As we at United Way of King County begin 2025 with all its uncertainties resulting from the outcomes of November’s election, perhaps it is a good time to remind ourselves what it means to be courageous.

It means that we are listening when communities that are being harmed are asking for help. It means understanding that communities trust United Way, and with that trust comes great responsibility. It means acting when the outcome or consequences aren’t always clear, responding to crises, challenging the status quo, and advocating for those who cannot readily do so for themselves.

United Way of King County began 2025 as it has all years—dedicated to fulfilling its mission, vision, and values. We have created a strategic roadmap to guide our service delivery and community support. Every year, we go through a rigorous planning process to understand how much money we anticipate raising and how to invest those funds in the community to drive impact that aligns with our mission, vision, values, and roadmap.

Much of our work in recent years has been centered around prevention—not responsiveness—as we work to address issues before they become crises.

But often, even the best-laid plans are altered because of a shift in our region or nation’s political or economic landscape. The results of the 2024 General Election have United Way and other organizations concerned that communities of color that we serve might be in harm’s way this year and in years to come. Those communities have been historically marginalized and have not benefitted from our region’s economic windfall. They stand to bear the brunt of harmful policies that target those without power. 

We believe it is our duty to let those communities know that we see them, we support them, and we are willing to act on their behalf with resources and advocacy. We believe we are living in times that demand courage, conviction, and action.

That is why, in 2025, United Way of King County proudly announces that we have added Rapid Response Grants as a component to the Our Neighbor Fund.

Rapid Response Grants will help United Way address our communities’ urgent challenges by enabling us to meet emergent needs swiftly and effectively while ensuring long-term impact.

This approach reflects our steadfast commitment to the values of equity and justice. Our goal is to work with our community of supporters and new supporters to raise funds so that we can be responsive and supportive with resources for situations that are beyond our planned allocations and investments yet are consistent with the mission, vision, and values of United Way.

Chief Philanthropy Officer Lindsay Harper believes the funding will enable United Way to act decisively in the face of uncertainty, allowing the organization to meet urgent needs while laying the groundwork for long-term solutions.

“Rapid response funding is the heartbeat of a resilient community,” Harper said.

“As policies and priorities shift, this funding empowers us to stand alongside the most vulnerable, ensuring they are not only seen but supported with resources that foster equity and justice,” Harper continued. “It reflects our commitment to closing the divide between challenges and change while offering donors a powerful way to respond to immediate, unexpected needs with compassion and impact.”

In years past, United Way was known for its responsiveness and garnered a well-deserved reputation as a safety net. But that reputation was rooted in the ability to address economic hardship, not social injustice and racial/economic oppression. Now, we acknowledge that our communities’ economic hardship is the result of social injustice and racial/economic oppression.

Those communities don’t need a safety net; they need people who will support their efforts to stand their ground, occupy their rightful places in our society, and receive all the benefits and protections that this nation has to offer.

United Way of King County could simply empathize and hope that other institutions come to the aid of our communities, but that would run counter to our convictions. We use our media platforms and Racial Equity events to speak out on their behalf, but that would not be enough. We must demonstrate our values through action.

Chief Impact Officer Regina Malveaux agrees, seeing the rapid response grants as a response when recognizing something isn’t right.

“(Rapid response grants) are our way of saying that when you have the power to make a change, you must put actions behind your words,” Malveaux said.

I am reminded of early in my career as a lawyer when I challenged a very powerful local institution to be the first in its sector to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday for its employees.

Not only did I verbalize the challenge, but I also put it in writing and submitted it to those at the firm’s highest level. Part of the reason I did so was because I knew that if they—the leading employer in the sector—recognized King Day as a paid holiday, then others in the sector would follow. I underscored the fact that the holiday was created to honor a person and to honor a movement that was fundamentally about our humanity.

I made this challenge not knowing what the consequences might be—nor did I care. I knew it was the right thing to do.

The next year, that firm did make King Day a paid holiday for its employees, and as I thought, other firms soon followed.

My belief in taking action to address wrongs is why I have spent much of my career waging social justice at Rainier Scholars, at Solid Ground, and now here at United Way. I believe that those of us who have even a paltry amount of privilege of privilege, power and resources must act and not assume that someone else will provide that support.

We are asking for your support of our Rapid Response Grants.

If you know that something isn’t right and runs counter to your values, will you keep your sentiments to yourself, or will you name the wrong and work courageously to change it?