See ya later, 2020!

Can you believe that 2020 is almost over? We sure can't. As we look back at this year, it simultaneously feels like 2020 just started, and also that it has lasted for 28 months.

• January got off to a wonderful and busy start. We helped welcome the new Seattle University School of Law Incubator Program cohort. The Incubator Program is near and dear to our hearts, as we were participants in 2016. We spoke at the “Launching a Successful Practice” CLE where we offered tips on how lawyers can offer their services in a more accessible way. We had a full-day planning meeting where we talked about the fabulous things we were able to do in 2019, and the even more fabulous things we had in store for 2020.

• In March we closed our physical office "for a few weeks" to try to help slow the spread of COVID here in Seattle. Nine months later, we're still working from home, and all of our meetings and court appearances are via phone or Zoom. While we're fortunate to have been able to easily transition to working from home, and to have safe spaces to do so, that wasn't the case for everyone. As soon as stay at home orders were issued, we saw a devastating increase in domestic violence.

• In May, we participated in giveBIG! for the first time ever.

• In July, we welcomed a new board member, the wonderful Amanda Hailey! We are beyond thrilled that she's joined our team!

• In October, we hosted our second annual fall fundraiser. To say we were nervous is an understatement. Not only is running a fundraiser still pretty new to us, but we've never done so in the midst of a global pandemic.

Our line of work gives us a daily front row seat to the bad that exists in this world, and that can be a struggle even in normal times. In COVID times...yikes. But, our work also gives us countless examples of the incredible good that exists in this world. We see the unbelievable strength and resiliency of our clients, the fierce dedication of our team, and the incredible generosity of our supporters and donors. So, yes, 2020 has been a challenge, but we are also looking back on this year fondly, thanks to you fine folks.

From all of us here at Northwest Advocacy Foundation, we wish you a happy and healthy new year!

2020 Fall Fundraiser Results!

Friends! Our Second Annual Fall Fundraiser is officially over, and we cannot thank you all enough! In just two short weeks, we EXCEEDED our fundraising goal, and raised $15,694! And on top of that, so many of you have already submitted requests for your employer to match your donation! (If your employer matches charitable donations, we'd love it if you'd submit a request for a match!) We cannot even begin to express how much we appreciate this, and how much of an impact this will have for our organization and our clients in the coming year. So, thank you. 

As promised, we've got a bunch of stuff to give away!
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• Trader Joe's gift basket: Lea

• Pagliacci gift card: Sean

• All the Best Gift Basket: Alissa

• Trophy Cupcakes gift cards: Stan, Sarah, Rhonda, and Kelly

Winners, check your email for a note from us!

We have to give a huge thanks to these wonderful companies, who literally jumped at the chance to help our little organization raise some much needed funds. Because of them, we're able to ensure that 100% of your donation goes to our legal services program, while also giving away some fun stuff. Win-win!

Even bigger thanks to all of YOU for donating and sharing and helping us spread the word! We are, as usual, blown away by the ways in which you all show up for and support us. We really mean it when we say that we could not do this work without you, so thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. 
 

Northwest Advocacy Foundation

Black Lawyers Matter

We are so dang proud to be Seattle University School of Law graduates. 

The latest issue of SU’s Lawyer magazine is a good one. Check out the full issue here.

Second Annual Fall Fundraiser

Northwest Advocacy Foundation’s Fall Fundraiser

Next month, Northwest Advocacy Foundation will once again be hosting its annual fundraiser. This fundraiser, which coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, is critical in enabling us to continue providing legal services to victims and survivors of domestic violence. Devastatingly, domestic violence in the United States has been on the rise since the COVID-19 public health crisis hit nearly seven months ago. Access to justice has long been a problem for low- to moderate-income individuals, and the pandemic has only exacerbated that fact. While we have had to adjust our operations, we are proud to report that we have remained fully operational and available to assist these folks who so desperately need it. 

Beginning on October 1, 2020, we’ll be asking you to make a donation to our legal services program. Your donation will allow us to continue:

• offering legal advice to survivors who are in abusive relationships but want to find a way out;

• advocating on behalf of survivors in court to secure protection orders; and

• representing survivors in court to secure protective parenting plans for their children.

To give you an idea of how specifically your donation may make an impact:

• $100 provides a low- to moderate-income individual with a 60-minute consultation with an attorney

• $250 provides a client with zealous legal representation in a court hearing

• $500 provides a survivor with a temporary order of protection

• $1,000 provides a client with legal representation and advocacy in court-ordered mediation

The numbers above are for illustrative purposes, and do not guarantee that your donation of a specified amount will be used in whole or in part for the corresponding example. Any donation, regardless of size, is greatly needed and appreciated, and will ensure that folks in our community have access to the legal services that they need.

How You Can Help

Make a Donation

• By credit or debit card, by visiting our fundraising page. This link will become active on Thursday, October 1, 2020, at 8am PST!

• By mailing a check to our office with “Fall Fundraiser” in the memo line. 110 Prefontaine Place S, Suite 206, Seattle, WA 98104.

Offer a Donation Match

• Help us incentivize folks to donate by offering a donation match up to a specified amount. If you’re interested, please contact Jessica Lewis: jessica@northwestadvocacy.org

Fundraise For Us

• Join in on the fun by becoming a FUNdraiser! Visit our fundraising page, and click the “join” button to get started!

Help Spread the Word

• We’ll be posting about the fundraiser on our website, Instagram, and Facebook pages, so follow along and share with your friends!

Once again this year we are thrilled to have the support of some amazing businesses. Keep your eyes on our social media pages for details, but we’ve got lots of food and goodies to give away!

 As always, we are looking forward to this fundraiser, and to seeing (on a screen!) many of our amazing friends and supporters. 

Thank you so much – we couldn’t do any of this without you. 

Northwest Advocacy Foundation 

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Update: the fundraiser is LIVE!

RIP RBG

Icon. What a devastating loss. For so many reasons. Rest in peace.

We love this quote from Elena Kagan about RGB: “She can take credit for making the law of this country work for women, and in doing so she made possible my own career."

Juneteenth

Oof, if these words don’t get you properly choked up…

Today is Juneteenth – a celebration of the freedom of black people in this country. Shamefully, many of us didn’t learn about this in school. (Raise your hand if you learned about Juneteenth from black-ish or Atlanta?) Juneteenth is an American holiday, and should be recognized and observed as such. We’ll be reading and thinking and reflecting, and we’ll share some resources in our Instagram stories, in the hopes that you’ll join us in educating ourselves. 🖤🖤🖤

giveBIG / Giving Tuesday NOW is live!

We let you all know a few weeks ago that we will be participating in this year’s giveBIG Washington…well, today is the day! Even better, this is now a ✌️ day event, AND Giving Tuesday is coordinating Giving Tuesday NOW, to help nonprofits + the communities they serve when they need it – NOW.

Nonprofits all over the world are doing incredible work during these wild times, and we need your support now more than ever. We encourage you, if you’re able, to show your favorite nonprofit(s) some love today ❤️ 

We’re asking you to make a financial contribution to Northwest Advocacy, which will allow us to continue providing services to victims and survivors of intimate partner violence. Please consider donating here. Any donation, regardless of size, is so appreciated.

give BIG Washington!

We are so thrilled to be participating in give BIG this year, which runs May 5-6. Even more exciting: early giving starts TODAY! All donations go directly to our legal services program, and allow us to continue assisting low- to moderate-income survivors. Please consider donating here. ❤️ 

2019 Year in Review

We don’t know about you, but we are completely over 2020. Let’s go back to 2019, shall we? 😜

In all seriousness, 2019 was an incredible year for us. Thanks largely to the support that we received from our community, we were able to accomplish some pretty amazing things. Take a look below at our 2019 Year in Review (click to enlarge) to see what we mean. We talk a bit about what we did last year and what we want to do this year…coronavirus be damned!

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Northwest Advocacy Foundation 2019 Year in Review

Huge thanks, as always, to Julian Koller @ imagesystems for creating this for us to share with all of you.

Stay Home – Stay Healthy Order

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As you know, we’ve been trying to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 since March 13. Unfortunately, not enough of our fellow Washingtonians were doing their part, and so yesterday, Governor Inslee issued a “Stay Home – Stay Healthy” order.

As we’ve been telecommuting for well over a week, this order will have zero impact on our operations. We are still working with our current clients, and also accepting new clients. If you are looking for legal help, please fill out our screening form and we will get back to you via email as quickly as possible. If you are not able to or not comfortable filling out our screening form, you can call our office and leave a voicemail, and we will get back to you as quickly as we are able to. Note that we are only offering phone consultations at this time.

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More information on COVID-19 can be found at:

• King County Public Health

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• World Health Organization

The most up-to-date information on the courts can be found at:

• King County Superior Court

• King County Superior Court Family Court