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Last month, Starbucks announced plans to expand its Community Store initiative, which supports economic opportunity in diverse, low- to medium-income urban neighborhoods across the country, by opening 100 new Community Stores by 2025. Starbucks has opened 14 of these stores since the program’s inception in 2015, in locations like White Center, WA; Queens, NY; Milwaukee, WI; and Ferguson, MI. Their success inspired this expansion, with new Community Stores planned in Los Angeles, CA; Anacostia, D.C.; and Prince George’s County, MD.
Starbucks founded the initiative as part of its goal of hiring 10,000 “Opportunity Youth” (young ages 16-24 who face systemic barriers to meaningful jobs and education). In select locations, the company focuses on factors like high youth unemployment, low median household income and economically distressed areas. more »
Ankita Patel | 2020 is a big year for us – as individuals, as organizations and communities, and as a democracy. We all have the opportunity to show up and take action to ensure a more reflective, equitable and representative democracy across our vibrant Northwest communities. more »
Read the second regional spotlight in our current Trends in Northwest Giving series. Education was the top priority for funders to Montana in 2016, receiving one-third of all funding. This article features Montana and the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation's unique public-private partnerships to fund collective impact programs that strengthen Montana's education system. more »
Meredith Higashi | Throughout 2019, the state budget was a top concern for Alaskan communities and organizations. To balance the budget, Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed $1.6 billion in spending cuts that would have a devastating impact across the state, including for housing and homeless programs, arts programs, Medicaid, the University of Alaska system, civil legal services, early childhood and more. With a steep battle to minimize the magnitude of the cuts, Alaskans worked to take a united stand for their communities. The scale of the budget crisis necessitated new ways of leading together, especially among funders. more »