2021 GNW Work Party (Photo credit: Angie Gerrald)
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
GNW felt it was essential to examine our organization through an EDI lens. We are committed to educating board members on a wide variety of topics, examining membership, policies, procedures and practices to make them equitable and partnering with other community organizations who are already doing this work. In 2020-21 we continued to explore and evaluate our organizational commitment; approved a land acknowledgement statement; instituted board educational processes; explored EDI educational materials; and began to explore outreach opportunities. We anticipate doing an internal inventory and board education for most of 2022, then moving towards external engagement.
Outreach and Advocacy
• For 43 years the Ballard P-Patch has been a vibrant community garden in the north Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. This garden offers important green space in the Ballard neighborhood and provides numerous services and opportunities to the local community. GNW supported the successful effort to acquire the property with a matching grant of $5,000 in 2020.
• In 2021 GNW approved a $500 microgrant to the Friends of Alice Ball Park, to be used for the installation of informational signage about the life and accomplishments of Alice Ball, an African American female chemist from Seattle.
• GNW has been working with the Friends of Ballard Waterfront Park advocating to maximize public space in the design of the Ballard Pump Station and improvements on the 24th St NW street-end, located at 24th Ave NW and Shilshole Ave. Comments have been presented to the Ballard District Council, Seattle Public Utilities, the Seattle Parks District Oversight Committee, and the Seattle Design Commission. GNW continues to represent local interest in increasing publicly accessible open space and parks.
• In 2021 GNW purchased a fish plaque at the updated Ballard Locks Fish Ladder site in support of the
improvements to the fish ladder viewing area.
GNW provides continuing support to local groups, and fiscally sponsored organizations as well as exploring new opportunities for community engagement
Ballard P-Patch (photo credit: Ballard P-Patch)
Administration
In 2019-20 we updated our mailing list of supporters in preparation for hosting our membership meeting on January 29, 2020. At that meeting we installed new board officers, reconnected with our supporters, and were inspired by our local heroes Courtney Sullivan and Jan Satterthwaite, both of whom were instrumental in our NW Seattle Community Wildlife Habitat Project to encourage property owners to create Certified Wildlife Habitats on their properties. Those efforts helped Seattle become a Top Ten City for Wildlife. Through the following two years we approved new organizational by-laws, reorganized and updated the GNW website with current organizational information, and evaluated microgrant processes and consolidated documentation.
Fiscal Integrity
GNW serves as the fiscal sponsor for 8 local neighborhood groups and supports one-time locally sponsored events which enhance our parks and open space with microgrants of $500. GNW has sufficient funds to sponsor at least 5 new projects in 2022. We continued to add to our treasury with generous donations from the following:
•Councilmember Kohl-Welles $1,500 Grant •Give BIG $725
•Microsoft Alumni GIVE $75 •King County Employee Giving $33.60
Early Community Concept Graphic (credit: Zoe Kasperzyk)
