Bezos grant aims to fuel innovation for Tacoma-based homelessness nonprofit
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bezos Day 1 Families Fund awards $2.5M to Tacoma nonprofit for homelessness.
- Organization will deploy funds over five years to pilot innovation, not backfill.
- Funds aim to expand housing navigation, vouchers and congregational housing projects.
A Tacoma-based organization will receive $2.5 million from a Bezos-owned fund to help continue its fight against homelessness in Pierce County.
On Dec. 1, Associated Ministries of Tacoma-Pierce County announced it was awarded a $2.5 grant from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos through the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to help end homelessness for families in Washington state.
Associated Ministries of Tacoma-Pierce County is one of 32 organizations around the country to receive the annual grant, which this year allocated a total of $102.5 million.
Since 2018, the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund has awarded $850 million to organizations helping families and children experiencing homelessness. Associated Ministries of Pierce County is the second Pierce County-based organization to receive an award.
Michael Yoder is the executive director of Associated Ministries of Tacoma-Pierce County. Yoder told The News Tribune his organization was invited to apply for the grant funding after being recognized by one of the fund’s advisors.
Associated Ministries is contracted by Pierce County to provide several homelessness-response services, including rapid-rehousing, eviction prevention and case management. It also is a large part of the Coordinated Entry intake — a system which serves as the “front door” for the region’s housing services.
While Yoder said the organization does not know specifically how the grant funding will be used, he said the money will open up opportunities for something non-profits rarely are able to invest in — innovation.
“There’s just no stomach in the nonprofit industry for innovation or research and development. When a donor gives a dollar, whether it’s a foundation, or a private person or a government contract, there is an expected outcome that must be achieved by that dollar,” he told The News Tribune. “It is the only industry in the world where you can’t actually experiment on things.”
Yoder said the $2.5 million in funding will be administered over a five-year period and can be used flexibly, but it will not be used to backfill existing programs.
Yoder said, that among other things, he wants to invest in people to help families navigate resources and find opportunities they might not have known were available.
“So much of the time people just don’t know the right door to go in to get what is available,” he said. “It’s amazing to me how much earned tax credits go unclaimed because people don’t know how to file.”
He also praised Shiloh Baptist Church in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood for finding a way to construct affordable housing on property it owned. Yoder said he would like to find ways to assist other religious congregations in developing their own affordable housing.
“That’s permanent. That’s ongoing, long-lasting change that can help families in a way that will out last the grant period,” he said.
In the meantime, Yoder said Associated Ministries would work to provide vouchers for housing and shelter for families, as there are not enough shelter options appropriate for families.
“I don’t know how I’m going to spend innovation money in year two because I’m going to figure out what’s working and where we see the needle moving,” he said.
Yoder said that even though the funding is significant in assisting Associated Ministries in its fight against homelessness, it does not lessen its need for support from the community.
