Seattle, Washington

A Case Study of Community Wealth Building (CWB)

Seattle, WA  

A Case Study of Community Wealth Building (CWB)

Community Profile

Seattle, a city of over 750,000, is often perceived as predominantly white, but the reality is more nuanced. While about 60% of the population identifies as white, there is a growing BIPOC community, including 14% Asian, 7% Black or African American, 7% Hispanic or Latino, and a long-standing Indigenous presence. However, despite its diversity, Seattle’s rapid economic growth—driven by corporations like Amazon and Boeing—has exacerbated inequities rather than alleviating them. Amazon, in particular, has played a significant role in skyrocketing housing costs, contributing to displacement and intensifying the city’s homelessness crisis. In fact, Seattle has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, with over 13,000 people experiencing homelessness as of 2023.

While Amazon has created jobs, many of these positions are filled by non-local workers, and the benefits of this job growth haven’t been evenly distributed across communities. Similarly, Boeing’s decision to move much of its manufacturing to the southern U.S. to avoid labor regulations has had profound negative impacts on local employment opportunities, further widening the wage gap. Seattle’s unemployment rate currently stands at around 3.5%, but this number masks significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups, with Black and Indigenous communities facing higher unemployment and underemployment rates.

These dynamics highlight the urgency for a Just Transition—one that moves away from extractive corporate practices and towards supporting local, BIPOC-owned businesses and sustainable community wealth-building efforts. Without addressing these systemic issues, Seattle’s economic prosperity will continue to come at the expense of its most vulnerable residents, deepening the divide between the city’s wealthiest and its marginalized communities.

Overview of CWB in Seattle, WA 

In response to the persistent racial wealth gap between white residents and Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities, the City of Seattle launched the Generational Wealth Initiative. This initiative, rooted in community taskforce investment, emerged following the 2020 protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder, aligning itself with the broader racial justice movement.

In fall 2021, the Seattle City Council issued a Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) to advance the mission of the Generational Wealth Initiative. The SLI tasked the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) with preparing a report outlining strategies for generational wealth building and equitable economic development to reduce the racial wealth gap. The DON, in collaboration with the Office of Economic Development (OED), was directed to evaluate existing City programs, identify gaps, and propose recommendations for creating effective pathways out of poverty. This cross-departmental collaboration highlights the City’s commitment to confronting systemic economic inequalities.

Seattle City Council Member Tammy Morales has been a vocal champion of this work, consistently advocating for policies that center the economic empowerment of historically marginalized communities. Her leadership has played a critical role in pushing forward the City’s focus on community wealth building, ensuring that these efforts remain at the forefront of local government priorities.

In 2022, People’s Economy Lab (PEL), an issue-area expert and convenor advancing collaborations among community members and key economic change agents, partnered with the City of Seattle to launch an 18-month investigation aimed at addressing the racial wealth gap. PEL works to advance a Just Transition to a solidarity economy in Washington by supporting the development of equitable economic systems that center and empower Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. This investigation process included external research, community-based participatory research, and insights from the Generational Wealth Initiative Community Roundtable. They also analyzed CWB pilot projects and gathered input from community partners. From this work, several key strategies were proposed:

  1. Broad-based Worker Ownership: Ensuring workers receive a fair share of the wealth they help create within businesses.

  2. Access to Affordable Capital and Community Controlled Capital: Supporting lending, investment, and endowment funds that allow underserved communities to govern and control capital allocation.

  3. Community Ownership of Real Estate: Leveraging shared property ownership for the common good of defined communities.

  4. Progressive Procurement: Encouraging local governments and anchor institutions to recirculate wealth within communities through equitable and regenerative procurement practices.

  5. Equitable Small Business Ecosystems: Addressing structural barriers that hinder access and opportunities for business owners of color, women entrepreneurs, low-income individuals, and businesses in under-invested neighborhoods.

  6. Asset Building and Wealth Retention Programs: Investing in comprehensive, intergenerational programs to reduce property loss rates among BIPOC communities through education, financial management, tax management, and innovative asset leveraging options.

The six strategies above align with The Democracy Collaborative’s Community Wealth Building wedge and the five pillars. In action those strategies have shown up as:

Locally Rooted Finance

Central Area Collaborative's Community-Controlled Fund

Central Area Collaborative is partnering with Black small business owners in the Central District and a mission-aligned community development financial institution (CDFI) to create and manage a community-controlled fund for small business emergency expenses. This fund incorporates innovative repayment methods aimed at enhancing the overall well-being of the entire community.

An advisory group of BIPOC business owners has developed the fund's guidelines and procedures. Additionally, the administration of the fund will be overseen by a group of BIPOC business owners from the Central District, ensuring that it remains community-driven and responsive to local needs.

Just use of Land and Property

U-Lex Affordable Residential Cooperative

Designed with and for Othello community members through a process facilitated by HomeSight, the U-Lex Affordable Residential Cooperative aims to prevent displacement by offering unit shares at prices affordable to buyers earning less than 80% of the Area Median Income. At least half of the units are reserved for individuals with existing community ties.

U-Lex will be managed as a cooperative, meaning share owners will lead and vote on all significant community decisions, from establishing community rules and overseeing maintenance to selecting board members and approving new owners.

Cultural Space Agency

The Cultural Space Agency, a mission-focused and values-oriented cultural real estate development entity chartered by the City of Seattle, is dedicated to securing long-term affordable cultural spaces in collaboration with community partners. Their approach emphasizes community wealth building through direct investment in real estate and promotes the just use of land and property. They create opportunities for ownership of commercial cultural spaces, ensuring that the benefits of development are equitably distributed. Working closely with diverse cultural communities, they particularly focus on addressing the needs of Black and Indigenous communities. Through these efforts, they empower communities by fostering agency and sustainable growth.

Uplift Investments' Community Outreach Initiative

Uplift Investments launched a pilot community outreach initiative focused on helping historically displaced communities in Seattle maintain their homes and build generational wealth. The target audience included African American legacy homeowners and their descendants in previously redlined Seattle neighborhoods. During the pilot, the initiative aimed to reach and educate 100 to 300 individuals and partner with two to ten homeowners, providing them with personalized wealth-building guidance.

Progressive Procurement 

Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services Department (FAS) initiatives:

Over the past few years, Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services Department (FAS) has been actively working to enhance the City's procurement processes for Women and Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (WMBE). The department has invested in specialized WMBE training for staff and, with funding from a Bloomberg grant, is collaborating with a consulting firm to review City spending. This collaboration aims to identify recommendations for increasing government contracts awarded to women and minority-owned businesses. According to Seattle’s latest (2022) Women and Minority-Owned Businesses Annual Report, exceeded its 21% of purchasing dollars goal with 26%. 

Inclusive Work and Democratic Enterprises 

Villa Comunitaria’s Childcare Cooperative

Villa Comunitaria’s Childcare Cooperative is a community-driven initiative designed to provide affordable, high-quality childcare services while empowering local families. This cooperative model not only addresses the critical need for accessible childcare but also fosters economic resilience and social cohesion within the community.

The mission of Villa Comunitaria’s Childcare Cooperative is to create a nurturing, educational environment for children while supporting parents and caregivers through cooperative ownership and management. By doing so, we aim to enhance the overall well-being of our community, promoting self-sufficiency and shared prosperity.

Challenges & Opportunities  

Seattle faces several challenges to advancing its CWB initiatives. The rapid pace of economic growth and displacement, high costs of real estate, and the lack of philanthropic support for CWB work are significant barriers. Additionally, introducing non-mainstream economic development approaches in a city very much captured by big business interests poses a challenge. The urgency of addressing immediate needs while planning for long-term goals also creates tension.

However, Seattle's diverse community and progressive values present unique opportunities. The city's commitment to addressing the racial wealth gap through CWB has generated interest and momentum. Building capacity for implementing innovative strategies and fostering connections among community members and stakeholders are crucial steps forward. The involvement of local organizations, such as King County Communities of Opportunity and various CDFIs, provides a robust support network for advancing CWB efforts.

What’s next?

The Office of Economic Development (OED) is now leading the implementation of a Community Wealth Building (CWB) initiative at the City of Seattle to advance recommendations included in the Equitable Economy and Community Wealth Building report (Generational Wealth Initiative) written by People’s Economy Lab. The work to date with community leaders and representatives through the community roundtable has produced significant outcomes in increasing contextual understanding of CWB and in reparative and restorative collaboration between BIPOC community leaders and the City. The opportunity now is to incorporate the learning and insights into a citywide CWB initiative and for the City to continue to engage community members for community-driven insights and continued co-creation of a CWB strategic framework to guide policy and investments. OED will work with community and City partners to build on the learnings of the GWI roundtable and pilot projects to create a strategic framework and implementation plan. Working with a consultant team and in collaboration with community partners, the City seeks to build upon the gained insights and incorporate a sustained practice of engaging community members for ongoing knowledge building aligned with the City’s CWB initiative.

Community Stakeholders  

  • Shiho Fuyuki, Lab Leader, People’s Economy Lab , shiho@peopleseconomylab.org

  • Njuguna Gishuru, Lab Leader, People’s Economy Lab, njuguna@peopleseconomylab.org

  • Kiersten Grove, Acting Director,  Finance and Administrative Services, City of Seattle, 1 (206) 684-2489

Resources