Community Reinvestment Project

Healing and action for Black, Latine, and tribal communities across our state to build a better WA for everyone.

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WA Department of Commerce’s Community Reinvestment Project (CRP) is a community-designed plan to uplift communities disproportionately harmed by the historical design / enforcement of criminal laws and penalties for drug possession. Our team is building community power with partners across the state to support economic development, reentry services, legal assistance, and violence prevention. The goal is to create lasting economic benefits, build wealth, and ensure everyone has a fair chance at success.

CRP is expected to generate up to $1.6 billion in economic benefits for targeted communities over the next decade. With $200 million already contracted and benefiting individual households, the project remains on track to make a significant impact in the lives of Washingtonians who were harmed by the Nixon-era war on drugs. This includes creating jobs in partnership with diverse small businesses, offering training programs to meet workforce needs, higher self-sufficient incomes for people to support their families, helping people acquire assets like homes and new businesses, and increasing safety of our neighborhoods through community-led projects.

Support for Individuals & Small Businesses

Check out our comprehensive list of CRP-funded service providers who are here to help you with your goals and dreams. 

Press the arrow to open up each category. 

Statewide Advisory Council
Onya Robertson
Office of Equity
onya.robertson@equity.wa.gov

Pierce County
Seth Kirby, MPA (he/him/his), Chief Impact Officer
Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
950 Pacific Ave Suite 1100, Tacoma, WA 98402
Email: skirby@gtcf.org

King County
Regina Malveaux, J.D. (she/her), Chief Impact Officer
United Way of King County
Email: rmalveaux@uwkc.org
Website: www.uwkc.org

Snohomish County
Karri Matau, President & CEO
Community Foundation of Snohomish County
2823 Rockefeller Avenue, Everett, WA 98201
Website: www.cf-sc.org
Email: karri@cf-sc.org

Clark County
Matt Morton, President (he/him/his)
Community Foundation of Southwest Washington
Email: matt@cfsww.org

Yakima Valley
Sharon F. Miracle, President and CEO
Yakima Valley Community Foundation
316 E. Yakima Avenue, Suite 201, Yakima, WA 98901
Email: sharonm@yakimavalleycf.org

Spokane County
Empire Health Foundation
Zeke Smith
Email: zeke@empirehealthfoundation.org

Learn more about the community-based Financial Coaching programs funded by the Department of Commerce and the Community Reinvestment Project (PDF). 

CRP-Funded Community Resources

If you are an individual who needs financial coaching, there is support for you! Check out this list of providers in your county and get connected.

Statewide:

King & Snohomish Counties:

Pierce, Kitsap County:

Thurston, Mason, and Jefferson Counties:

Spokane County:

Skagit County:

Stevens & Pend Oreille Counties:

Clark County:

Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla Counties:

Adams, Kilickitat, Grant, Kittitas, Douglas, Chelan, and Okanogan Counties:

The Economic Security for All (EcSA) Career Accelerator program provides opportunities for under/unemployed folks in Black, Latine and Tribal communities to pursue their dreams and build collective power. If you or your family has been impacted by the war on drugs, you may have access to career training, financial coaching, support payments, and financial incentives of up to $1000. The goal of this program is to help give our communities a fighting chance to make a living wage and achieve their goals.

If you are interested in the EcSA Career Accelerator for under/unemployed individuals, please contact your local workforce agency and ask to learn more.

Pacific Mountain WDC – Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Thurston
Dan Cooling
dan@pacmtn.org

WorkForce Development Council of Seattle-King County
Mike Davie
mdavie@seakingwdc.org

Gyanendra Subba
gsubba@seakingwdc.org

Future WorkForce Alliance (Snohomish)
Cassondra Yi
cassondra.yi@workforcesnohomish.org

Northwest Workforce Council (Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan)
Malinda Bjaaland
Mbjaaland@workforcenorthwest.org

SkillSource (Adams, Chelan, Grant, Douglas, Okanogan)
Susan Adams
susana@skillsource.org

Eastern Washington Partnership (Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman)
Rod Van Alyne
rvanalyne@ruralresources.org

Spokane Workforce Council (Spokane)
Andrea Hixson
ahixson@spokaneworkforce.org

Benton-Franklin WDC (Benton, Franklin)
Jessie Cardwell
jcardwell@bf-wdc.org

South Central Workforce Council (Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania, Yakima)
Meranda Smith
meranda.smith@scworkforce.org

WorkForce Central (Pierce)
Danielle Thompson
dthompson@workforce-central.org

Workforce Southwest Washington (Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum)
Mando Antonino
mantonino@workforcesw.org

Want to download a map of all our WWA partners? Download here (PDF).

The Economic Security for All (EcSA) Business Support program supports small businesses led or owned by Black, Latine, and tribal communities in WA

EcSA Business Support provides opportunities for small businesses in workforce development, skill enhancement, organizational growth, and economic mobility. Support from this program could look like subsidized training your staff, purchasing equipment that your business needs, and subsidized wages, too!

If you are interested in learning more about the EcSA Business Support program for small businesses, please contact your local workforce agency and ask to learn more.

Pacific Mountain WDC – Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Thurston
Dan Cooling
dan@pacmtn.org

WorkForce Development Council of Seattle-King County
Mike Davie
mdavie@seakingwdc.org

Gyanendra Subba
gsubba@seakingwdc.org

Future WorkForce Alliance (Snohomish)
Cassondra Yi
cassondra.yi@workforcesnohomish.org

Northwest Workforce Council (Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan)
Malinda Bjaaland
Mbjaaland@workforcenorthwest.org

SkillSource (Adams, Chelan, Grant, Douglas, Okanogan)
Susan Adams
susana@skillsource.org

Eastern Washington Partnership (Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman)
Rod Van Alyne
rvanalyne@ruralresources.org

Spokane Workforce Council (Spokane)
Andrea Hixson
ahixson@spokaneworkforce.org

Benton-Franklin WDC (Benton, Franklin)
Jessie Cardwell
jcardwell@bf-wdc.org

South Central Workforce Council (Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania, Yakima)
Meranda Smith
meranda.smith@scworkforce.org

WorkForce Central (Pierce)
Business Solutions
BusinessSolutions@workforce-central.org

Workforce Southwest Washington (Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum)
Mando Antonino
mantonino@workforcesw.org

Want to download a map of all our WWA partners? Download here (PDF).

Learn more about Community-based Re-entry grant programs funded by the Department of Commerce and the Community Reinvestment Project (PDF). 

CRP-Funded Reentry Community Resources

If you or a loved one needs re-entry support, please get in contact with one of our contracted partners for the support you need.

Statewide:

Central & Eastern WA:

  • People for People

Pierce County:

Kitsap County:

Benton & Franklin County:

Whatcom County:

Clark County:

Spokane County:

Snohomish County:

Yakima County:

Greys Harbor:

King County:

Thurston County:

Skagit County:

Learn more about community-based violence prevention programs funded by the Department of Commerce and the Community Reinvestment Project (PDF). 

CRP-funded programs disrupting and preventing violence in WA

King County:

Pierce County:

Spokane:

Led by Northwest Credible Messengers. Funded by the Community Reinvestment Project

The Barber & Beauty Shop Community of Practice aims to train barber and beauty ​shops to provide peer support services while ​facilitating transformative engagement processes ​with the customers they serve.

Participants will go through accelerated ​training in order to learn to provide behavioral ​health support services. Barbers and beauticians will be compensated $2,000 per completed training (up to $4,000) with the aim of supporting barbers and beauticians with more sustainable funding streams.

Now accepting applications. Click to learn more.

Community reinvestment plan image

About the Community Reinvestment Project

WA Department of Commerce’s Community Reinvestment Project (CRP) is a community-designed plan to uplift communities disproportionately harmed by the historical design / enforcement of criminal laws and penalties for drug possession (otherwise known as the war on drugs).

 Press the arrow to learn more about each category.

In 2022, the WA Legislature created the Community Reinvestment Account that set aside $200 million to address racial, economic, and social disparities created by the historic design and enforcement of state and federal criminal laws and penalties for drug possession (the war on drugs). The Legislature directed that the Department of Commerce (Commerce) invest the funds into four program areas:

  • Economic development
  • Civil and criminal legal assistance
  • Community-based violence intervention and prevention
  • Reentry services

Commerce – in partnership with the WA Office of Equity – worked with communities across the state to develop a Community Reinvestment Plan laying out recommendations for how these funds will be invested over the next biennium (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025).

The Community Reinvestment Plan recommended Commerce distribute the $200 million across the state through more than 17 individual grant programs. Subject matter experts are currently administering the grant programs. Some of the grant programs are expansions of existing programs. Some of the programs represent new ideas, requiring more time and collaboration to implement. 

To learn more about the plan, please read the full breakdown of the proposed programs (PDF).

To read the full plan, download the Community Reinvestment Plan (PDF).

Healing requires Action

The harm from unjust practices requires healing and action. Structural racism was, and still is, directly embedded in past and present criminal laws and penalties for drug possession – both in WA and across the nation. We must also recognize that these policies inversely targeted and impacted Black, Latine, and tribal residents. As a result, CRP prioritizes funding these communities in order to undo harm and build a better Washington state for everyone.

The Depths of Harm to Black, Latine, and tribal communities

The harm caused by the war on drugs does not just stop with one person. Its impact carries for generations within families and communities. In order to create intergenerational healing, we must recognize how and where anti-Blackness, colonialism, and structural racism significantly impacted our friends, families, and loved ones. Harm does not just include physical detention and incarceration, but also through over-surveillance, over-policing, over-incarceration, and over-sentencing that is still alive and well in the criminal justice system.

We must connect community-level harm with community-level listening, and consider how harm has impacted individuals, families, friends, businesses, and the community at large. We must also acknowledge that existing public datasets might not adequately capture the kinds of harm and impacts that communities have experienced and continue to experience.

With funding distributed through Commerce, the Community Reinvestment Project will support 17 different grant programs. Each of the program managers will distribute the funds in accordance with the Community Reinvestment Plan, with several interagency and external partners.

  • Employment Security Department – $25 million to provide workforce and small business services.
  • Office of Civil Legal Aid – $8 million to fund legal representation and vacating criminal records and legal financial obligation relief.
  • Department of Commerce – $167 million to support violence prevention, reentry services, and economic development.

Economic Development

$138 million. Our economic development grants address wealth disparities by promoting asset building, such as home ownership and expanding access to grants / loans for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Available grants are built on four strategic sets of investments: subsidized lending, financial assistance, outreach and support and workforce development.

Violence Prevention

$30 million over four program areas. Programs will consist of violence prevention and intervention services, Community Healing, Youth Sports Capacity Building and Barber/Beauty Shop Health Navigation programs.

Reentry Services

$12 million. A criminal record creates a lifetime of barriers for impacted individuals and their families. The Community Reinvestment Plan recommended funding for civil and criminal legal assistance to provide post-conviction relief and case assistance.

Facilitated by community-based organizations, our reentry grants focus on improving transitions from incarceration by providing access to services including housing, employment, education, legal aid, transportation, communication, and basic needs. 

Legal Assistance

$8 million. CRP’s legal assistance grants assist with vacating criminal records, legal financial obligations relief, and legal representation. Decades of federal, state, and local policies and practices that disproportionately targeted Black, Latine and tribal communities have made criminal records much more common and difficult to navigate.

The Community Reinvestment Project must demonstrate significant long-term economic benefits to the state, a region, or a specific community within the state. Measuring outcomes involves carefully assessing and tracking the economic impact of various investments over time. This will include factors such as new job creation, job retention, increased personal wealth, and higher incomes for individuals and families. Impacts on wealth disparities will be realized by actions designed to promote asset building, such as home ownership, and expanding access to financial resources, including but not limited to grants and loans for small businesses and entrepreneurs, financial literacy training, and other small business training and support activities.

The success and effectiveness of the Community Reinvestment Program will be determined by the geographic and demographic impact of the distribution of the funds to individuals and families harmed by the war on drugs.

Each grant program will have Key Performance Indicators reported out using a consolidated accountable and transparent reporting mechanism. Data points unique to each grant program will measure and allow us to understand outcomes. The Community Reinvestment Plan implementation will integrate racial equity considerations in all outreach and contractual programs and practices, and be a catalyst for change to traditional Commerce practices and systems. To be successful, the Community Reinvestment Plan implementation will require intentional, regular and transparent communication internally within Commerce and externally with other state agencies, grantees, potential grantees, and community partners.

To learn about the CRP plan, download the PDF.

Read the Plan

Download a PDF of the Community Reinvestment Plan.

Collaboration Dashboard

Learn more about our ongoing work on our Collaboration Dashboard.

Office Hours

If you would like to meet virtually with our team, you can sign-up for our Office Hours! CRP Office Hours are held every Thursday from 12:00pm-12:30pm over Zoom. 

Upcoming Office Hours

August 1st
August 8th
August 15th
August 22nd
August 29th
September 5th

Please visit this registration link to sign up. We look forward to hearing from you!

Support for Individuals and Small Businesses

There are CRP-funded resources for individuals and small businesses.

Subscribe

Sign up to our email list to receive updates from the Community Reinvestment Project.

Contact Us

Please visit our contact form to connect with the CRP Team. We will get back to you within 2-5 business days.

CRP Core Staff

  • Korbett Mosesly, Managing Director (he/him)
  • Cristi Devers, Co-Lead (she/her)
  • Sherina James, Co-Lead (she/her)
  • Krista Perez, Contract Manager (she/her/ella)
  • Mahkyra Gaines, Contract Manager (they/them)
  • Elijah Benn, Peer Navigation Program Manager
  • Dr. Timmie Foster, Coaching Capacity Program Manager (Dr. Timmie/Dr. Foster)
  • Mackenzie Rodgers, Admin (she/her)