The Seattle Foundation is a nonprofit organization that in 2021 provided over $196 million in grants to left-of-center groups in the Seattle, Washington area. ¹ It states that it seeks grantees claiming to support ethnic minority communities, including through vaguely described forms of “reparations” for racism as well as by increasing voter turnout. ^{2 3 4}

Background

In 1946, Richard Fuller, a businessman and founder of the Seattle Museum of Art, raised $289,000 to be an endowment for the general improvement of life in Seattle, Washington. In October 1947, using that endowment, Fuller established the Seattle Foundation as a 501(c)(3) community organization. ⁵ During its first year, the foundation disbursed a total of $8,000 to organizations in the area, including Overlake Hospital, YMCA Camp Orkila, and the Swedish Hospital. ⁶

In 1981, the foundation hired its first full-time president, David Lindsey Moberly, an education activist and district superintendent, who was succeeded two years later by Anne V. Farrell, who grew the foundation’s endowment to $300 million during her 23-year tenure. In that period, the foundation funded a variety of organizations aiming to assist individuals with HIV/AIDS, such as Bailey-Boushay House, a dedicated nursing facility; the Northwest AIDS Foundation, which has since become Lifelong; and the Chicken Soup Brigade. ⁶

In response to the social unrest brought about by the death of George Floyd in 2020, Seattle Foundation stated that its grantmaking will be contingent on how prospective grantees address race issues pertaining to ethnic minorities and low-income communities. ²

Grantmaking

Seattle Foundation states that its grantmaking falls under its “Core Programs,” “Civic Leadership,” and “REPAIR” programs, which also have their own subprograms. ²

Core Programs

Seattle Foundation’s Core Programs fund is its generic guidance for its grantmaking outside of its Civic Leadership and REPAIR programs, which includes giving to groups addressing race issues pertinent to ethnic minorities. ² It makes grants to organizations that trains or organizes activists and engages in left-of-center policy advocacy on behalf of ethnic minorities regarding race issues. ⁷

Civic Leadership

Grants under Seattle Foundation’s Civic Leadership program are made under its Civic Participation, Climate Justice, and Funds for Inclusive Recovery initiatives. ⁸

Seattle Foundation’s Fund for Inclusive Recovery includes a 5 year, $50 million commitment to give to groups that include ethnic minority groups that state they will use the grants to support ethnic minorities as they see fit and using Seattle Foundation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a model. ⁴ The Civic Participation initiative gives upwards of $125,000 seeking to increase voter turnout in select communities, under the guise of promoting democracy as well as supporting activist groups that advocate for policies supporting welfare and social programs for low-income and ethnic minority communities. ^{9 10 3} Seattle Foundation’s Climate Justice grantmaking initiative donates to advocacy groups that advocate for environmentalist policies which they claim incorporate the needs of ethnic minorities based on the left-of-center notion that low-income and ethnic minority communities are most affected by climate disasters and that climate disasters are a result of human activities. ¹¹

REPAIR

REPAIR, which stands for Racially Equitable Philanthropy Aimed at Initiating Reparations, is Seattle Foundation’s grantmaking initiative that has committed $25 million to give to “black-led” organizations in the Seattle area as a form of reparations for racism. ¹²

The Resilience Fund

The Resilience Fund was a grantmaking program of Seattle Foundation that operated under its REPAIR grantmaking program from 2017 until 2021 with annual grantmaking ranging between $327,000 and $565,000. ^{13 14}

It focused on making grants to Seattle-area nonprofits dealing with unanticipated expenses related to new initiatives intended to assist racial minority communities. Recipients of grants from the fund include Hip Hop is Green, which engages in youth-oriented environmentalist advocacy; Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and Families, which provides support to families of indigenous communities who have gone missing; and the Muslim Community Network Association, which provides programming and support to Muslim communities. ¹⁴

Neighbor to Neighbor

Founded in 1991, Seattle Foundation’s Neighbor to Neighbor program is focused on making grants to organizations that provide programmatic and professional assistance to poor and racial minority members of the Seattle community. Recipients of grants from the program include Somali Community Services of Seattle, a Somali community organization; the White Center Community Development Association, which aims to provide affordable housing to immigrants; and the Iraqi Community Center of Washington, a state-wide Iraqi community organization. ¹⁵

Voter Education Fund

In 2017, Seattle Foundation cofounded its Voter Education Fund in partnership with Washington’s King County Elections. The groups’ stated intention was to give to 501(c)(3) organizations that seek to increase voter turnout among select communities, focusing on ethnic minority and low-income communities. In 2019, it gave out nearly $1 million to 39 organizations. ¹⁶

For the 2023 to 2024 election cycles, the Voter Education Fund committed another $950,000 to continue to increase voter turnout. It states that it is giving out grants up to $25,000 per year for organizations seeking to increase voter turnout for ethnic minority and immigrant communities as well as turnout among homeless people, LGBT people, disabled persons, ex-convicts, and individuals living in south King County. ¹⁷

In June 2021, a complaint was filed with Washington State’s Public Disclosure Commission against Seattle Foundation for failure to timely register as a committee. The complaint claimed Seattle Foundation’s Voter Education Fund gave to campaigns that seek to elect left-wing candidates and promote left-wing policies and that funds were used to support ballot initiatives, which would be against Washington’s campaign contribution laws based on the status of the foundation and its partnership with King County Elections. The complaint claims the funds were used to support ballot initiatives including I-1631, which would impose a carbon tax, and Referendum 88, which would allow businesses to create policies requiring the hiring of ethnic minorities, women, and other groups at higher rates. ^{16 18}

In April 2022, David Bley as an officer of Seattle Foundation filed a Public Disclosure Commission Statement of Understanding that acknowledged Seattle Foundation violated campaign laws requiring the timely filing an Incidental Committee report, as it states it admitted to giving to organizations that advocated for ballot initiatives during the 2019, 2020, and 2021 election cycles. ¹⁹

Leadership

Alesha Washington

Alesha Washington has been the president and CEO of the Seattle Foundation since May 11, 2022. Formerly, Washington was the program director for the Vibrant Neighborhoods and Inclusive Economy programs at the George Gund Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio; vice president of government advocacy for the Greater Cleveland Partnership; and a government relations staffer with Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and the Centers for Families and Children. Additionally, Washington is a member of the Policy Advisory Committee of the W.E. Upjohn Institute and a member of the Brookings Metro Leadership Council. Formerly, Washington served on the boards of the Cleveland Public Library and the Center for Community Solutions. ²⁰

Financials

According to its tax returns, Seattle Foundation received $206.7 million in contributions and $74.3 million in 2021 out of its $283.9 million in total revenue. ²¹ It also reported spending $196.9 million in grants and $10.6 million in salaries and compensation of employees, out of its $230.8 million in total expenditures. ²²

1. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Seattle Foundation. 2021. Schedule I.
2. “What We Do.” Seattle Foundation, May 22, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/what-we-do/.
3. “Civic Participation Impact Strategy.” Seattle Foundation, May 23, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/what-we-do/core-programs/civic-participation/.
4. “Fund for Inclusive Recovery.” Seattle Foundation, October 31, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/blueprint-for-impact/civic-leadership/fund-for-inclusive-recovery/.
5. “The Seattle Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/916013536
6. “Our History.” Seattle Foundation. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/aboutus/history
7. “Core Programs.” Seattle Foundation, July 18, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/what-we-do/core-programs/.
8. “Civic Leadership.” Seattle Foundation, August 16, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/blueprint-for-impact/civic-leadership/.
9. “Vibrant Democracy Initiative.” Seattle Foundation, May 11, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/blueprint-for-impact/center-for-community-partnerships/vibrant-democracy-initiative/.
10. “Communities of Opportunity.” Seattle Foundation, August 5, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/blueprint-for-impact/center-for-community-partnerships/communities-of-opportunity/.
11. “Climate Justice Impact Strategy.” Seattle Foundation, September 1, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/what-we-do/core-programs/climate-justice-impact-strategy/.
12. “Repair.” Seattle Foundation, May 23, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/blueprint-for-impact/repair/.
13. Search for The resilience fund. Seattle Foundation, November 27, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/?s=the%2Bresilience%2Bfund.
14. “2021 Resilience Fund Grants Announced.” Seattle Foundation. February 16, 2022. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/Blog/Articles/2022/02/2021-resilience-fund-grants-announced
15. “ANNUAL GRANTEE CONVENING.” Seattle Foundation, June 12, 2019. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/nonprofits/Neighbor-To-Neighbor/.
16. Martinell, TJ. “Complaint: King County Elections Misused $300,000 for Political Campaigning.” The Center Square, January 26, 2023. https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_a0fe5134-9cdb-11ed-8abd-77b6d3e44940.html.
17. Rubin, Hana. “Now Accepting Applications for the 2023-2024 Voter Education Fund!” Seattle Foundation, March 2, 2023. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/now-accepting-applications-for-the-2023-2024-voter-education-fund/.
18. “Summary of Referendum Measure No. 88.” State of Washington House of Representatives, August 14, 2019. https://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/OPRGeneral/Documents/2019/Referendum88Summary.pdf.
19. “Public Disclosure Commission Statement of Understanding.” Seattle Foundation: PDC Case 92059. Public Disclosure Commission, April 9, 2022. https://pdc-case-tracking.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/4098/SOU%20-%20Case%2092059%2C%20Seattle%20Foundation.pdf.
20. “Alesha Washington.” Seattle Foundation. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://www.seattlefoundation.org/aboutus/ourteam/Presidents-office/alesha-washington
21. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Seattle Foundation. 2021. Part I, Lines 8-12.
22. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Seattle Foundation. 2021. Part I, Lines 13-18.