OUR APPROACH
Centering communities and their solutions
Waters Meet centers its work and grantmaking on repairing the historical injustices impacting the health and well-being of people who live in the Inland Northwest. Our grantmaking approach engages local communities in conversation to inform our funding initiatives and investments.
Working to be a true partner
The people and communities in our region who are most impacted by systemic and historic inequities and injustice have the solutions and expertise for solving the most pressing issues they face.
We believe these communities must have access to the right power and resources to act on the solutions they alone hold.
That’s why we’re working to be a true partner — one who can take the lead of communities and provide more than just funding.
Our guiding principles
HOW WE SUPPORT COMMUNITY
Collaborating with our partners to dismantle persistent health inequities
We are committed to playing a variety of roles according to the needs and wishes of those we support:
OUR PRIORITIZED COMMUNITIES
We prioritize leaders and community organizations working to address inequities and accelerate racial, social, and economic justice in the Inland Northwest.
Data shows us that Black, Indigenous and other People of Color, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+, rural, and low-income communities in our region consistently and persistently bear the weight of our ineffective systems and are most impacted by health inequities. Direct input from community members reinforces this reality. As the largest private funder in our region, we commit our position, resources and energies to advance these communities’ ideas, solutions, and dreams for transformational change.
Our funding prioritizes the leaders and community organizations working to address inequities and accelerate racial, social, and economic justice in the Inland Northwest. Each of our prioritized communities has its own abundant heritage, history, and culture, and are the most impacted by historical injustices, persistent inequities, and economic disparities exacerbated by lack of access to resources and opportunities.
Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color
(To include but not limited to Sovereign Tribal Nations, Latine, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and Marshallese)
2SLGBTQIA+ community & their intersectionalities
People with disabilities
Low-income communities
Rural communities
OUR SERVICE AREA
Serving the Inland Northwest
The Waters Meet service area includes seven counties and three Sovereign Tribal Nations in the northeastern corner of Washington.
Counties
Sovereign Nations
