25 Years - Renton Regional Community Foundation

THEN: Creating a shared vision

In 1999, a group of volunteers from five local institutions came together with a vision to improve the quality of life for everyone in the Renton area.

The goal was to be a catalyst for action that advanced the wellbeing of Renton-area residents. With a $257,000 grant from the Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce Foundation and a commitment to collaboration, trust and respect, Valley Medical Center, Renton Technical College, Renton School District, the City of Renton, and the Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce established the Renton Community Foundation, (renamed the Renton Regional Community Foundation in 2017). We have been building on that legacy ever since.

NOW: Challenge and promise

Twenty-five years later, the Renton Regional Community Foundation (RRCF) serves not just Renton but communities throughout South King County totaling more than 500,000 residents.

South King County is one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally rich regions in the state; it is filled with knowledge, strength, and promise, and yet — the people here consistently experience some of the worst inequities in the Puget Sound region.

We know that when financial support meets the energy that lives here, good things happen. RRCF is the steward of assets totaling $13 million and has distributed more than $20 million to hundreds of nonprofit organizations serving South King County since 1999. We do this through our:

Care Together Fund, established in 2020 to respond to immediate needs in South King County.

Circle of Giving, where a group of dedicated individuals come together each year and pool their resources, deciding as a group which nonprofits to support.

Scholarship Funds, which support local students’ dreams of pursuing post-secondary education.

Fund Advisors, who are the everyday philanthropists – people like you and your neighbors – who create a fund and direct proceeds in support of organizations they care deeply about. People who hold funds here are the backbone of the Foundation.

NEXT: A model of collective action

In the next 25 years, we see a region as diverse in talent, enterprise, and cultural heritage as it is today.

No longer the default home of King County’s greatest disparities, South King County is instead an example of what’s possible when we work together to build creatively on local assets and successful models that give rise to thriving communities. Here, anyone can have a job that pays a livable wage; safe and affordable housing is available for people at all income levels, along with nutritious and culturally relevant food and enough health and mental health resources to go around. In South King County, neighbors connect with each other with joy and mutual learning. Because that’s what happens when we all come together for the common good.

Help us honor 25 years!

For 25 years, we’ve been connecting people who care about our community and cultivating local relationships and resources to create a region that works for all.

Connect: Every day. We connect individuals, organizations, ideas, and resources to share knowledge and support and engage the community.

Cultivate: Relationships and trust. We nurture and develop ideas, relationships, and resources to care for this place and its people.

Create: Opportunities, solutions, and a thriving region. Whether it’s new ideas to meet a community challenge, aid to our neighbors, or financial support for a promising project, creation is what happens when we come together.

“I see South King County as a huge place of opportunity to steward what the future is going to look like, not just for this region but for this country – because our relationships, the rawness, the creativity, the resources we can tap into.”
Linsay Hill, Community Healer

25 Years and Growing