Solid Ground Washington

Background

Solid Ground Washington was founded in 1974 as the Fremont Public Association. The organization originally focused on providing basic community services through food banks, clothing banks, and employment programs for low-income residents in Seattle. ²

In the 1980s and 1990s, Fremont Public Association added a transportation service program for people with disabilities. The organization also got involved in community organizing and activism, organizing a “Citizens for a Better Seattle Campaign” that successfully lobbied for a $50 million Seattle Housing Levy and $25 million Art Museum Levy. ³

As the organization expanded, it began to mobilize activists statewide to advocate in favor of left-of-center “race and social justice” efforts and causes. ⁴ The organization established a separate advocacy entity, the Statewide Poverty Action Center, to carry out its community organizing activities. In 2007, the organization rebranded as Solid Ground Washington. ⁵ The organization asserts that its mission is to “end poverty and undo racism and other oppressions that are root causes of poverty.” ⁶

As of 2025, Shalimar Gonzales was the CEO of Solid Ground. Gonzales sits on the board of directors of Community Roots Housing, a low-income housing development organization that completed the Africatown Plaza project in 2024. ^{7 8}

Activities

Solid Ground Washington operates food banks and offers several food education services for Seattle communities. The Community Food Education (CFE) program seeks to “counter the barriers of racism and oppression that interfere with people’s right to food” by educating children and adults on obtaining, preparing, and eating healthy foods. The program claims to “center food as a tool to build community and work toward social justice.” ⁹

Solid Ground Washington offers housing and homelessness prevention programs and services. The organization operates on a “no-preconditions” policy, which means there are no requirements for beneficiaries concerning criminal records, sobriety, treatment, or service participation. Solid Ground Washington asserts that the causes of homelessness are “rooted in systemic injustices that are deeply ingrained in our society.” The organization also provides “tenant services” that assist people in avoiding evictions. Squatters have often taken advantage of these types of services to prevent rightful tenants and owners from removing them.  ^{10 11}

Solid Ground Washington also controls the entity Sand Point Community Connections, which operates housing complexes for formerly homeless people on a former U.S. Navy base in Seattle. The organization was a driving force in the creation of the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, which has awarded over $2 billion in subsidized housing funding since 1986. ^{12 13}

Solid Ground Washington engages in “anti-racism” work by offering “anti-racism workshops,” affinity groups, and individual support. Solid Ground Washington coordinates these efforts with other left-of-center non-profits and local government entities, including the Non-Profit Anti-Racism Coalition, the City of Seattle Race and Justice Initiative, King County Equity and Social Justice, the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Planning for Equity Network, and the Social Justice Film Festival. ⁴

Solid Ground Washington provides transportation services to people who are unable to use the fixed-route public transportation system. The organization also operates a downtown Seattle fixed-route bus service. ¹⁴

Solid Ground Washington also provides advice and legal representation on obtaining and restoring welfare benefits. ¹⁵

Financials

Solid Ground Washington generates an annual revenue of nearly $30 million, including significant funding from federal, state, and local government grants. ¹⁶

USASpending.gov records show the organization receiving $1.7 million in direct federal grants since 2019, including $160,000 per year from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for “Continuum of Care” housing, services. The organization has also received $580,000 in funding since 2019 for its Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. ¹⁶

USASpending.gov records also show Solid Ground Washington receiving over $10.8 million in federal subgrants since 2019 from prime awardees at the Washington state and local government levels, including $9.3 million originating from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, $769,968 from the Department of Health and Human Services, and $700,822 from the Department of Justice. ¹⁶

The state of Washington reports $6 million in direct payments to Solid Ground Washington since 2019. ¹⁷

Solid Ground Washington received a $3.2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020 that was forgiven. ¹⁸

The Rockefeller Foundation has donated $750,000 to Solid Ground Washington from 2019 to 2021 for the organization’s activism efforts to expand the state of Washington’s version of the Earned Income Tax Credit. ^{19 20}

The Wyncote Foundation donated $705,000 to Solid Ground Washington from 2020 to 2023 to support ongoing programs. ^{21 22}

The Gates Foundation donated $300,999 to the organization from 2019 to 2021 for “education and human service needs” and “community engagement grantmaking.” ^{23 24 25}

Violence at Sand Point Community

A 2017 officer-involved shooting at Solid Ground Washington’s Sand Point Community made national headlines after a pregnant mother of four was shot dead by Seattle police officers after she allegedly attempted to attack them with knives. The family of the deceased filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle and Solid Ground Washington, claiming that Solid Ground Washington’s negligence in operating the community caused the death. ²⁶

A judge dismissed Solid Ground Washington from the lawsuit, ruling that the organization was not legally responsible for the shooting. The city of Seattle ultimately paid a $3.5 million settlement to the family, even though the police use of force was found to be justified. ^{27 28}

Residents at Sand Point criticized the organization’s response and lack of accessible services, raising concerns about retaliation and inadequate services at the facility and calling for an independent review of operations. They urged Solid Ground Washinton to improve case management and transparency. ¹

In 2024, 23-year-old Sand Point resident Skylar Johnson was shot dead by a group of people outside his apartment after asking them to stop making noise around 3:30 AM, explaining that it was preventing his two-month-old daughter from sleeping. Within two months of this incident, bullets narrowly missed a toddler in the neighborhood. ^{29 30}