Anti-Poverty & Human Service Coalitions
Want to know what organizations are doing to share information about local services? Community Action helps bring groups together around common solutions, and joins others to do more together than we can alone. Learn about gaps in services and opportunities for working better together. Contact these partner coalitions to join their email list or attend meetings.
Want other anti-poverty and human service coalitions listed here? Submit contact info, brief description, and link to your group to volunteercenter@communityactionskagit.org.
Coalitions Led By Community Action
Asset Building Coalition
Monthly Virtual Meetings: Meets on the fourth Wednesday of the Month| 1-2PM | No meeting in August
About: The Skagit Asset Building Coalition is a collaboration of community organizations and businesses working to ensure our neighbors in Skagit County have the resources to achieve financial stability. The mission of the Asset Building Coalition is to promote pathways to prosperity through financial stability by fostering collaboration throughout Skagit County. Its goals are:
- To increase access and participation in asset building tools and services to achieve success in the Learn, Earn, Save, Invest, and Protect framework.
- To increase cooperation among agencies and individuals working to address financial stability.
For more information contact Sandi Phinney.
Concrete Community Center Advisory group- a subcommittee of the Concrete Resource Coalition
Monthly Virtual Meetings: Meeting Times TBD
For more information contact Stephanie Semro.
Community Resource Network
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 4th Thursday of the Month | 2-3 PM
About: The Community Resources Meetings are an opportunity for all community service providers to share information and learn about other resources in the community.
For more information contact our Resource Center.
View our Resource Guides here.
Latinx Advisory Committee
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 2nd Thursday of the Month | 8:30-9:30AM
About: The Latinx Advisory Committee (LAC) is a subcommittee of the Community Action Board of Directors, charged with advising the agency on how to better serve and develop leadership among low-income Latina/o community members. The Mission of the Latinx Advisory Committee is:
- Networking and relationship building.
- Advising Decision-Makers
- Strengthening Community through Supporting Leadership Growth
For more information contact Latinx Advisory Committee.
Volunteer Coordinator’s Network
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 1st Tuesday of the Month| 3-4:30 PM
About: The Skagit Volunteer Coordinators Network (VCN) is a networking group for Volunteer Coordinators to share information and learn from other volunteer management professionals in the community! Find tips and build community with other nonprofits, government agencies, and other community-based initiatives that utilize volunteer support. Join the VCN to discuss best practices and solutions to barriers commonly encountered in the volunteer management world. Meetings will also provide an opportunity for all attendees to promote events, training, and resources relevant to volunteer coordinators.
2024 Schedule & Volunteer Management Topics: These topics were suggested by 2023 network members. To accommodate volunteer coordinators who live in more rural and isolated areas, meetings in 2024 will alternate between in person and via Zoom. In-person meeting location will alternate between Network members who would like to host their colleagues.
2024 Meeting Dates & Topics! Please contact SkagitVolunteerCenter@CommunityActionSkagit.org to get on our email list for call details and meeting locations!
- January 2 (via Zoom): Volunteer needs assessment and program planning.
- February 6 (in person meeting): Writing TARGETED position descriptions and recruitment messages.
- March 5 (via Zoom): Outside-the-box TARGETED volunteer recruitment strategies.
- April 2 (in person TBD): Turning “traditional” volunteer positions into internships and project-based opportunities.
- Skagit Volunteer Month Proclamation, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 9, Skagit County Commissioners Chambers and via Zoom
- Skagit Volunteer & Board Service Fair, Friday, April 12 (time and location TBD), in collaboration with Leadership Skagit and Skagit Community Foundation
- May 7 (via Zoom): Effective on-boarding, orientation and training.
- June 4 (in person TBD): Working with “spicy” volunteers (and how to say goodbye).
- July 2 (via Zoom): Meaningful volunteer recognition.
- October 1 (in-person TBD): Volunteer program evaluation.
- November 5 (via Zoom): Volunteer management tech and data management.
- December 3 (in person TBD): How to delegate, train and support OTHER volunteer supervisors/coworkers.
Other Community Coalitions
Anacortes Community Health Council
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of the Month | Noon- 1 PM
About: The Anacortes Community Health Council provides a forum by which churches, city government, public agencies, private organizations, and community groups can discuss and explore ways to better provide human services to the citizens of Fidalgo Island.
For more information contact Eric Johnson.
Away Home Washington’s Anchor Community Initiative Community Team Meeting
Quarterly Virtual Meetings:
- Monday, July 17th from 3:30-5:00p
- Monday, October 23rd from 3:30-5:00p
- Monday, January 22nd, 2024 from 3:30-5:00p
About: Skagit County has worked towards ending unaccompanied youth & young adult homelessness through Away Home Washington’s Anchor Community Initiative. Staff from various housing service providers across our county, called the Improvement Team, have been meeting to utilize their skills and expertise to generate solutions and strategies to accomplish this goal. Their work is currently centered around building out a By Name List, a method to illuminate barriers and systemic gaps by accounting for all unaccompanied young people experiencing homelessness ages 12-24.
For more information contact Libby Teerink.
About: The Children’s Council brings community members and agencies together to empower and enrich the lives of young children and their families in Skagit County.
For more information contact Lyndie Simmonds or visit the Children’s Council website.
Concrete Resource Coalition
Monthly Meetings: 3rd Thursday of the Month | 1-2:30 PM- Concrete High School (hybrid meeting option may be available)
About: The goal of the coalition is to develop and implement ways to respectfully meet the needs of youth, families, and individuals through collaboration, networking, and building community relationships.
For more information contact Stephanie Morgareidge.
MV Hope Coalition
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of the Month | 3-4:30 PM
About: The mission of the MV Hope Coalition is to build an alliance that inspires hope; engages the community; and develops and implements strategies to prevent and reduce opioid and other substance use in Mount Vernon youth.
For more information or to get on the email list, fill out the MV Hope Coalition’s Contact Form.
Skagit Housing Consortium
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 3rd Tuesday of the month | 1-2:30 p.m.
About: The Skagit Housing Consortium comes together to identify opportunities and obstacles to problem solve. Our drafted mission is to ensure housing is available, affordable, and of sufficient quality for all income levels in Skagit County across the continuum of needs by encouraging all governments, non-profits, private businesses, and religious organizations to collaborate and support housing delivery and maintenance processes including leveraging resources, building local capacity, harmonizing regulations, and educating the public. The overall goal is to address the crisis of availability and affordability in residential housing stock in Skagit County across the continuum of needs. We do this by:
- Growing connections, networking, cross-organizational learning and sharing of innovative practices. This should be a place to “plug in” for those interested or with expertise in affordable housing development.
- Collecting, sharing, and disseminating research, planning, and relevant organizational models for provision of affordable housing.
- Aligning across efforts, for maximum impact of individual efforts and across the continuum of need and projects. Helping projects to completion and policy to being operational.
- Celebrating and promoting our successes and building a sense of teamwork and momentum on this complex issue.
- Honing our collective housing strategy via structured assessment and learning.
- Communicating for effective outreach and advocacy at the state and local levels where we can develop consensus.
- Expanding training and education opportunities at all relevant levels.
For more information contact Matthew Johnson Money.
Skagit-Island Community Partnership for Transition Solutions (CPTS)
Quarterly Virtual Meetings:
About: Skagit- Island CPTS brings together Community Partners with the common goal of sharing resources with Community Members experiencing any level of transition from incarceration while integrating into the community. Through reducing stigma, building resilient individuals, and strengthening families, we create a healthier community for all.
For more information contact skagitislandcpts@gmail.com.
Skagit, Island, and San Juan Local Planning Area (LPA)
Skagit, Island, and San Juan (LPA) Monthly Virtual Meetings:1st Thursday of March, June, September, & December | 1-4PM
About: A collaboration of social services agencies, community organizations, and other entities committed to the reduction of families living in poverty. We come together to create regional and impactful opportunities through collaboration and strategic planning. We build relationships, share resources, break out of organizational silos, and support families affected by poverty in actionable and attainable ways. Your Membership helps to:
- Amplify a collective voice
- Cultivate a renewed perspective on a common clientele
- Empower Community
For more information contact Skagit LPA.
Skagit Population Health Trust
Monthly Virtual Meetings: 1st Thursday of the Month | 8:30-11 AM
About: The Population Health Trust’s mission is to Improve Health for ALL people in Skagit County. Members are officially appointed by the Commissioners (not just drop in).
For more information or to get on the email list visit: www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/PHTAC.
Skagit Wellness Alliance
1st Thursday of the Month| 3-4PM
Via Zoom
For more information contact Danika Troupe.