Washington Women’s Foundation is proud to announce our 2024 Collective Grants, totaling $454,500 to 30 Washington organizations! We’re especially thrilled to announce the recipients of this year’s three unrestricted $100,000 Collective Grants and three $25,000 Merit Finalist Grant Awards. These amazing organizations work to increase equity in Washington State in our 2024 priorities: Increasing Access to Arts in Schools, Mental Health & Housing, and Re-Entry Support.
All six final organizations were offered an additional restricted $5,000 Leadership and Self-Care Grant. This capacity-building grant is intended to support leadership development, self-care, and wellness within the organization. Our understanding of leadership includes leadership at all levels of the organization.
We’re delighted to introduce you to our 2024 Collective Grantees, Merit Finalists, and Merit Awardees!
2024 Grantees
Increasing Access to Arts in Schools: South End Stories
South End Stories’ mission is to ignite joy and justice in classrooms and communities using arts-based learning, anti-racist education, and social activism. South End Stories runs a trauma-informed and anti-racist arts education program serving students and educators throughout King County, Washington. They encourage critical thought to stimulate artistic expression and exploration of identity at the highest level of learning. They aim to guide students towards a collaborative style of learning, giving them tools to share their stories through multiple means of expression.
Mental Health & Housing: Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement
FYRE’s mission is to advocate for equitable opportunities that allow all youth to thrive. To meet their mission, they offer services to ensure underserved youth in Okanogan County, ages 12-24, have their needs met in four main areas: 1) education, 2) physical and mental health, 3) basic needs and 4) resiliency programming. This includes providing educational advocacy, supporting young parents, increasing accessibility to whole-person health services, providing referrals and resources to youth experiencing homelessness and those experiencing sexual exploitation, and more.
Re-Entry Support: The Way to Justice
The Way to Justice’s mission is to pave the way to justice through community empowerment, advocacy, and access. With legal services as a nucleus for programming, comprehensive wraparound services make their approach whole. To prevent recidivism and reduce harm in the system, The Way to Justice focuses on community healing work and reentry navigation, helping clients and their families access all the support they need.
2024 Merit Award Finalists
Washington Women’s Foundation gave a $25,000 Merit Award to each of our three finalist organizations in recognition of the time, effort, and goodwill they invested in our rigorous grantmaking process. This year’s Merit Award Finalists are:
Increasing Access to Arts in Schools: Inchelium Language & Culture Association
The mission of the Inchelium Language & Culture Association (ILCA) is to foster and sustain a dynamic community of Salish language speakers whose daily lives are expressed through a commitment to Lakes and Colville culture and a connection to their traditional territories. In addition to offering language classes, ILCA hosts the annual Captikwl night every December, where elders share Coyote and Creation stories. They also take responsibility for the annual Upper Columbia River Canoe Journey and Salmon Ceremony held every June. These cultural events play a crucial role in preserving the Nselxcin-speaking community’s heritage and fostering a strong sense of cultural identity.
Mental Health & Housing: DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center)
DESC’s mission is to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. DESC provides effective and affordable solutions to homelessness for our community’s most vulnerable single adults through a nationally recognized interwoven network of care, housing, and support.
Re-Entry Support: FEPPS
FEPPS provides a rigorous college program for incarcerated women, trans-identified and gender-nonconforming people in Washington and creates pathways to higher education after students are released from prison. FEPPS’ re-entry program includes academic advising, college application and financial aid support, and community and resource building.
2024 Merit Awardees
WaWF offered an additional $49,500 in grants to acknowledge the time and energy our Merit Awardees invested in the Collective Grants process. We encourage you to learn more about their work!
Increasing Access to Arts in Schools:
Carnegie Picture Lab ($3,000 Award)
Tieton Arts & Humanities ($3,000 Award)
Yakima Music en Acción (YAMA) ($3,000 Award)
Arts Corps ($1,500 Award)
Key to Change ($1,500 Award)
Seattle JazzED ($1,500 Award)
Spark Central ($1,500 Award)
Urban ArtWorks ($1,500 Award)
Mental Health & Housing:
New Beginnings ($3,000 Award)
Triumph Treatment Services ($3,000 Award)
YWCA of Kitsap County ($3,000 Award)
Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program ($1,500 Award)
Elizabeth Gregory Home ($1,500 Award)
Hope Street ($1,500 Award)
New Phoebe House Association ($1,500 Award)
The Arc of King County ($1,500 Award)
Re-Entry Support:
Living with Conviction ($3,000 Award)
The IF Project ($3,000 Award)
Yoga Behind Bars ($3,000 Award)
Arms Around You ($1,500 Award)
RECLAIM ($1,500 Award)
The Black Rose Collective ($1,500 Award)
Revive Center for Returning Citizens ($1,500 Award)
TeamChild ($1,500 Award)
Over the next three years WaWF’s Grantee Engagement Team (GET) will build relationships with our new grantees, working with them to find opportunities to support them and their communities. Interested in joining GET or our membership community? Contact membership@wawomensfdn.org for more information. All are welcome!