Learning in Community
Leaning into our value of “place,” Philanthropy Northwest has been embarking on what we are calling our “regional strategy,” an intentional effort to expand our knowledge of and relationships within our vast geographic footprint. This year has taken our team across the region — from the urban centers of Portland and Anchorage to the rural landscapes of Eastern Washington and Wyoming. Along the way, we’ve met with dozens of members, other philanthropic organizations, and community leaders.
Each visit was a reminder of why being in-person matters: relationships deepen, conversations open up and themes begin to emerge that connect communities across our six-state region.
- Nonprofits are carrying increasing responsibility at a time of shrinking public investment. Funders are attempting to fill gaps left by reduced federal dollars, with cuts across sectors to the arts, Medicaid, adolescent mental health services, DEI spending and more while also managing a surge in grant applications. State and local level political shifts are further impacting government funding for communities and stretching nonprofits to their limits.
- Even in the face of political headwinds, many organizations are holding steady on their equity commitments. Some are adapting their language to local contexts; others are creating new structures to ensure equity remains central. In Alaska, Indigenous-led organizations like First Alaskans Institute are showing what it looks like to center cultural knowledge and lived experience.
- We heard again and again that the most effective solutions come from within communities themselves. Rural foundations in Eastern Washington are designing programs by, for, and with local people. Albina Vision Trust and 1803 Fund in Portland are reclaiming land and creating spaces for Black Portlanders to thrive. Wyoming funders are leaning into trust-based practices, removing barriers for grantees in small, close-knit communities. A strategic merger in Idaho aims to build a stronger, more unified organization to help local nonprofits better address community needs.
- Funders across the region are experimenting with new ways of getting resources where they’re needed most. General operating and multi-year grants are becoming more common. Impact investing, pooled funds and intermediary roles are expanding. Wyoming Community Foundation’s “5 to Thrive” campaign is encouraging residents to leave 5% of their wealth to community nonprofits during a historic transfer of assets.
This fall, our travels took us to the Montana Nonprofit Association Conference in Billings, where we supported their Funders Forum and helped launch the Montana Funders Group. We also hosted an in-person BIPOC Folks in Philanthropy gathering and attended the Nonprofit Association of Oregon conference, both in Portland. In Salem, we facilitated a custom Grantmaking with an Equity Lens training.
Our quarterly Alaska Funders Group gathering and Philanthropy Northwest Board retreat brought us to Anchorage, Alaska, another reminder of how powerful it is to connect face-to-face with our network. Everywhere we went, people reminded us that philanthropy is built on relationships. Shared meals, impromptu meetups and even hikes together built trust in ways no Zoom call can.
Our staff would love to meet you, whether it is in your backyard or ours. So please reach out. We love exploring every corner of our six-state footprint and we want to learn more about the impact our network is having on the communities that we all belong to so that we can lift those lessons up across the region.
