This is Washington Women’s Foundation’s (WaWF’s) first year centering our grantmaking on women and girls who are furthest from justice, and we’re thrilled to announce our very first grant under this new approach! 

ELLA is a Chicana/Latina-led social justice organization rooted in advocacy and leadership cultivation to increase Chicana/Latina representation as key decision-makers across all sectors. At the heart of all they do is a commitment to building power within the community. By centering Chicana/Latina leadership, they are not only addressing immediate inequities but also creating long-term structural change across the Yakima Valley. 

Place-Based Grantmaking 

ELLA is our very first grantee under our new criteria, and they are receiving our inaugural Place-Based Grant, as well! 

This spring, WaWF members and Yakima community members participated in our first Place-Based Grant, committing significant time and energy to learning about and building true connections with the people in the Yakima Valley. Like our former Partner Grants, our Place-Based Grants are collectively decided by the WaWF members and community members who are on the committee.  

Please give a big thank you to WaWF Members and Yakima Community Members who put in a lot of hard work over this past weekend to make this decision: Addy, Barbara, Briana, Catherine, Cecilia, Christine, Cynthia, Enriqueta, Janet, Jean, Jessica, Joyce, Julie, Vanessa, and Willow. It was an amazing weekend of in-person grantmaking, made all the more treasured by being on location where our grants would be distributed. A special shout-out, too, to the staff of the Yakima Valley Community Foundation, who graciously allowed their offices to serve as our headquarters-away-from-home all weekend.  

We will share more reflections on our long weekend of learning and grantmaking and relationship-building soon, but we couldn’t wait to introduce you to our new grantees!  

Merit Award Winners 

Our grant committee was impressed and inspired by the work of all the organizations that applied, and in addition to our primary grantee, also awarded three Merit Awards to the following organizations, in recognition of their efforts to support women most impacted by inequity in Yakima:  

Nuestra Casa: Educating Women, Impacting Families, Changing Communities. Through education, advocacy and mutual support, Nuestra Casa empowers immigrants to create positive changes, enriching themselves, their families and their communities. 

Ttawaxt Birth Justice Center: Reducing infant and maternal mortality by nurturing a healthy birthing community grounded in Indigenous ancestral knowledge. They carry out their mission through the revitalization of Indigenous intergenerational matriarchal practices and systems and by creating safe, Indigenous spaces where families and communities can heal and thrive. 

YWCA Yakima: The YWCA Yakima is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Their core mission is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for victims of domestic violence to heal, become self-reliant survivors, and to offer comprehensive services that foster safety and hope.  

These unrestricted place-based grants are an investment of $160,005 into Yakima Valley organizations, with 1 $150,000 grantee (3-year grant of $50K/year) and 3 $3,335 Merit Awards. 

What’s Next 

As promised, we’ll share more about the experience and learnings we took away from Yakima, but for now, get ready to vote for the Direct Services Grant next month! The Direct Services Committee is hard at work narrowing down the field of applications so that you can see the finalists for our first Direct Services Grant for women and girls very soon. You should prepare for a difficult decision because, of course, our pool of applicants has been large, and every group that applied is incredible! 

Congratulations again to ELLA. We’re so happy to have you as a grantee.