Commerce is strengthening communities across Washington by providing grants to community-based organizations with experience and cultural skills to enroll people historically excluded from state and federal social services.
Outreach Grant basics
The Legislature created this program to fund community organizations that serve “historically disadvantaged populations” to assist community members in applying for state and federal assistance.
Commerce granted with 16 nonprofit organizations who ranked highest in a statewide competition. Grantees were assessed for relevant cultural and language skills, experience enrolling people in social services, and other criteria.
How are communities using the funding?
Grantees are serving people who identify as Black, Indigenous, multiracial, Asian, people with disabilities, immigrants, and other historically underserved low-income households.
Programs targeted for enrollment include Work First and other employment services, Basic Food, Apple Health, and housing.
Services are being provided in more than 64 languages in all 39 counties.
What are examples of this work?
The Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center is using their grant to fund staff who will outreach and enroll people in Tacoma and Pierce County in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Working Connections Childcare, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), housing and other programs. Multicultural is a BIPOC-led organization that aims to build rapport with clients, especially those historically disenfranchised from public services.
Voices of Tomorrow is a non-profit providing social services to East African and other immigrant and refugee families in King County. They will connect families to programs like TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), kinship care, and rent assistance. Many referrals are from Voices’ staff working with families in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) or the Seattle Preschool Program.
2022 operating budget proviso, sec. 132 sub 94: (94) $4,000,000 of the general fund-state appropriation for fiscal year 2022 and $6,000,000 of the general fund-state appropriation for fiscal year 2023 are provided solely for grants to community organizations that serve historically disadvantaged populations to conduct outreach and assist community members in applying for state and federal assistance programs, including but not limited to those administered by the departments of social and health services; commerce; and children, youth, and families. By June 31 [sic], 2023, the department must provide to the appropriate committees of the legislature a detailed report of the activities in this subsection. The report must include, but is not limited to:
- A list of grant recipients, their location, and the grant amount each received;
- Input from grantees on best practices for engagement with populations experiencing systemic inequities;
- Suggestions from the department and grant recipients on how to engage populations experiencing systemic inequities with future programming; and
- Other information and recommendations on need for this type of outreach work in future grant programs.