Grantmaking & Evaluation

Our Grantmaking

Building Changes’ grantmaking arm leads the Washington Families Fund, the Economic Opportunities Initiative, and other funds that make grants to nonprofit service providers working with homeless populations. We identify, support, and evaluate innovative programs and best models that prevent and end homelessness and strengthen communities across Washington state.

Types of Grants: 

Washington Families Fund

Created in 2004 by the Washington State Legislature, the Washington Families Fund is a ground-breaking public-private partnership dedicated to funding housing and support services, such as job training, parenting classes and financial planning, that help homeless families stabilize their lives and become self-sufficient. In our first five years of grantmaking we attracted 23 public and private funding partners and awarded nearly $16 million to 43 programs throughout Washington state. We are seeking additional public and private funding to continue our moderate- and high-needs services services grants throughout the 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. 

In late 2010, the Washington Families Fund will add a new type of grant to test emerging new concepts and strategies proven effective in reducing family homelessness. Additional grant information will be released later this year.

Economic Opportunities Initiative

Established in early 2010, Building Changes’ Economic Opportunities Initiative is a capacity-building program that improves nonprofit agencies ability to address broad economic recovery issues present in their communities. The goals of the program include increased agency capacity and skills to deliver, expand and sustain social service programs that contribute to helping low-income individuals secure and retain employment, earn higher wages, obtain better-quality jobs, and gain greater access to state and Federal benefits and tax credits.

The Economic Opportunities Initiative includes training, technical assistance and financial assistance to participating agencies throughout Washington state over an 18-month period (Spring 2010 through Fall 2011). In May 2010, Building Changes announced 25 new partners in 19 counties across the state who were selected to participate in the Initiative through a competitive application process.

Building Changes' Economic Opportunities Initiative is 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.

Housing and Employment Navigator

Building Changes is partnering with the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County to offer a new grant that supports the need for expanded economic opportunities for clients of Washington Families Fund programs in King County. This unique partnership brings together two critical support systems—housing and employment— to create a resource bridge that moves families along a path to housing and economic stability.

The goal of the collaborative project is to improve employment outcomes for adults in families who have experienced homelessness. This grant allows for the placement of Housing and Employment Navigators at local WorkSource sites, who will focus on improving participation rates in employment and education services by the families residing in Washington Families Fund supportive housing programs..

The Housing and Employment Navigator is a one-time grant effective between 2010 and 2012. The three-year grant will be awarded in early 2010.

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 most recent report on five years of outcomes for the Washington Families Fund.