Black Future Co-op Fund (Black Future) is a left-of-center grantmaking organization that supports African American-led nonprofits in the state of Washington. Recipients represent groups working in fields including the arts, education, and food and rental assistance. ¹

It is hosted by the Seattle Foundation, and receives support from corporations and donors which include Microsoft and the Starbucks Foundation. ² This organization is headed by Washington state Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest). ³

Funding and Structure

Founded in 2020 and based in Seattle, Washington, Black Future Co-op Fund is hosted by the left-of-center grantmaking group Seattle Foundation. It has numerous corporate sponsors which include Microsoft, Zillow Group, Puget Sound Energy, The Starbucks Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.  It also receives funding from grantmaking organizations such as Ballmer Group, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Satya and Rao Remala Foundation, and Laird Norton Family Foundation. ⁴

By November of 2023 Black Future reported having raised $27 million and having donated $8 million in grant funding. In addition to its corporate funding sources, it solicits donations through social media, through the promulgation of the Black Well-Being Report, and by cultivating relationships with local businesses and sports teams. The Seattle Seahawks NFL team donated $5,000 in 2022 and promoted Black Future on its official website as part of August as Black Philanthropy Month. ^{5 6}

Black Future often seeks out organizations to support; it does not require an application process, and grantees have reported being notified of funding without having been aware of Black Future. Its “We See You” grants typically range between $25,000 and $50,000, with later supplemental grants of $10,000; there is generally a cap of $100,000 per organization. In 2023 Black Future also announced a series of in-person listening sessions to further extend its grantmaking reach. ^{7 8}

Black Well-Being Report

The 2022 Black Well-Being report was inspired by an earlier study, Creating an Equitable Future in Washington State: Black Well-being & Beyond, conducted in 2015 by social services group Byrd Barr Place, the Washington Commission on African American Affairs, the African American Leadership Forum-Seattle, and the Washington State Budget and Policy Center. The report is based on a survey of over 600 African American respondents from Washington state, mostly between ages 26 and 45. ⁹

The data collected represent a variety of interest areas; one data set showed the average income of individuals by education, with those who earned at least a master’s degree earning just over $51,000 annually, and those with no high school diploma earning less than $1,500. The report also highlighted a series of positive statistical changes among Black Washingtonians from 2015 to 2022, including increased rates of health insurance coverage, median income, math standards performance, and high school graduation rates. It also showed a slight dip in home ownership, and a 3 percent decrease in Black voter registration. ¹⁰

The report also makes recommendations, such as a shift away from the perception that Black Americans can be represented by a small group of leaders. The report tells its readers to “refuse to be tokenized” and “make it a requirement of your presence that more of us stand beside you.” It also suggests placing a higher emphasis on the arts “because they are foundational to civic engagement and therefore social change.” It also lamented that Washington had not passed Referendum 88 which “would allow the state to implement affirmative action in public education, employment, and contracting if the action does not use quotas or preferential treatment.” ^{11 12}

Notable Grantees

Community Equity Initiative/BIPOC Family Excursion

Community Equity Initiative’s BIPOC Family Excursion program is an outdoor education program for children ages 4-12 in the Washington counties of Jefferson, Kitsap, and Clallam. This program is fiscally sponsored by Well Organized, a subsidiary of Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County. ^{13 14 15}

Family Works/Freedom Church of Seattle/Family First Community Center

Black Future provides funding to nonprofits that work in low-income community assistance programs. These include Family Works, which provides health and education programs, as well as food banks and mobile food pantries. The faith-based group Freedom Church of Seattle conducts similar programs, also providing rent and mortgage assistance and transportation services. ¹⁶

Black Future also supports groups such as the Family First Community Center, a hub for education and recreation resources, which also provides healthcare and dental services to residents. ¹⁷

Black Women’s Leadership Network/SWAG

Black Women’s Leadership Network (BWLN) hosts a series of retreats, presentations and networking events for African American women. ¹⁸

Strong Women Achieving Justice (SWAG) is a mentorship program aimed at young women. It hosts a free summer in conjunction with the YWCA, and a seminar called “Preparing for Greatness” designed to teach young women “self-regulation” and prioritization of goals. ¹⁹

Other Grantees

Black Future Co-op Fund provides grants to several organizations that work primarily in promotion of the arts including Spectrum Dance Theater, and the faith-based Acts on Stage, as well as funding the Syvilla Fort Scholarship Fund at the Cornish School of the Arts. It also supports education-based initiatives such as Village Life Project which promotes S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) programs in Seattle and south King County, Washington. It is also a supporter of the nonprofit law-firm The Way to Justice. ²⁰

Leadership

State Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest) is the co-founder and CEO of Black Futures Co-op Fund, and the director of University Place School Board. She is the founder of women’s organization Ladies First, and the former president of the Tacoma, Washington Urban League. She is a former board member of the West Region Mary Bridge Board’s MultiCare Health System. ²¹

1. “We See You Grants.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023.  https://www.blackfuturewa.org/we-see-you-grants
2. “Black Future Co-op Fund.” Seattle Foundation. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/nonprofits/community-campaigns/black-future-co-op-fund/
3. “Meet Our Staff.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.blackfuturewa.org/staff[
4. “Black Future Co-op Fund.” Seattle Foundation. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/nonprofits/community-campaigns/black-future-co-op-fund/
5. Morgan, Rick. “That is How it Should Be…” Puget Sound Business Journal. November 26, 2023. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/11/26/black-future-co-op-fund-works-in-progress.html
6. Boyle, John. “Seahawks Celebrate Black Philanthropy Month.” Seattle Seahawks. August 18, 2022. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.seahawks.com/news/seahawks-celebrate-black-philanthropy-month
7. “Statewide Listening Tour.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.blackfuturewa.org/state-wide-listening-tour
8. Morgan, Rick. “That is How it Should Be…” Puget Sound Business Journal. November 26, 2023. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/11/26/black-future-co-op-fund-works-in-progress.html
9. Jackson, Candace. “Black Well-Being: Moving Towards Solutions Together.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fbed439a5bc066edf999350/t/63928861af58377e3b44d5fb/1670547585780/2022+Black+Well-being+Report.pdf
10. Jackson, Candace. “Black Well-Being: Moving Towards Solutions Together.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fbed439a5bc066edf999350/t/63928861af58377e3b44d5fb/1670547585780/2022+Black+Well-being+Report.pdf
11. Jackson, Candace. “Black Well-Being: Moving Towards Solutions Together.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fbed439a5bc066edf999350/t/63928861af58377e3b44d5fb/1670547585780/2022+Black+Well-being+Report.pdf
12. “Washington Referendum 88.” Ballotpedia. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Referendum_88,_Vote_on_I-1000_Affirmative_Action_Measure_(2019)#:~:text=Ballot%20summary,-The%20ballot%20summary&text=It%20would%20allow%20the%20state,affirmative%20action%20and%20preferential%20treatment.
13. “Home.” Well Organized. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://well-organized.org/
14. “BIPOC Family Excursions-Jefferson County.” YMCA. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.olympicpeninsulaymca.org/bipocf-e#:~:text=BIPOC%20Family%20Excursions%20is%20a%20free%20outdoor%20educational,by%20BIPOC%20facilitators%20and%20educators.
15. “We See You Grants.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023.  https://www.blackfuturewa.org/we-see-you-grants
16.  “We See You Grants.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023.  https://www.blackfuturewa.org/we-see-you-grants
17. “Home.” Family First Community Center. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://familyfirstrenton.org/
18. “Home.” BWLN. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://thebwln.com/
19. “Upcoming Events.” SWAG. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.strongwomenachievinggreatness.com/upcomingeventsandprograms
20. “We See You Grants.” Black Future Co-op Fund. Accessed November 27, 2023.  https://www.blackfuturewa.org/we-see-you-grants
21. “T’wina Nobles.” Linkedin. Accessed November 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/twinanobles/details/experience/