


It’s time to collaborate more, not less.
What does it mean to collaborate right now? This was the question among a team of nonprofit state association CEOs at a recent meeting. As we all leaned into the conversation, Laurie commented, “We need to collaborate now more than ever. But exhaustion in the sector...
Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce): Unfamiliar Territory Leads to a Model for Successful Government/Nonprofit Partnership
In the beginning, working with nonprofits was unfamiliar territory for Cheryl Smith, Director of Community Engagement and Outreach with the Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce). She says previous work with nonprofits would typically center around a...
Voices of Pacific Island Nations (VOPIN) – CARES Act Funding Helps Nonprofit Address Achievement Gap among Kitsap County Pacific Islander Students
When Patrick Woo-Ching founded Voices of Pacific Island Nations in 2015, he did so by asking himself the question, “If not me, who else?” What Patrick felt he had an obligation to address was the lack of academic achievement among Pacific Islander students in public...
United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF): CARES Act Grant Administration Uses a Humanistic Approach, Paving the Way for Trust-based Philanthropy
United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF), an organization with its origins in activism, has a 51-year history of providing a variety of culturally responsive services and programming to Seattle and King County’s urban Native community. As a “hub for the Native...
Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA): State Agency with Deep Community Ties Made Sure Arts and Culture Organizations Were Supported
COVID-19 had a devastating impact on the creative economy across the country, and the creative economy in Washington state was not spared. The Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) says the state’s creative economy supports more than 17,600 arts and...
School’s Out Washington (SOWA): Nonprofit Umbrella Distributed State Funds in a way that Worked for Nonprofits
School’s Out Washington (SOWA), an organization dedicated to strengthening community systems that support quality expanded learning programs for Washington’s children and youth, is another nonprofit organization that successfully partnered with state government to...