Community Partners
In the First Mile Circle, donors don’t choose which candidates to donate to — and that is key to First Mile’s design. We look to the expertise of our partners at OneAmerica Votes, Sage Leaders, and Washington Community Alliance Action Fund in developing a slate each year that holds community accountability at the center. Our trusted community partners have policy expertise in a variety of issue areas, endorsement processes that engage their grassroots leaders in decision-making, and deep roots in the communities from which these candidates run — including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), immigrant and refugee, and geographically diverse communities across the state.
We are a Circle that believes in sharing power as well as resources. As donors, instead of trying to hold candidates accountable to our views, we are working to hold ourselves accountable to our community partners and bold, progressive candidates and the communities they represent.
By coming together as a Circle that follows the lead of our community partners, we can support local races statewide that would otherwise be very difficult for any single donor to discover and follow, and democratize campaign giving. We are building a high integrity process that brings resources to the authentic leaders of our communities.
We encourage donors to make meaningful contributions to First Mile’s partner organizations who make this program possible.
OneAmerica Votes promotes democracy and builds power in immigrant and refugee communities through advocacy, civic engagement, and leadership development. OAV recruits, trains, and develops immigrant and refugee leaders to engage in civic life, including running for elected and appointed office and assuming leadership positions in their communities, as well as holding elected officials in Washington State accountable for their positions on issues that impact immigrant and refugee communities.
Sage Leaders cultivates deep democracy in Washington state by developing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community leaders for civic and elected leadership. Sage offers training, coaching, and peer support cohorts for BIPOC candidates and elected officials, candidate endorsements led by grassroots leaders, and a Community Leadership Institute for emerging leaders of color to gain the skills and issue area knowledge to serve on strategic boards, commissions, and task forces at the city and county level.
Washington Community Alliance Action Fund is a statewide coalition of over 60 organizations led by and working in communities of color. WCAAF organizes to close the representation gap for people of color in elected office, and to make the systemic changes we need for Black and Brown communities to share in the prosperity all of us build. Their work focuses on leadership development, capacity building, policy advocacy and systems change, and political power and representation.
Washington Progress Alliance is building a permanent and powerful social change movement in Washington state supported by a network of committed donors. PA organizes donors towards a vision of Washington state where government serves the public interest, people have self-determination, and we all benefit from a fair and sustainable economy that supports people and a healthy environment. WPA pools resources to make long-term investments in the organizations and people leading change, supports capacity building and new innovations, and fosters collaboration among a robust network of donors, grantees, and partners.
*First Mile is a project of Washington Progress Alliance, which provides staffing and organizing capacity.