From 2020 to 2023, Threshold Philanthropy’s work has been part of a larger, intermingling and interrelated ecosystem, where we are all in relationship to one another.
Our work centered on collaboration and co-creating with BIPOC healers, movement leaders, visionaries, and communities — especially Black and Indigenous people, because the conception of this nation and the American experiment was founded and constructed on genocide, stolen land, and the labor of stolen people.
We knew that co-creating a world where we are all free and are seen in all of our humanity required a lot of intention, which was why we prioritized transparency, vulnerability, flexibility, openness, and empathy in all of our connections.
Meet our 2020-2023 partners
Amplify Fund
About
The Amplify Fund is a pooled fund that redistributes funding to support organizations and movements across the US and Puerto Rico. A true model in participatory grantmaking, Amplify engages and organizers funders, while centering community in design and decision-making processes. They’re particularly excited about the funding and attention given to communities in the south.
Give ‘em some love
Reach out to Melody Baker to learn more about the fund, including ways to support. Also, help spread the news that they are hiring for two badass roles.
ARTE NOIR
About
ARTE NOIR is a collective gathering space and gallery for BIPOC artists in Washington and across the African Diaspora. They celebrate Black art, brilliance, and joy in the historic Central District. Working with developers, Vivian and team have set up a unique arrangement so that they will one day own the space in a neighborhood that has been ravaged by gentrification. Badass, indeed! We need more models like this if we are to build and sustain Black wealth and repair the harms of gentrification.
Give ‘em some love
Directly fund ARTE NOIR to support the building of a studio for young people and an art and maker space for the community. . If you’re an artist or vendor, contact the team to learn more about how to partner. Treat yourself by stopping by and immersing yourself in the space and surrounding yourself with Black beauty and joy!
BIPOC ED Coalition
About
In 2020, Executive Directors across the state of Washington came together to call-in philanthropy, highlighting the ways in which our sector was failing them and their organizations. The letter invited foundations to be accountable to movement, including a set of recommendations to better support BIPOC leaders and their organizations. From that beginning, the BIPOC ED Coalition continues to gather leaders from across the state, supports sabbaticals for BIPOC EDs, and connects with philanthropy to advance more equitable practices. They are leading the way in calling for the centering of humanity at work and keeping BIPOC leaders in these critical roles in our communities.
Give ‘em some love
Take a look at the BIPOC ED Coalition’s 2023 Legislative Priorities and take action. Sign the ED Open Letter or the funder’s pledge, join a community call, and donate to the coalition now.
Children of the Setting Sun Productions
About
Children of the Setting Sun Productions creates and shares Indigenous stories rooted in gratitude, generosity, responsibility, and reverence. Seeking to bring the minds and hearts of future generations to care, support, and advocate for nature and their way of life. Their programs include their Indigenous Led Think Tank, Salmon People Project, Young Tribal Leadership, and Community Projects.
Give ‘em some love
Donate directly to Children of the Setting Sun on their website.
Creative Justice
About
Creative Justice is an innovative arts-based organization working to end youth incarceration. They work with King County juvenile criminal legal system and offer arts instruction and healing engaged spaces for court and systems-impacted youth and young adults. Creative Justice asks our legal system, especially the criminal legal system, to trust the community to address its own needs, and to celebrate the strengths, brilliance and creativity of young people navigating a complex world.
Give ‘em some love
Cypress Fund
About
Rooted in direct repair, the Cypress Fund is resourcing powerful work in the Carolinas — mobilizing c4 funding, defending voter rights, and catalyzing and supporting activists on the frontlines. While the south has been traditionally underfunded by philanthropy, Cypress Fund brings a commitment and focus that honors the critical role that the south plays in helping our country better live into our values of justice, repair, and liberation.
Give ‘em some love
Reach out to Chi-Ante directly to support southern movements, particularly with c4 funding. While many funders are departing the south, or only invest in major elections, we’re calling on philanthropy to invest consistently, for the long-term.
Denkyem Co-Op
About
Dion Cook and team are doing truly dope things to shift how we define risk and invest deeply in Black-owned businesses in Washington. Recently certified as a CDFI, Denkyem Co-op’s staff and board are shifting the paradigm of what it means to build Black wealth in the Puget Sound. In addition to providing loans, Denkyem Co-Op is a connector and capacity-builder, knowing that it is only when we invest in Black businesses and entrepreneurs that we live into our values of racial and economic justice in our region.
Give ‘em some love
Denkyem is always looking for more lending capital and general operating support to continue growing their team! Visit their website, get some time with them, and get inspired. They are also currently working to expand their board. Contact Dion Cook directly if you’re interested in learning more.
Gathering Roots
About
Based in Auburn, Washington, Gathering Roots is a BIPOC-led and centered community that helps BIPOC individuals, communities, and organizations reconnect to spirit, land, one another, and themselves. Using traditional wisdom, ritual, food, breath, and spaciousness Gathering Roots is building physical, emotional, and spiritual space for community to heal, co-conspire, and learn.
Give ‘em some love
Visit the land! And visit their new website when it’s up and running (still to come!).
Just Transition Investment Community
About
The Just Transition Investment Community is a new peer learning and action community for staff and trustees of philanthropic institutions to align their investment practices with the values and principles of Just Transition. The Just Transition Investment Community aims to facilitate measurable shifts in endowment dollars out of Wall Street and into community-controlled, movement-aligned Just Transition projects and loan funds that build economic power in Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities and nourish local, regenerative solidarity economies.
Give ‘em some love
The JTIC is currently spreading the news far and wide that there’s a new investment framework and policy statement in the house. Contact their team for more information about the community and the framework. Host a learning session in your community or with your partners!
Liberation Ventures
About
The Liberation Ventures team is working in a multitude of ways to advance reparations for Black folks in the United States and beyond. Bringing together the worlds of research, narrative change, policy, and funders, LV partners with and funds the individuals and organizations leading powerful reparations movements.
Give ‘em some love
Fund the movement for reparations and reach out to Aria and team for more information about how to support their work.
Na’ah Illahee Fund
About
Na’ah Illahee Fund supports and promotes the leadership of Indigenous women in the ongoing regeneration of Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Na’ah Through grantmaking, capacity-building and community-based intergenerational programming, they seek transformative change by supporting culturally grounded leadership and organizing. Focused on Indigenous Ecology, Food Sovereignty, and Wise Action, we work to advance climate and gender justice, while creating healthy pathways towards self-determination and movement-building. We’ve been particularly honored to support their work related to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
Give ‘em some love
Learn more about their work through their website and donate to them directly. Reach out to apply for the Green Infrastructure Capacity Building Grant Opportunity and/or the Indigenous Youth Land Restoration & Food Sovereignty Cohorts.
Native Action Network
About
Native Action Network is a vibrant community supporting indigenous individuals and communities in Washington. Their fellowships and internships support and elevate Native women as those best positioned to lead us into a new world that is re-grounded in indigenous wisdom and tradition. Their research uncovers the brilliance, needs, and experiences of Native communities and women in our region.
Give ‘em some love
Register for the Native Women’s Leadership Forum in September, apply for the Legacy of Leadership Cohort, and take the Native Women’s Leadership Survey. Funders, stay tuned for more information about a funder’s briefing to unpack NAN’s soon-to-be-released report, highlighting the state of Native communities in the Puget Sound. Reach out to info@thresholdphilanthropy.org for more information.
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
About
The National Urban Indian Family Coalition is a leading national advocate for American Indian families living in urban areas and the organizations that serve them. Their network includes more than 40 trusted community-based nonprofit organizations across 23 states with deep roots in their respective Urban Indian communities. The NUIFC works in partnership with member organizations to organize and create lasting change at the local and national level. They believe in elevating a national voice that sustains Indigenous values and culture by centering the needs and unique experiences of Urban Indian communities, which makes up more than 70 percent of the total American Indian and Alaska Native population.
Give ‘em some love
Learn more about their work through their website and donate to them directly. We’re particularly fired up about their Democracy Is Indigenous and Digital Equity programs. Check them out and offer support where you can.
Pacific County Voices Uniting
About
Pacific County Voices Uniting is a 100% BIPOC-led organization located along the edges of Willapa Bay in Southwest Washington that aims to shift, balance, and develop a culture of healthy civic engagement. They are uniting cross-cultural and multi-generational communities to participate in collaborative social movements that increase civic engagement through education, create more reflective representation and build political power. By lifting and supporting BIPOC leadership, they promote systems and policies that create equitable access to resources for those often forgotten or silenced in our communities.
Give ‘em some love
Sign up for their newsletter, volunteer, and donate to support their work today.
The Power Building Table
About
The Power Building Table is a group of Executive Directors and Political Staff from – Progress Alliance, Washington CAN, Progreso, Working Washington, The Washington BUS, Washington Community Alliance, OneAmerica, coming together to build a long-term collective vision for bold systems change and statewide political power for a sustainable multiracial democracy in Washington state. They are deepening relationships, collaborating on short-term electoral and policy opportunities to advance racial and economic justice, and building a shared analysis of the challenges and opportunities for power-building in our home state.
Give ‘em some love
Fund everyone. And not just their incredible c3 work, but the meaningful work of their PACs and c4s. Don’t unintentionally pit these folks against each other. You can also reach out to Maria Poblet to learn more about how to fund their collective visioning work at maria@grassrootspowerproject.org.
Soul Collective
About
Soul Collective, by Alex Folino, is a cool, multiracial salon in the CD that also serves as a gathering space for community. Alex’s vision is to create a space where all are honored and cared for, where inclusivity isn’t a buzz-word, but a reality. Looking for a new salon home? Check them out ASAP.
Give ‘em some love
Are you a stylist looking for a new salon home? Reach out to Alex to learn more about opportunities to collaborate. Follow Soul Collective on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about community events and gatherings. And mark your calendar for their Block Party on August 12th, 2023.
Taking B(l)ack Pride
About
A collaboration between Queer the Land and Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network, Taking B(l)ack Pride centers and celebrates those at the roots of the LGBTQIA+ movement — Black and Brown Queer folks. The event brings in Black LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, healers, and movement leaders from across the U.S., centering Black joy and humanity in a month and movement that often marginalizes Black Queer folks. The funding community has yet to show up for this work, particularly for our trans siblings. We must put our money where are mouths are if we are truly about supporting equity, justice, and our collective liberation.
Give ‘em some love
The leaders of this work do so from a place of deep commitment and conviction, without compensation. Support their event later on this year, once it’s announced, and fund Taking B(l)ack Pride directly. Support and fund Queer the Land and Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network directly.
Two-Spirit Center
About
The first of its kind, the Two-Spirit Center is a national center focused on elevating, supporting, and resourcing 2SLGBTQIA+ native and indigenous peoples. The Center will establish a safer space for community members to identify and utilize resources that build inclusion and equity for Two-Spirit relatives. These new resources will support communities to build understanding, equity, and inclusion at various levels of community. They will also work with tribal, state and federal stakeholders and/or legislators to assist in the creation of laws and policies that protect Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQ individuals.
Give ‘em some love
Be on the lookout for their website and official announcement.
UTOPIA WA
About
When we asked our partners at Taking B(l)ack Pride who was doing the work to ensure the joy, health, and safety of our trans relatives, United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA) Washington was one of the organizations they immediately named. A part of the larger QTBIPOC ecosystem, UTOPIA WA supports critical work around community and cultural organizing, sex worker empowerment, legal and immigration work, health and harm reduction, basic needs, and peer networks.
Give ‘em some love
Fund their incredible work! Learn more about their incredible work by attending an upcoming event. If you’re interested in receiving supports from Utopia WA, click here.
Wa Na Wari
About
Wa Na Wari creates space for Black ownership, possibility, & belonging through art, historic preservation, connection, food, and storytelling. It does this through free art exhibits, film screenings, performances, and workshops as well as organizing for Black-led, arts-based solutions to displacement and economic vulnerability. In a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, Wa Na Wari builds meaningful economic pathways for Black artists and homeowners. Their work, innovative approaches, and deep knowledge of the Central District are unmatched in our region.
Give ‘em some love
Donate to Wa Na Wari to support Black artists and communities in the Central District. Visit Wa Na Wari and attend an upcoming event to learn more about their programs.
Wildseed Society
About
Wildseed Society has been a powerful model for our team, as they build new structures, practices, and cultures, grounded in our collective liberation. After participating in Collective Care Pods, our team used the Liberating Organizations Handbook to guide our internal work around roles, responsibilities, and our collective healing and processing. Through our partnership, we know it is possible to be fully human at work and that it is only by doing so that we can help build the new world we all know is possible.
Give ‘em some love
Check out their amazing list of offerings. Reach out if you or your community needs support. Donate to support their critical work.
Women of Color Liberated Leadership Community
About
During our initial conversations with women of color in our ecosystem, we heard themes around liberated leadership — a desire to lead from a more grounded, healed place and to create spaces of transformation and liberation for others. In response, we invited a group of women to join a pilot community, focused on these themes. The Women of Color Liberated Leadership Community (WOC LLC) is a group of Indigenous and Black women, grounded in financial return, healing, and liberated leadership.
In their first year, the community leaned into the adaptive work of receiving, healing, and stabilizing. This year, in year two, the women in the community are learning more into their personal growth, development, and self-actualization. Next year, the work will be around community actualization, following the wisdom of the Blackfeet Nation. We are learning so much alongside these phenomenal women — about what it means to receive a return (the psychological impact, unintended consequences of an infusion of financial resources, etc.), truly carve out space for radical self-care, and create spaces for others to heal and transform. Investing directly in those who have the wisdom and lived experience to build the new world is powerful work and we’re already seeing the ripple effects across community.
Give ‘em some love
The women in this cohort have unique visions, dreams, and needs. Please reach out to C’Ardiss (CC) Gardner Gleser if you have unique skills, trainings, and/or services you’d like to offer to the cohort, for instance in you’re in storytelling, research, and/or evaluation. They’re particularly interested in harvesting the lessons learned from investing directly in Black and Native women.
Other Partners
Association of Black Foundation Executives
About
The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) plays an important role in supporting Black folks in philanthropy, shifting funding to Black organizations, and communities, and centering the visions, needs, and realities of Black communities in our sector. In particular, their retreats for Black women in the sector are a soul-filling space for learning, healing, and co-conspiring.
Give ‘em some love
If you’re looking for community in philanthropy, consider applying for the Connecting Leaders Fellowship Program. You can also reach out if you’re looking for support with research, advising services, or networking, consider becoming a member.
Decolonizing Wealth Project
About
The Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) is supporting local and national movements for reparations by convening, organizing and sharing resources, and funding organizations and communities on the frontlines of this critical work.
Give ‘em some love
Fund the movement for reparations! If you are a funder, reach out to Edgar to learn more about the community of funders they support.
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
About
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) is a community of leaders committed to working within their institutions to shift the philanthropic sector. Under Storme Gray’s leadership, EPIP is exploring what it means to elevate philanthropic practice by starting with her own personal liberation. It’s been an honor to walk alongside an organization so committed to internal and external transformation and liberated leadership, particularly in a sector that is designed to dehumanize all of us.
Give ‘em some love
If you’re new to philanthropy and looking for an orientation into the sector and to find your people, check out EPIP’s Fall 2023 Philanthropology cohort. You can also become an individual or institutional member and learn more about local chapters and events. If you haven’t already, register for the CHANGE Philanthropy Conference, of which EPIP is a co-host.
Native Americans in Philanthropy
About
Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) is an incredible convenor and leader in philanthropy. NAP centers the brilliance of our Native and Indigenous communities, bringing an intersectional approach to their work. Our team has learned so much from the regular webinars, events like CHANGE Philanthropy Unity Summit, and relationships coming from this network.
Give ‘em some love
Become a member and fund NAP directly! Register to attend the 2023 CHANGE Philanthropy Unity Summit. Spend time visiting their web portal, where you can access funding data, research, historical context, and other resources to support your work in Native communities.