Grantmaking & Evaluation

Our Grantmaking

Building Changes' grantmaking supports community-based providers serving vulnerable populations throughout Washington State. We identify, support, and evaluate innovative programs and best models that prevent and end homelessness and strengthen communities.

Types of Grants:

Washington Families Fund

Created in 2004 by the Washington State Legislature and led by Building Changes, the Washington Families Fund is a ground-breaking public-private partnership that provides stable funding for model programs and innovative solutions to ending family homelessness. In our first six years of grantmaking, we have attracted 24 public and private funding partners and awarded more than $18 million to 48 programs throughout Washington state.

In 2009, Washington Families Fund partners, including Governor Gregoire, the executives of Pierce, Snohomish, and King counties, the mayors of Tacoma, Everett and Seattle, and private funders joined together to expand the Washington Families Fund’s goals. In a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), they pledged to reduce the number of homeless families in Washington state by 50 percent by the year 2019.

The Washington Families Fund makes grants in three areas of work: support services, employment services, and access to services through systems innovations. For more information about these grants and available funds, see our Funding Opportunities page.

Economic Opportunities Initiative

Building Changes’ 2010-2011 Economic Opportunities Initiative provided capacity building grants combined with training and technical assistance to help nonprofits improve their employment services programs and partnerships. Twenty-five nonprofits in 19 counties across Washington State were enrolled in the 18-month Initiative, which was funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Strengthening Communities Fund, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and The Boeing Company.

Outcomes from this Initiative are making a significant impact on improving economic opportunities for low-income, homeless and disadvantaged Washingtonians. Learn more: Grantees Share Accomplishments and Celebrate New Employment Programs

Our Evaluation

Building Changes measures the impact of our funding and services by closely monitoring the effectiveness of our programs. We collect data and review the outcomes of the programs we fund, the clients they serve and the trainings we administer. Our evaluation provides valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of our approaches and supports our goal of making successful programs scalable and replicable, thus increasing services and opportunities for a greater number of homeless individuals statewide. Building Changes shares its findings both locally and nationally.

• See our report on five years of outcomes for the Washington Families Fund.
• See our 2010 year-end report highlighting outcomes for our High Needs Families program.
• Learn more about a baseline assessment and six-month evaluation findings for high needs families served by Washington Families Fund programs.

The Washington Families Fund was inspired in part by promising evaluation results from the Sound Families Initiative. Learn more about the Sound Families Initiative and related evaluation reports.