At a time when we are increasingly facing a loss of community connection and public sector capacity to meet the growing needs of all young people, philanthropy is being asked to do more in terms of alignment and action.

In November 2023, corporate and philanthropic funders who are supporting young people across Washington State began meeting, with support from The Giving Practice, to explore what they might accomplish together that they couldn't do alone. What started as an exploratory conversation has since evolved into The Washington Education Funders Table — an active network where funders learn from one another, align investments and take collective action across the state. Through conversations with Funder Table members Bish Paul and Angela Jones from the Gates Foundation and Traci McGlathery from STCU’s Here for Good, we heard a set of themes about what makes this kind of collective effort both meaningful and effective.

Collective action takes… a shared understanding that no one can do it alone

From the beginning, there was a clear recognition that the challenges facing young people, and the systems that support them, are too complex for any one funder to solve.

For Bish, this realization came from years of working as a grantee at a small nonprofit, looking at funder efforts across Washington.

Traci and Bish also noted the importance of bringing together perspectives from across the state — urban, rural and regional — helping funders better understand where resources are flowing and where gaps remain.

What we’re seeing: Collective action starts with a shared belief that working alone is insufficient.

Collective action takes…relationships and trust as the foundation

Before alignment, before co-investment and before action, there was relationship.

Bish, Angela and Traci described the early days of the Funders Table as relational, even informal. But that foundation proved essential.

Trust created the conditions for candor, challenge and forward movement.

Angela also highlighted the value of learning across different types of funders, each with their own structures, timelines and constraints, which helped build understanding and more realistic expectations.

It created space for vulnerability — especially during a difficult time in the sector.

What we’re seeing: Trust is the work. And without it, collective action stalls.

Collective action takes…moving from conversation to coordinated action

What is now a feature of this Funders Table is its movement toward action.

Traci described a shift from alignment to tangible outcomes:

This has shown up in tangible ways:

• Co-investing in statewide initiatives (e.g., FAFSA completion efforts, AI-enabled advising, digital ecosystem alignment)
• Scaling promising pilots from one region to multiple regions across Washington
• Connecting funders to new organizations and communities, particularly in underrepresented regions
• Coordinating advocacy insights and policy engagement across the state
• Reducing duplication and aligning investments across shared priorities

For example, what began as a shared conversation about FAFSA completion challenges evolved into coordinated efforts across institutions, leading to expanded access and new models of support across communities.
 

Even seemingly small actions, such as sharing funding opportunities or connecting peers, had ripple effects.

The Table also functions as a kind of real-time radar, helping funders stay attuned to emerging needs and policy shifts across the state.

What we’re seeing: Collective action is built through many forms of alignment — from small signals to large-scale co-investment.

Collective action takes…structures and facilitation that hold the work

While relationships and shared intent matter, participants were clear: this kind of collaboration doesn’t sustain itself. It requires intentional structure and facilitation:

And an acknowledgment of the realities of philanthropy:

At its best, the structure becomes a container for momentum: