Voter Education Fund

The Voter Education Fund (VEF) is a government, philanthropic and community partnership led by King County Elections, Seattle Foundation and community organizations like you. Since 2017, we have worked to fight voter suppression and increase civic engagement and voter participation among historically excluded communities.

What we fund

King County Elections and Seattle Foundation will award grants to community organizations that will provide ongoing campaigns or events focused on one or more of the following during the 2021-2022 election cycles

• Voter education or outreach informing historically excluded voters about how voting works in King County (i.e. Who is eligible to vote, what is vote-by-mail, and democracy 101).
• Voter registration activities where historically excluded communities work, play or connect.
• Nonpartisan opportunities for communities to come together and educate themselves about what’s on the ballot.
• Culturally appropriate technical assistance in navigating the voting process, such as helping voters change their address or language preference.

Note: Due to COVID-19 applicants should take into consideration the need host or facilitate outreach virtually or outdoors for 2021 activities.

Focus communities

Focus communities for this grantee cycle include, but are not limited to Black, Indigenous, people of color, people experiencing homelessness, people convicted of a felony, limited-English speaking communities, people with disabilities and youth of color.

We will prioritize applications that:

• Are led and staffed by individuals reflecting the ethnic and cultural communities being served.
• Showcase a history or demonstrated ability to reach and engage community members, especially in relation to voting access.
• Have a plan for engaging the focus communities mentioned above.

Grant types

Organizations are invited to apply starting March 1 through April 2. Please note that your organization must be a 501c3 organization or have a 501c3 fiscal sponsor. In the application you may indicate which funding level your organization prefers:

• Catalyst Level Funding (up to $40,000 total/$20,000 a year for two years): Provide ongoing voter registration and education in 2021 and 2022 with a variety of approaches to engaging voters or potential voters in their community.
• Capacity Level Funding (up to $15,000 or $7,500 a year for two years): Provide a smaller series of targeted events or activities for potential voters in 2021 and 2022.

Timeline

Selection process

Once confirmed that the applicant organization is a 501c3 organization in good standing, applications are reviewed by a panel that includes staff from both the Seattle Foundation and King County Elections, as well as community reviewers. The panel evaluates each applications based on specific criteria including the organization's knowledge and experience with the target population or community, capacity and experience in voter education and engagement, approach to tracking progress and ability to report progress in a timely and consistent manner, field plan, and budget. 

Learn more and share

Learn about the Voter Education Fund’s past work and what former grantee organizations have to say.

• Voter Education Fund brochure

Questions

For questions or assistance please contact:

Bao-Tram Do
Seattle Foundation
b.do@seattlefoundation.org
206-407-4366