COO and Public-Private Partnerships
Since its conception in 2014 and integration as one of the Best Starts for Kids investment areas, COO has been a community-led collaborative partnership of King County residents, decision-makers, and public and private funders.
Public-Private Partnerships are not a new tool for advancing social change. Philanthropy, government, and community partners have long found ways to pool resources for a strategic investment that advances shared priorities.
COO believes that when you bring together public and philanthropic partners who believe in investing in the power of communities most adversely affected by inequities, prioritize trust and relationships, and co-create sustainable solutions, we can effectively achieve a region that is healthy, self-determined, and thriving.
COO’s Experience Establishing Public-Private Partnerships
Participants at the regional conversation we co-hosted with Magic Cabinet at Wing Luke Museum in fall 2024.
Communities of Opportunity has been establishing new public-private partnerships over the past several years to expand our impact and make funding more effective and catalytic. We collaborated with Magic Cabinet to host a regional conversation in 2024 and have hosted other gatherings, bringing together leaders from philanthropy, government, and community. This diverse group engages in meaningful conversations about building community power, dismantling systemic barriers, and fostering bold partnerships.
Our work has led to new partnerships with St. Joseph Fund and Renton Regional Community Foundation, and greater philanthropic representation on our Community Advisory Group.
Renton Regional Community Foundation
and Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation
South King County Immigrant and Refugee Futures Fund (SIRFF)
Communities of Opportunity (COO) and another Best Starts for Kids initiative – the Community Well-Being Initiative (CWI) – are partnering with the Renton Regional Community Foundation (RRCF) and the Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation on a new public-private partnership. It’s called the South King County Immigrant and Refugee Futures Fund.
Through this partnership, we’re investing in the strength of immigrant and refugee communities in South King County. The implementation is a collaborative effort between the RRCF, which will lead implementation; Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation; and other philanthropic organizations and individuals. RRCF will allocate funds to community organizations in South King County that work closely with refugee and immigrant organizations and other communities impacted by federal policies, such as LGBTQ+ communities.
St. Joseph Fund
A new pilot partnership between Communities of Opportunity (COO) and St. Joseph Fund (SJF) is supporting more community power-building opportunities in King County. The partnership has enabled COO to expand our Place-Based and Cultural Community Partnership strategy to further strengthen community power building activities, partnership development, skill building, and healing.
These projects will support specific capacity-building strategies for established anti-displacement coalitions in south King County. The work includes advancing land stewardship and cultural revitalization in South Seattle, and working to end displacement and expand community ownership of land across King County.
We announced the partnership in summer 2025 and launched our new pilot projects in spring 2026.
Read the announcement about the partnership with St. Joseph Fund
Meet the Partners! Read about the new pilot projects and the partners who were selected for funding
Seattle Foundation
In 2014, the Seattle Foundation and King County government were each laying the groundwork to address economic and racial inequities through place-based work and systemic change. Rather than doing business as usual and proceeding on independent tracks, King County and the Seattle Foundation came together to incubate this new public-private approach called “Communities of Opportunity.”
This unique public/private/community-based partnership has expanded and now includes support through Best Starts for Kids – a King County initiative building strength and resilience in kids, families, and communities.