Seattle Foundation announces $327,000 in Resilience Fund grants to support vulnerable communities
Seattle Foundation has awarded grants to 22 organizations through our Resilience Fund to protect and advance the safety, security, constitutional and human rights of our region’s most vulnerable community members. This first round of funding in 2018 is infusing $327,000 in community organizations that are committed to strengthening the resilience of local residents in the face of emerging challenges.
We received applications from 62 organizations for this flexible, responsive grant program, including many from immigrant and refugee groups experiencing strong demand from community members who need assistance with legal advice and support, family safety plans and information about their rights.
The Seattle field office of national organization KIND, Kids in Need of Defense, is receiving a grant to ensure that no unaccompanied refugee or immigrant child faces immigration court alone. Funding will support additional attorney time to work on current cases for unaccompanied children.
World Relief Seattle will use its grant to add an attorney to its legal aid clinic, which helps immigrants and refugees reunite with their families and obtain residency or citizenship.
The Restaurant Opportunities Center of Seattle will apply the funding to its Sanctuary Restaurant project, which is bringing together restaurant workers, employers and diners to promote a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism and xenophobia in the industry.
These King County-based nonprofits and the other 19 grantees are supporting increased needs in the community for protection, support, legal guidance, organizing and advocacy. They are addressing amplified threats and discrimination based on factors including race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability and country of origin. Grants are being distributed to organizations serving a variety of marginalized communities, including immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ populations, low-wage workers and other vulnerable residents whose security and rights are eroding under changing federal policies and declining funding.
The organizations receiving Resilience Fund grants of up to $20,000 each are, alphabetically:
21 Progress
Casa Latina
Coalition for Refugees from Burma
Creative Justice
Delridge Neighborhood Development Association
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group
East African Community Services
Eat With Muslims
Entre Hermanos
Ethiopian Community in Seattle
Filipino Community of Seattle
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) – Seattle Office
Muslim Community & Neighborhood Association
Mother Africa
Not This Time
OneAmerica
Restaurant Opportunities Center of Seattle
SouthEast Effective Development (SEED)
UTOPIA (United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance)
Washington Community Action Network Education and Research Fund (Washington CAN!)
West African Community Council
World Relief Seattle
“Our Resilience Fund puts the community’s values into action by supporting those whose rights are being eroded and whose voices have been dampened,” said Tony Mestres. “We are proud to lead this effort that creates a stronger, more inclusive community, especially for those newcomers who seek a better life here and contribute to our communities and economy.”
In 2017, the Resilience Fund awarded a total of $930,000 in grants. Seattle Foundation plans to conduct a second round of Resilience Fund grants in the fall of 2018.
Seattle Foundation’s partners in funding this round of grants are Emerald Fund, Agora Fund and The Fund for New Citizens at The New York Community Trust, through a group of national funders.