We intentionally created a short, streamlined application that focused on five questions and was easy for applicants to complete. In many cases, grantees fit both categories. “We hope others will follow the leadership of the Seattle Foundation and shift their funding models away from trying to solve symptoms to a true focus on the root causes of inequities.”ĭue to the above circumstances, all selected grantees are on the frontline of responding to the crises of the last two years or are organizations that have been under-resourced for generations. “We are happy to see the work that the Seattle Foundation is doing to focus resources on the joy and wellness of Black-led organizations” says André Franklin, founding member of Brothers United in Leadership Development (BUILD), one of the 29 organizations to receive a Black-Led Joy and Wellness Fund grant.

Many times, funds work to solve for the immediate effects of these inequities, but do not move towards true, sustained, or long-term equity. As we explained during the launch of the Fund for Inclusive Recovery, the pandemic has also surfaced centuries-long inequities. They shared examples where staff are exhausted from having to operate under insurmountable stress to meet the needs of their community as they continue to endure an ever-evolving pandemic. Leaders from the BLOC elevated to us the need for a new funding opportunity that focuses on supporting the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of staff at Black-led organizations. The emphasis on a fund that supports joy and wellness stems from our meaningful work with the Black-Led Organization Cohort, also known as the BLOC. “The Black-Led Joy and Wellness grant will give our Black Trans staff and leadership the opportunity to rest, renew, and process all that we’ve accomplished so far.” “We believe in the transformative leadership of Black trans femmes, but not at the expense of their health and well-being,” says Jaelyn Scott, Executive Director of the Lavender Rights Project, one of the 29 organizations to receive a Black-Led Joy and Wellness Fund grant. The Black-Led Joy and Wellness Fund is one approach Seattle Foundation has taken to center the importance of wellbeing among these organizations and their staff - allowing them to take a collective deep breath. Often, these smaller organizations don’t have the resources to provide paid time off to staff or reimbursement for wellness activities such as rest or sabbaticals. Many staff at Black-led organizations are on the verge of burnout after two years of responding to the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and anti-Black racism. REPAIR is a 5-year, $25 million commitment to the Black community of the Greater Seattle Region which we launched in June of 2021. This effort aims to support staff at Black-led and -serving organizations, and builds off of our REPAIR (Racially Equitable Philanthropy Aimed at Initiating Reparations) framework. This month, in the days leading up to Black History Month, Seattle Foundation is proud to announce that 29 organizations collectively received $540,000 from the Black-Led Joy and Wellness Fund. We are all called to do philanthropy differently.

In doing so, we have also examined the role that philanthropy, including our historic underinvestment among these groups, has played in their fight for liberation.

Seattle Foundation has been on a long journey to support those on the frontlines of injustices and inequities – redirecting resources to communities and leaders of Black-led and serving organizations. Funding Black Joy and Self-Care Seattle Foundation’s Black-led Joy & Wellness Fund grants $540,000 to 29 King County Organizations.Īudre Lorde once said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” I can’t help but reflect on what this civil rights activist and American writer meant by these words, that rest is not a luxury, but instead, is crucial for sustainability in the fight for liberation.

Insurmountable joy