BFCF AnnualReport DONE - Flipbook - Page 13
STATEWIDE LISTENING TOUR
Centering Black well-being always begins with listening. After releasing the Black Well-being report, we
knew that we would need to follow up and expand on that data with an exploration of how people are living
those statistics — looking more deeply into successes as well as needs. We moved from our Black Well-being
study into planning and carrying out our statewide listening tour in 2023 and 2024, which complemented and
extended that earlier work.
At the Fund, we see family throughout Washington, and we approached the statewide listening tour as an
opportunity to 昀椀nd and gather with our extended family. We know that Black people are not a monolith,
and Black folks across all counties are not experiencing life in the same way. We set out to convene with
Black community members in seven regional locations around the state to hear directly about their visions,
challenges, and aspirations. As we wrote in the post-tour report, “Powerful Black-led work is happening
across Washington state to promote Black well-being. While each region is distinct, in every place we
visited, communities are connecting across intersecting issues to respond to immediate needs and address
systemic root causes.”11
It was important to travel through the state to build relationships and ensure that community members
were genuinely interested in meeting with us. While we were consistently well-received, we needed to be
sensitive to people’s differing priorities, as well as to the power dynamics of a funder inviting community
members into conversation. We met with some organizations operating on a shoestring budget, and even
when they considered our work important, it was hard for them to participate because of immediate
urgent needs. We also needed to bring respectful care to community dynamics and local histories between
organizations that we might know little about. Through the whole process, as we gathered with Fund
grantees and not-yet-grantees, we tried to create a container in which Black people could speak truth and
grow stronger together.
Ultimately, the listening tour deepened connections among participants across issues and geographies,
a昀케rmed common ground, and identi昀椀ed important themes, expanding on data from the Black Well-being
study. We heard a resounding “Yes!” from Black people around the state about the work we are doing at the
Fund. It was one solid step on the much larger journey toward Black well-being and prosperity. The below
excerpt
from ourfrom our 2023-24 Statewide Listening Tour Report highlights themes that we heard consistently
excerpt
2023-24 Listening Tour Report
across Washington:
highlights themes that we heard consistently
