Taking Action Together This Election Season

Are you looking for ways to encourage voting and civic engagement in your faith community this election year? Are you also looking for community-led support? If your answers are yes, FAN invites you to join a Network of 100% Voting Faith Communities! Many faith traditions highlight the importance of voting in preserving community well-being and the common good in democracy. The Network of 100% Voting Faith Communities is a community space to share ideas, tools, and peer support as we collectively build civically engaged multi-faith communities. Whether you are a leader authorized to take action on behalf of your faith community or an individual willing to organize your faith community to participate, you are invited! Please read more information on this document and fill out the form to join the network. You can also access our newly launched Voting & Civic Engagement page.

We will offer monthly zoom meetings through the summer to stay engaged as a network. We welcome individuals and communities interested and committed to getting out the vote in their faith community and beyond.
The following online meetings have been scheduled:

  • Tues. June 18th 12-1pm
  • Tues. July 23rd 12-1pm
  • Tues. August 20th 1-2pm

The focus of the meetings will be on supporting organizing, voter registration, and mobilization in your community.

We are committed to voicing the values from multi-faith traditions in the electoral process and we hope you will be part of this movement!

Announcing Our Spring Appeal!

This year in our spring appeal, we invite your support in moving FAN forward during this time of leadership transition. Board Chair Rev. Carol Jensen, on behalf of the FAN Governing Board, invites you to make a donation today:

In the past year, the FAN staff and Board have reflected more deeply on the values that undergird and nourish FAN’s work, flowing from the faith/wisdom traditions of our diverse network. FAN is also nourished by its vibrant, statewide network of advocates who are gathering in our annual summits this spring, and by our history of successes in the state legislature and other arenas. All of these, and your generous financial support, nourish and strengthen FAN so together we may bear fruit for the wellbeing of our communities and our planet. We will need to draw on that nourishment for the months ahead of us. There are powerful forces within our state and nation that threaten the pluralism at the heart of American democracy and the religious diversity of our communities. These forces have contributed to increasing acts of hate, and we are experiencing efforts to enact legislation to dismantle hard-won rights and protections for diverse religious groups and the most vulnerable in our communities.

FAN, with our multi-faith identity, stands as a strong counterpoint to these forces as together we advocate for each other and the wellbeing of all. Our public witness and our legislative work are needed more than ever! Recognizing this, the FAN board and staff are discerning how to grow FAN’s capacity in the years ahead of us. At the end of June, FAN will say goodbye and thank you to our Executive Director Elise DeGooyer who is moving on to her next chapter. In the past ten years, Elise has done so much to lead FAN to the multi-faith identity we share today. We have embarked on a process for finding our next leader and hope you will spread the word as the job is posted in early June. Your financial gift this spring will show your support for FAN as we stand up for a multi-faith future for our state and for policies that support the flourishing of all. The FAN Board also invites special gifts to say THANK YOU to Elise for her gracious and steadfast leadership. Names of donors will be included in a special tribute as we celebrate our anniversary in June!

Keep FAN strong by helping us meet our $20,000 goal! There are multiple ways to donate:
▪ ONLINE at FANWA.org using the red DONATE button!
▪ BY MAIL to FAN at P.O. Box 80663, Seattle, WA 98108
▪ WORKPLACE GIVING: Does your employer offer a match? FAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit eligible for workplace giving through many corporate platforms. Let us know!
▪ PLANNED GIVING: Please see our planned giving page at fanwa.org/engage-support/planned giving and consider how your own plans align with FAN’s commitment to the common good.

Please nourish FAN through your generous gift today, so that we may continue to put our values into action—standing with and for each other in the challenging days ahead. On behalf of Faith Action Network Governing Board and staff, thank you!

The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have recently released their draft proposals for the Farm Bill. Today, the House Agriculture Committee voted out of committee their version of the Farm Bill that poses a threat to the health and wellbeing of our communities. The House version will cut close to $30 billion for SNAP over the next decade and remove guardrails for climate-smart practices for conservation programs. Our advocacyis needed for Congress to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill this year. The Senate version is much better and strengthens SNAP and other nutrition programs.

The Farm Bill connects our lives and all those involved in the entirety of the food system. The 2018 Farm Bill authorization was extended through September 30 of this year. Farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, nutrition and hunger advocates, conservationists, concerned consumers, and the climate community have been advocating for a bipartisan Farm Bill. With these new drafts, we have a chance to shape upcoming legislation to better reflect the current contexts and community needs.

Join online the Farm Bill Conversation: “Why is the Farm Bill Important to Us?” on Thursday June 13, 6-7:30pm hosted by FAN and the ELCA Synods’ Hunger Teams in the northwest region. The event will include a presentation on the Farm Bill by ELCA Advocacy staff in Washington D.C., guest speakers including ELCA Bishops, breakout groups to meet community members across the region, and an action to take. The event will be centered around Lutheran contexts, but all are welcome whether you are familiar with the Farm Bill or not. Please join us!

Your Advocacy Making a Difference: Expanded immigrant health coverage in Washington begins this summer!

After years of advocacy with the Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign, FAN is excited to share that applications for Apple Health Expansion will open at 8 a.m. on June 20. This expansion provides coverage for adults age 19 and older with certain immigration statuses, including people who are undocumented. This new program has limited enrollment, is expected to fill quickly, and will begin July 1. This expansion currently has funding for one year, so we will be counting on your continued advocacy to make this a permanent program! Further details can be found online: hca.wa.gov/apple-health-expansion. Outreach materials are available in 16 languages – contact Jess Ingman (ingman@fanwa.org) if you’d like help accessing outreach materials for your community.

Summer at Holden

Summer in the North Cascades wilderness calls! Holden Village is offering some exciting programming this summer, and we are delighted that FAN Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang will be part of the teaching faculty for the week of August 5-8. There will be lots of opportunities to participate in meaningful programs and discussions, as well as enjoy the outdoors and all that Holden has to offer.

Opportunities

The No On 2117 campaign has several job openings available that help our state keep valuable gains we have made in clean energy initiatives and climate policy. Find out more here.

State Funding Opportunities:

  • DSHS Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance has opened the application process for the $25+ million that we advocated for in services to immigrants seeking asylum. Applications due June 13—find more information here.
  • Security Grants: You advocated for new state funding to protect our communities, and now it’s time to learn more about applying for funds (proposals due July 2)! Here are some links with some updated information regarding the Commerce Webpage, RFA

Housing and Homelessness:

1. Please consider sharing your story about rent increases in this 2024 Housing Alliance Rent Survey.

2. Provide your input on the WA State Department of Commerce 5-Year Strategic Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Link here. Attend a listening session on Zoom: Monday, June 3, 10–11:30 a.m. Register for June 3 session.

3. Voter Outreach: Join an in-person training by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness to increase your voting advocacy.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, June 8, Noon-6:00pm, Spokane Pride, in-person, Riverfront Park, Spokane. FAN will be tabling again this year at Spokane Pride. Would you like to help staff our table at the Pride festival? You can sign  by emailing Brianna Dilts. The parade begins at noon and the festival will kick off at 1 pm. We hope to see you there! Happy Pride!

Thursday, June 20, 11:30am-1:00pm, Equity, Racial Justice and Culture: 2024 Housing Alliance Lunch & Learn Series, online. Come and learn about “Implicit Bias vs. Our Shared Humanity: Impacts for your Organization, Staff, and the People you Serve” offered by Tasha West-Baker from Building Changes and Ma.Caroline Lopez, MSW. Learn more

Friday, June 21, The Lands Council Presents: Legislative Summit, in-person. At the Summit, legislators and local area experts will craft legislation on six locally important topics with a Climate Justice thread running through them; these proposed bills will be sponsored in the 2025 Legislative Session.

Tuesday, July 2, 7:00pm, An Evening with Lifelong Climate Activist Bill McKibben, in-person and online, First United Methodist Church, Seattle. Third Act Washington (TAWA) is presenting a talk by Bill McKibben who will be issuing a call to action on climate and democracy, including No on Initiative 2117, followed by a Q&A.