
The strategy invests in programs that promote workforce and career development and positive identity development through relationship-building activities, access to resources, and reconnection to cultural heritage. Read about the awardees on the Best Starts for Kids Blog.
Partners Start Using Wellness and Sustainability Grants
Communities of Opportunity recently awarded Wellness and Sustainability Grants to 15 funded partners and former partners, and at least one partner has already put theirs to good use.
One of the awardees, A Supportive Community for All (SCFA), hosted a trip to Holden Village as a staff retreat. Holden Village is a rustic retreat center in the North Cascades wilderness that enables guests to unplug and reflect. Read about SCFA’s experience in their LinkedIn post.
Have you started using your grant yet? If you’d like to share a reflection and or photos, please get in touch!
New Name for BIPOC ED Coalition
The Wellness and Sustainability Grants were a partnership between COO and the BIPOC Executive Directors Coalition of Washington State, which recently changed its name. It’s now known as Ile Kimoyo (ee-lay kee-MO-yo).
As they explain, “Ile means “home” in Yoruba, and Kimoyo means “of the spirit” in Bantu, signifying all the ways our organization continues to be a home for nonprofit leaders of color to nourish our spirits. Yoruba is a West African language while Bantu languages are widely spoken across Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Blending the two, our name forms a kind of bridge, modeling unity and connection across physical distance. This resonates with our commitment to support and bring together leaders from across the state.”
Join the List to Apply for Affordable Apartments at White Center HUB
Applications will open soon for the new family-size apartments at the new White Center HUB, Canopy Apartments, opening this fall. People who are interested can join the list for information.
Here’s how the White Center CDA, our funded partner, describes the Canopy Apartments: “Nestled alongside 33 acres of King County parkland and under beautiful tree canopy, Canopy White Center offers a peaceful setting with direct access to local transit and a federally qualified health clinic just across the plaza! Families will enjoy being within walking distance to local schools and the Greenbridge Public Library, with access to grocery stores and neighborhood resources just a short walk or ride away. Rooted in care, connection, and belonging, Canopy White Center is ready to welcome you home.”
Join the List to Be Notified When Applications Open
Partners At Pride Events Across King County
For a look at Pride across the county last month, check out some posts from some of our funded partners.
Entre Hermanos shared photos from flag raising events and some incredible scenes from the Pride Parade.
Executive Director Edgar Longoria was keynote speaker at Bellevue Pride Flag Raising.
Entre Hermanos participated in the LGBTQ+ flag raising ceremony at Tukwila City Hall.
And, Entre Hermanos shared numerous striking photos from the Seattle Pride Parade, where they were part of the largest Latine participation ever.
Snovalley Pride shared a photo gallery of their June 8 Pride Picnic. The organization earlier this year became its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization after several years of fiscal sponsorship from A Supportive Community for All. Congratulations, Snovalley Pride!
Surge Reproductive Justice Out in the Community
Surge Reproductive Justice has been showing up at local community events to share resources and talk about reproductive justice. “Thanks to everyone who’s stopped by our booth — it’s been such a joy to share free safe sex kits, contraceptives, snacks, SRJ water bottles, beauty products sponsored by Thrive Causemetics, and pamphlets on what we’ve been building together in the fight for Reproductive Justice,” Surge said in an Instagram post. See their photos and watch for them at more events.
Host an HDC Housing Development Intern
In early June, Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County gathered to honor and celebrate the graduates of their 2024-2025 Housing Development Internship Program (HDIP). They’re now seeking organizations who would like to host an intern in the 2025-26 school year.
Through this nine-month paid internship, these leaders learn, hands-on, what it takes to create affordable and healthy living communities, develop leadership skills, and build networks with their cohort and the broader community. The HDIP program aims to provide a launch pad for college and graduate students from communities of color seeking a career in affordable housing development.
Applications for the 2025-2026 Housing Development Internship Program are now available in three focus tracks below: Development, Architecture, and Construction. The application deadline for ALL tracks is August 1, 2025.
If your organization is interested in hosting an intern, you can get information on how to apply on the Housing Development Internship Program page.
Build 2 Lead Reports on School-Year Successes
Build 2 Lead closed out a successful year of programming for high school students during the 2024-25 school year and shared highlights in a new report. Among them:
24 students graduated from their Civic-Champions program, receiving 72.5 hrs. of hours of civic-engagement through their workshops.
40 students graduated from their “Closing the G.A.P” program culminating into over 2400 hours amount of pre-apprenticeship training through our partner “Roots of Success.” Each student received a federally recognized pre-apprenticeship certification as an “Environmental Specialist.”
Over 300 youth engaged in healthcare career workshops, navigating the system of healthcare and education trainings, waste management career and wastewater career workshops, and moved out of classroom and into the community to participate in hands-on site visits to healthcare facilities and civic-spaces within the state capital.
Read more highlights in the full B2L End of Academic Year Report.
Mockingbird Society To Host Annual Youth Summit, Aug. 5-6
The Mockingbird Society’s Youth Leadership Summit brings together young people from Mockingbird’s statewide Youth and Young Adult Network who have lived experience in foster care and/or homelessness.
On Day One (August 5), young people will have the opportunity to be in community together, socialize, engage in various workshop activities, and prepare for presentations on day two.
On Day Two (August 6), each chapter will deliver presentations (which they will have worked on together and prepared for leading up to Summit) to the Washington Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care and the Office of Homeless Youth (OHY) Prevention and Protections Programs Advisory Committee at the Summit Report Out.
New Podcast, “Broken Is Beautiful,” Tells Stories from Prison System
“Broken is Beautiful,” a new podcast from Christopher Blackwell and co-host (and close friend) Katherin Hervey, is officially live after almost two years in the making. The podcast brings you transformational stories from an unexpected place: our prison system and the harms that are connected to it.
Chris is the co-founder of our funded partner Look 2 Justice.
Chris, who is incarcerated, describes it: “From survivors of violence who have forgiven their attackers, to individuals who have taken a life and found a path to redemption and true accountability through a life of service, our guests embody a profound fight for change. And their resilience is electric.
There's nothing easy about recording a podcast from a prison phone. There's no privacy, limited phone access, unlimited background noise, and a schedule that's often out of my control. But [the team] were determined to make it happen. Because the people whose lives are touched by the criminal legal system have important stories to tell -- we refused to let them go untold. And because audio holds a special power to build connection and empathy, we knew it was worth the struggle to make this podcast come to life.”
Available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast.
Partner Events
Partners Host Candidate Forums
In our June/July calendar, we shared news about seven Candidate Forums for local elections. They included the City Council Candidate Forum on Disability Issues, July 14, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., El Centro de la Raza. It was hosted by a coalition of organizations focused on disability issues, including our funded partner Disability Rights Washington. The event featured candidates for the Seattle City Council District 2, District 8, and District 9 races. Watch the recording of that candidate forum.
At the time we’re posting this blog, these events are behind us and the election is a few days away. Watch the newsletter for more forums coming up in September and October.
Visit our Community Events Calendar for lots of partner events.
We also share dozens of Instagram stories from partners every day on our Instagram page.
Do you have an event you’d like us to share? Please send it to us!
Other Community News
New Funding for Study of Reparations
For two different perspectives on the $300,000 funding the State of Washington recently designated to study Black Reparations, we share these stories from South Seattle Emerald and The Seattle Times.
In the South Seattle Emerald story, by Lauryn Bray, community leaders emphasized how Black and Asian America lawmakers and activists came together on the bill. They include Japanese Americans like the late Cherry Kinoshita, incarcerated during World War II, who later fought for the 1988 Civil Liberties Act. The story features some incredible archival photos of community leaders.
Read the Emerald story, Washington Will Spend $300K to Study Reparations. Multiracial Solidarity Made It Possible.
Read the Seattle Times story, WA to study reparations for descendants of slavery | The Seattle Times.
CHOOSE 180 Expands into Pierce County
CHOOSE 180, a nonprofit organization advocating to transform the juvenile criminal legal system, is expanding to offer violence prevention, court diversion, and other programs to youth in Pierce County. CHOOSE 180 said a pilot program launched this March, and additional programs are anticipated to launch in Fall 2025 due to its success and interest. CHOOSE 180 is partnering with Metropolitan Development Council (MDC) to offer programs in Lincoln, Foss, Mt. Tahoma, Stadium, and Silas high schools, with the possibility of expanding to additional schools and community centers. Read more on the CHOOSE 180 website.
CityClub Affordable Housing Forum Recording Available
Seattle CityClub hosted a Civic Cocktail event on Affordable Housing last month, featuring Darrell Smith of HomeSight, Jazmine Smith of FutureWise, and Lindsey Goes Behind of Seattle Foundation. Rachel Horgan of The Weekly podcast, on Seattle-area business stories, moderated the panel.
Leadership Transition at International Herald Examiner
The International Herald Examiner recently announced the departure of editor in chief Alexa Strabuk, who led the organization through growth and award-winning journalism. They have appointed Vee Hua, former executive director of Northwest Film Forum and former interim managing director at South Seattle Emerald.
The International Herald Examiner is the community journalism organization that covers pan-Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander American (ANHPIA) issues in Seattle’s Chinatown International District and the greater Puget Sound region. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the IE under Vee’s leadership and wish Alexa the best.
Read About the Transition and Changes to Come at International Herald Examiner
Read the July Issue
Take the Pride Survey
LGBTQ+/2S and living in Washington State? You’re eligible to take the annual Pride Survey plus a chance to win 1 of 10 brand new iPads!
The drawing for iPads will take place at the end of August and winners will be contacted via email by August 31, 2025.
Learn More and Take the Survey (English and Spanish)
Funding Opportunities
Workforce Development Mini-Grants Open
Apply By Aug. 11
The Best Starts Workforce Development strategy has announced funding aimed at supporting the workforce of King County’s small (fewer than 25) community-based organizations, agencies, and early childhood centers that provide Prenatal to Five services to enhance their professional development efforts.
Best Starts aims to encourage organizations to assess their own staff and community needs to determine what trainings, resources and professional development opportunities would address their unique needs on Early Childhood Development, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, and Racial Equity.
Learn More and Apply for Workforce Development Mini-Grants
More Funding Opportunities
See funding opportunities from Best Starts for Kids and many others on our Funding Opportunities page.
Non-Best Starts Opportunities: You can also check out funding opportunities from other agencies and organizations that support groups that promote the health and well-being of our babies, children, and young people on the list maintained by Best Starts for Kids. Read more!
Job Opportunities
A Supportive Community For All: Case Manager (open until filled)
Byrd Barr Place: Several positions including Energy Assistance Program Manager
Disability Rights Washington: Executive Director
International Herald Examiner: Development Manager – apply by July 30 -- and Freelance News Writers
Lavender Rights Project: Numerous positions including Community Engagement Manager, Grants and Database Manager, and General Attorney
Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle: Numerous positions including Chief Program Officer
King County Metro: Administrative Specialist III – apply by July 17
Washington State Department of Commerce: Assistant Director, Housing Division – apply by July 16
See more job listings on these sites that collect multiple opportunities:
Housing Development Consortium’s job listings from housing organizations
Philanthropy Northwest’s searchable list of positions in development, communications and more
King County, City of Seattle, State of Washington, and other government jobs at www.governmentjobs.com
About This List: These job announcements were current as of July 16, 2025. Please check the employer's site for the most current information. We also share job opportunities every day on our LinkedIn page.
If you have a job to share in next month's issue, please send it to us by the third week of July. Thanks!