Belonging, Civic Health, & Wellbeing Request for Partnership
This page provides information about the Washington Wellbeing Initiative’s (WAWI) Request for Partnership (RFP): Belonging, Civic Health, & Wellbeing in Washington. You’ll find the RFP Submission Form, additional information for applicants, our Frequently Asked Questions, and a link to view & download the full RFP.
If you have any questions or problems with your submission, please contact us at info@civic-commons.org
Request for Partnership Submission Form
Ready to submit your application for the Belonging, Civic Health, & Wellbeing Request for Partnership?
Please fill out the form below and refer to the official Request for Partnership here to ensure you have included all the required elements.
If you have any questions or problems with your submission, please contact us at info@civic-commons.org
Thank you!
Additional Information for Applicants
The Washington Wellbeing Initiative held two webinars (Nov 2 & Nov 4 2026) to provide additional detail and answer questions about the Belonging, Civic Health, & Wellbeing in Washington Request for Partnership. Use the buttons below to catch up on everything shared at the webinars.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Questions
-
$40,000 will be given to each regional collaboration. One grant disbursement of $40,000 to each of the leads in the nine regions will be distributed by Seattle Foundation once the agreement is signed.
-
There are many ways in which the state is divided into regions for various planning efforts (e.g., emergency planning efforts). We aligned with Accountable Communities of Health’s (ACH) regions.
-
Funding for WAWI comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). RWJF is supporting wellbeing across the country, in addition to the work in WA state.
-
The slides from our informational webinar include definitions of the key terms including wellbeing and other frameworks that have influenced this work. See the slide deck here. At the same time, we don’t have the final answer to these definitions, and we look to you to define what wellbeing looks like in your region.
-
140
Eligibility
-
WAWI invites 501(c)(3), fiscally sponsored organizations, and/or tribal entities from each of 9 regions to apply. Each regional collaboration is hosted by a lead entity. A 501(c)(4) cannot be the lead applicant but can be a partner; 501(c)(4)s cannot lobby under this grant. If an organization has both a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4), it should apply with its 501(c)(3).
Government agencies are not eligible to apply as the lead entity but we hope they are part of the collaboration to support community wellbeing in their regions.
-
Yes!
Application Process
-
Only one grant will be made to each region. While we understand some organizations do work in multiple regions, our funding requires that the work funded by this grant all take place within just one region.
-
Yes! We encourage collaboration. WAWI will connect interested organizations within regions to explore opportunities for collaboration. We are requesting your consent to share your contact information with others in your region: https://forms.gle/yeKhndUpkPBzLcn68. Please fill out this form prior to 11/6/26. If you missed the deadline, please email info@civic-commons.org to help you connect with others in your region. We’ll share regional contact lists the week of 11/9. The Collaboration Survey will help you connect with other organizations in your region but then it's up to you to find alignment in whatever way works best in your region.
-
No!
-
Letters are welcome but not required. If you feel like it helps demonstrate the strength of your collaboration, you’re welcome to include one. But if your region has more of an emerging collaborative that you need more time to build, a letter is not required.
-
No.
-
We do not have the capacity to advise on people's proposals, but over the course of the project, we will help think about how to best support your collaborations. Additionally, we’ll be sharing our learnings from other collaborations and efforts.
-
We don’t have capacity to advise on proposals before submission. We will share that a key trait we’re looking for in a lead organization is the ability to pull people together for the collaboration. We know that no one group can do this alone so we want to encourage bringing new folks into the fold, including those who may not have as many resources, but are doing work that is critically important to the success of the region.
-
No. We will only be evaluating your responses to the RFP itself.
-
One grant will be made to each region. But if regions want to collaborate with one another, that’s fine with us.
-
Yes. Multi-state organizations can apply. We’re looking for an emphasis on building the regional collaboration.
-
Diverse and unlikely partners means identifying who needs to be part of your collaboration to leverage the unique assets across sectors and think holistically and strategically about what wellbeing looks like in your region (ex. community, nonprofits, government, private sector, and more).
Grant Logistics
-
The application budget template has three expense types:
Personnel (% project staff time)
Direct Costs (meeting expenses, food, travel, supplies, ceremonial or cultural practices)
Consultants/Contractors (meeting facilitation, interpreters, translators).
Applicants are asked to show how they will spend the $40,000 to accomplish their stated activities and milestones, providing a brief explanation for each line item.
-
Yes!
-
There is no additional funding for accessibility resources. How you spend the $40k is up to you.
-
The grant period is up to 18 months but if you want to complete the work in less time, we’re open to that. We do want to leave time for the network weaving and relationship building work that can be really time intensive.
-
We aim to keep reporting requirements simple and will work with regional collaborations throughout the RFP period to ensure we have timely, meaningful updates.
-
WAWI will actively partner with and provide in-kind technical assistance to each regional collaboration. WAWI will provide a Belonging 101 overview, network weaving support, and other tools for building Communities of Belonging.
National WAWI partners such as the Rippel Foundation, Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and Wellbeing Economy Alliance California are available to the WAWI team to leverage as needed to support the regions.
WAWI core team will handle logistics and expenses for your attendance and participation in the statewide summit.
Miscellaneous
-
We hope that this is just the beginning of a durable, long-term effort to create wellbeing for all Washingtonians.
-
Yes – we will post some of these tools and frameworks on the Civic Commons website as they become available & email all applicants to ensure you are alerted that they are available.
-
We will explore what this will look in partnership with regional collaborators when we get into implementation.
-
Yes. We have been socializing this work with legislators over the last few months. Additionally, Governor Ferguson signed letters of support for this body of work. We will invite members of his team and legislators to participate in this work as it makes sense. We also want to be clear that this is not a government initiative. We are also socializing WAWI with philanthropy and the private sector, reflecting the various partners that we need to have around the table.
If you have any additional questions, please contact us at info@civic-commons.org
A brief introduction to the Request for Partnership
The Belonging, Civic Health, & Wellbeing in Washington Request for Partnership invites communities to join us in creating welcoming, inclusive spaces throughout Washington that help people connect, build trust, and work together on regional solutions that improve the wellbeing of people and the environment.
Up to $40,000 will be given to one regional collaboration, hosted by a lead 501(c)(3) or tribal entity, in each of 9 regions that make up the state.
WAWI will actively partner with and provide in-kind technical assistance and support to each regional collaboration. Together, we will share, learn, and grow to accomplish the following:
Weave together the deep, place-based relationships needed to foster a sense of belonging in your region.
Host civic gatherings to collectively identify the unique community conditions needed for people and the environment in your region to thrive.
Connect and amplify community-led narratives of belonging and wellbeing rooted in the lived experiences of community members.
Participate in a team of national, state, and regional WAWI partners to share, learn, and strategize together.
Co-create a statewide agenda to advance policies, programs, and practices that build belonging, civic health, and wellbeing for all Washingtonians.
Attend and participate in a statewide summit to strengthen our collective wellbeing across Washington state.
The above is an excerpt from the full Belonging, Civic Health, & Wellbeing in Washington Request for Proposals. Please read the full RFP before applying.
The Application Process
WAWI has set up a three-step process to simplify the RFP application and encourage strong collaboration among interested parties in your region.
STEP 1 | Brief Survey: Interested 501(c)(3) organizations or tribal entities are welcome to fill out a brief survey to express interest in the RFP (Appendix A). Survey Opens: October 2, 2026 | Survey Deadline: October 23, 2026
STEP 2 | Informational Webinar: All interested parties will be asked to join an informational webinar to learn more about WAWI, the RFP opportunity, and potential partners in your region. RFP Info Session Options: November 2, 2026, 12-1PM | November 4, 2026, 12-1PM
STEP 3 | Full Application: Interested parties submit full RFP application (Appendix B).
RFP Application Opens: November 6, 2026 | RFP Deadline: January 15, 2027.
Award notifications will be made the week of February 22, 2027. Funds will be distributed by the end of March 2027.
The grant period is Q2 2027-Q3 2028 (18 months).
About the Washington Wellbeing Initiative
The Washington Wellbeing Initiative (WAWI) is a new, statewide collaboration that invests in belonging and civic health within and between communities to build wellbeing from the ground up.
WAWI is an active and growing network of organizations across Washington state committed to improving belonging, civic health and wellbeing in Washington state. Founding members include the Washington Economic Justice Alliance, Civic Commons, Statewide Poverty Action Network, and Front and Centered.
We are actively recruiting new member organizations! If you’re interested in joining, please email: info@civic-commons.org
