We Are All In For Washington

Here’s how you can be ALL IN for your state

By Lara Bergthold and Amber Hubert

The health impacts of COVID-19 have been profound in communities large and small but we have seen a disproportionate impact on communities of color, especially Black communities. Simultaneously, the economic impact of the initial quarantine has left many people unemployed, dealing with food insecurity alongside a government that is also facing massive budget cuts.

In the face of that, a group of philanthropic activists in Washington State came together to create a first of its kind platform. “All In WA” — a coordinated statewide relief effort powered by a coalition of public officials, companies, philanthropic leaders, community foundations, United Way organizations, community leaders, frontline nonprofits, and individuals — focuses philanthropic funding on cause and community funds across the state that are struggling in the wake of the pandemic. As of June 24, the All In WA effort has already raised (with direct contributions, pledges, and eligible match contribution) $48 million toward a $65 million goal.

Washingtonians are going ALL IN for WA by supporting their neighbors who are most impacted by COVID-19

All In WA consolidates four cause funds that address food insecurity, undocumented workers and families, small business recovery, and youth and student homelessness and over sixty community funds including:

• the Black Future Co-op Fund which serves as a collective hub for efforts to eradicate poverty, build generational wealth, preserve Black Culture, and celebrate the incredible resilience of the Black community;
• the Pride Foundation which works to build a more equitable world for LGBTQ+ people in the Northwest;
• the Latino Community Fund which provides immediate assistance for families who are experiencing health and economic impacts due to COVID-19;
• the Potlatch Fund which provides grants and leadership development in Tribal communities throughout Washington state; and
• the Na’ah Illahee Fund which offers relief to under-served Native communities and groups in the Pacific Northwest — together, under one banner.

With over $2.5 million secured to date, the Black Future Co-op Fund aims to raise $25 million to uplift the Black community across Washington and provide ongoing support for years to come

The All In WA campaign is also matching individual gifts dollar for dollar up to $1 million, thanks to a generous $25 million personal contribution from the Founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos and is bringing much needed media attention to help serve the needs of Washingtonians impacted by the pandemic through a statewide concert “All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief” sponsored by Amazon and Community Leadership Sponsor Microsoft and conceived of by First Lady Trudi Inslee.

Although Washington State is the first state to consolidate all community funds under one banner like this, other states can follow suit with a few simple steps.

Create the Funding Platform

To help launch the statewide relief effort RALLY created the look and feel of All In WA’s branding, along with its social media toolkits and digital media, a video showcasing All In WA supporters across the state, messaging for community foundations, and — most importantly — RALLY built All In WA’s complex website with its numerous functionalities to handle all of the charitable donations.

RALLY built All In WA’s website with numerous functionalities to handle donations from over 60 funds

All In WA aims to unite people statewide who have different political focuses, and different geographic focuses and needs, so they are able to give locally in their community. If you are fortunate enough to have the means to give, All in WA provides a variety of options to give, including the All In WA aggregated fund that is served by an advisory board to fill funding gaps in the future. Thanks to a partnership with Gates Foundation and it’s new tool, PowerOf.org that helps localize vetted efforts supporting COVID-19 relief, getting information about how to give and clicking through to donate has never been easier.

Build Excitement and Engage Donors

As a means to draw attention to the effort, RALLY helped coordinate media awareness of flag raisings of the All In WA flag at seven locations across Washington on launch day — one in Olympia, where Governor Inslee and his wife Trudi Inslee helped raise the All In WA flag in front of the state capitol building. Another flag was raised high — 605 feet high to be exact, atop the iconic Space Needle — by Seattle Sounder Nicolás Lodeiro and three frontline healthcare workers. The other flag-raising locations included sites in Vancouver, Spokane, Yakima, Wenatchee, and Bellingham.

The All In WA flag was raised atop the Space Needle and six other locations statewide on launch day

Additionally, RALLY coordinated with Amazon and a production team to drive substantive content for a statewide benefit concert with WA talent that was broadcast June 24th on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel and through the All In WA website and aired locally on KREM (CBS) and KSKN (CW). A link to view it on Amazon Prime can be found here. The lineup of artists includes Pearl Jam, Macklemore, Brandi Carlile, Ciara, Russell Wilson, The Black Tones, Dave Matthews, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Pete Carroll, Mary Lambert, Joel McHale, Ben Gibbard, Allen Stone, Sleater-Kinney, Travis Thompson, Prometheus Brown, The Head and The Heart, Noah Gundersen, Mark Diamond, Jessica Dobson, and more. Seattle Times live-blogged it here.

Pearl Jam performed at the All In WA: A COVID-19 Relief Concert on June 24th

Amplify the Message

The goal of the benefit concert is to bring in extra sponsors and more visibility because those funds will be matched. All In WA was created in part to help push funds out to more places where there isn’t enough investment. RALLY’s job is to elevate this fund and the needs of impacted communities throughout the year — beyond the benefit concert.

RALLY’s digital team created this video to showcase All In WA supporters across the state, bring more visibility to the needs of Washingtonians, and encourage support for workers and families

Spread the Model

This model we’ve supported can be used for other states interested in bringing their philanthropic communities together. In Washington, many funds were created to provide relief to those impacted by COVID-19 — WA Food Fund to assist with food security, Safe to Start Fund to help businesses recover, WA Student and Youth Homelessness Fund — and philanthropies were giving generously to these funds, but it felt disparate. Bringing a state together with morale creates a shift that says We can come together and lift each other up. We can find ways to support each other. It brings statewide pride and helps push funds out to lesser-known towns and counties that don’t have a large philanthropic infrastructure.

1 in 8 Washingtonians and 1 in 9 Seattle residents live below the poverty line

RALLY, working together with philanthropic partners, can identify what community foundations and local funds already exist across a state that are particularly focused on COVID-19 relief and which foundations could build a statewide aggregate fund to address communities where there are gaps. We can assist with philanthropic advising on how to create that infrastructure and then shift to building a website designed to help donors contribute.

This effort doesn’t require a statewide benefit concert to be accomplished, but creative media solutions are important for a public that is settling into crisis and donor fatigue. Seattle has a famous music scene so a concert works there as a means to drive media attention. But we can help reach out to influencers in any state to help amplify this effort. We can involve a popular sports team or engage local leaders to raise awareness, or run a donor wall on the website — there are a number of ways to encourage engagement and state pride. Imagine in California if tech companies came together to support an effort of this kind what the results could be. Every state is unique and has different needs. All In WA is the first of its kind and can serve as a roadmap to driving philanthropic giving across the country.

Thank you to our clients and partners who are on the frontlines supporting the communities most affected right now.

RALLY is an issue-driven communications firm | Certified force for good by B Corporation

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