Our Work
A Supportive Community For All (SCFA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to create a more equitable Snoqualmie Valley by engaging, connecting, and supporting people and organizations to collaboratively build a community where all members can thrive. We draw on the collective impact model and build community power to achieve our vision. Choose a topic below to learn more about our history and work.
Collaborative Roots
A Supportive Community For All (SCFA) was granted 501c3 nonprofit status in March 2022, although the collaborative work that led to this formation began in 2018. Five local organizations obtained partnership funding from King County Communities of Opportunity (COO) to support the formation of a diverse working group, which was tasked with exploring how to make human services more accessible in the Snoqualmie Valley. The organizations leading the project included Hopelink, Empower Youth Network, Encompass NW, Mt Si Senior Center, and the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank. The project became known as “A Supportive Community For All.”
This working group commissioned a needs assessment in 2019 that is still available on our website, providing key data on local demographics and community needs. Using this needs assessment and the lived experiences of community members in the working group, the nonprofit leaders identified key strategies to improve accessibility of human services.
After successfully obtaining additional partnership funding from King County Communities of Opportunity in 2020, the organizations agreed that funding would be used to hire paid staff at Empower Youth Network to provide dedicated backbone support, coordinating the implementation of these cross-sector initiatives. A Governance Board was formed to oversee the collaborative work. During this time, the backbone staff supported the partners in launching a multi-organization navigation program, establishing a searchable resource directory online, and completing the nonprofit center feasibility study. The Governance Board also decided to form a new nonprofit to continue to support the work.
The Governance Board’s decision to form our organization in 2021 was initially technical – the vision of coordinated human services across all populations and service types in the Snoqualmie Valley was deemed too large to fit within any of the existing partner organizations’ missions. For the work to continue, we needed to create a separate legal entity to receive the partnership grant funding that was supporting the collaborative work and employ the staff that guided the project. The Governance Board of the collaborative project transitioned into the Board of Directors for the new legal entity, and a new organization was born.
During the strategic planning process, however, the Board explored the value of expanding the vision beyond that of coordinated human services to be a vision of equity. They knew that supporting the coordination of human services was crucial in our community, but they also wanted this new organization to have the flexibility, as it gained strength, to be able to provide support to other community groups working on up-stream interventions to support equity in four key areas (health, housing, financial opportunity, and community connections) that might prevent the need for human services in the first place.
With continued support from King County Communities of Opportunity, we are proud to continue to provide backbone support for the growing coalition of service providers, now known as the Snoqualmie Valley Human Services Coalition, and are in a phase of deep learning and engagement with the community. Through that engagement, we have trusted that we would identify additional opportunities to connect and support community members in work that serves our vision of equity. That trust has already yielded some fruitful results.
What We Do
Drawing on the collective impact model, A Supportive Community For All (SCFA) serves as backbone support for people and organizations working together to transform systems and create a community where all members can thrive. As is common for collective impact initiatives in the early phases, our backbone organization is focused on guiding our partners toward a shared vision, supporting aligned activities, establishing shared measurement practices, and cultivating community engagement and ownership by developing a governance structure to ensure that the work is community-led. As we build organizational strength, we hope to continue to expand the range of projects we support.
Guide vision and strategy
Creating a more equitable community requires investments and contributions from an entire ecosystem of community members and organizations all playing different roles. As a backbone organization, we act as a guide to those who seek to align their projects with our overarching vision of equity. We do this by supporting the development of equity leadership skills among our community partners, shifting power to those with lived experiences of the problems we aim to solve, and providing accurate and meaningful data to inform decisions and strategies.
Support aligned activities
Currently, SCFA’s primary area of work continues to be provision of support to the Snoqualmie Valley Human Services Coalition, a growing group of human service providers, faith communities, medical and behavioral health providers, all working together to connect community members to the resources they need through a collaborative Referral and Navigation Program. Our role is to serve as fiscal agent for the King County COO grant that funds the work, coordinate our partners’ efforts, provide training, and build capacity for our partners to center equity in their collaborative and individual work.
As the backbone, we manage tools and infrastructure that support the coalition’s work, such as a shared, HIPAA compliant platform to send and receive referrals, and a centralized phone line. We hold contracts with each organization outlining their responsibilities, train partners on how to use the tools, support shifts in organizational workflow, and host monthly meetings to build relationships, support resilience, and ground our partners in shared language essential to effective collaboration. We believe that supporting our partners in these areas and improving access to the key resources they provide, widely understood to be social determinants of health, will contribute to the greater health and well-being of our community over time.
We are also engaging with the community and actively identifying other community groups that are interested in partnering with us to create a more equitable Snoqualmie Valley. For example, we serve as fiscal sponsor for Sno-Valley Pride, a new group of volunteers that seek to create inclusive and welcoming spaces for the queer community in the Snoqualmie Valley. This sponsorship provides them with the legal and financial infrastructure to pursue funding opportunities, accept tax-deductible donations, and expand their transformational work in our community. We are looking forward to continuing to build relationships with community and support other emerging collaborative efforts, particularly those focused on systems change.
Establish shared measurement practices
As the backbone organization for the Snoqualmie Valley Human Services Coalition, we manage and share data from the referral and navigation program with our partners. As utilization of this shared referral and care coordination platform increases, we have a growing centralized database that paints a picture of how community members utilize resources across our community, where the gaps are, where are the pain points in implementation so that we can improve our own service provision and strategize to meet new needs as they emerge. This data also points us towards areas where the community may want to invest in upstream solutions to address the needs.
Cultivate community engagement and ownership
As a backbone organization supporting collaborations that are working to create a more equitable Snoqualmie Valley, one of our roles is to develop systems and structures that support community engagement and ownership of the collaborative work. To this end, we have established a temporary Advisory Committee to help formalize the design of community-led governance. The committee will participate in a facilitated process to develop recommendations that outline the shared purpose, overarching values, and decision-making model, as well as power and authority granted to any seats of leadership, including term limits for service and compensation. The committee will also make recommendations about desired skills, knowledge and experiences among representatives serving in leadership roles, and outline a plan for initial recruitment and long-term community engagement strategies to identify and support future leaders. The Advisory Committee is a paid opportunity for local people.
Communities Served
Drawing on the concept of targeted universalism, we define our community as the entire Sno-Valley, however, we center those most impacted by inequitable systems. We are proud to support collaborations focused on ameliorating inequitable outcomes for BIPOC and LBTQIA+ communities.
Projects We Support
Looking Ahead
We would love to connect and explore partnership with community members who are working on projects of all sorts that will contribute to building a Snoqualmie Valley where everyone can thrive. If you are passionate about creating a more equitable Snoqualmie Valley, please reach out.