Legislative Session overview: 2025

The Washington State 2025 legislative session was nothing short of a challenge, as our state faced an estimated $12.6 billion budget shortfall over the next four years. As a result, various agencies and organizations experienced devastating budget cuts, leading many community organizations without critical funding to sustain staff, programs, and services that are desperately needed in communities across Washington State. At Pettigrew Consulting Services (PCS), we went into the legislative session knowing it would be an uphill battle, anticipating that members of the legislature would have tough decisions to make as fiscal adjustments were inevitable. Despite these circumstances, we delivered outstanding results for our clients. Our dedication and steadfast work in Olympia led to PCS successfully lobbying for $27,792,000 in capital and operating budget initiatives for the organizations we serve. Securing these funds for community organizations will have a widespread impact in uplifting our communities in a time where resources are becoming more scarce.

Rise Up Academy: $1,000,000 Capital Budget Investment

Rise Up Academy aims to eliminate barriers for under-served and at-risk children. The organization helps build a foundation for academic and life success by believing in their capacity to learn, creating opportunities, and empowering them to achieve their potential. Rise Up Academy (RUA) provides individualized education with the goal of addressing students’ emotional, social, physical, and material needs. Of students enrolled at RUA, 94% are students of color, and 50% come from households earning $20,000 annually, or less.

Pettigrew Consulting Services was proud to have secured $1,000,000 in state funding for Rise Up Academy’s new facility. The new facility being built will replace their nearly 60-year-old campus that is inadequately sized and near the end of its intended lifespan. With this new campus redevelopment, RUA is now able to double the number of classrooms, expand the library and technology facilities with modern tools, create a new multi-purpose performing arts and education space, in addition to having a new rooftop playground & garden, and more!

Making a Difference Foundation: $2,000,000 Capital Budget Investment

Making A Difference Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization with the mission to make a difference in the lives of others, one person at a time, by helping them acquire the most basic needs: food, housing, encouragement, and opportunity. Making a Difference Foundation offers comprehensive hunger relief services and social programs to support underserved communities. Programs like the Onsite Grocery Store, Home Delivery, Mini Food Pantries, Mobile Food Banks, and Transitions Backpack Program ensure access to culturally appropriate food, hygiene items, and daily essentials, with services reaching thousands of households weekly. The foundation also provides support through the Nurturer Program, Hope Over Hunger Children’s Program, and Tax Credit Awareness Program, empowering individuals with cooking skills, financial education, and resources for children and young adults. Additionally, initiatives like the BIPOC Farm Fresh HUB, Feeding Our Future BIPOC Youth Farming Program, Rising Higher Workforce Training Program, and Housing Navigation Services focus on enhancing community stability, job skills, and sustainable agricultural practices for BIPOC populations. Making A Difference Foundation (MADF) was facing a budget shortfall at the beginning of 2025, losing $1.3 million for food purchases. From 2023 to 2024, Pierce County’s homeless population grew by at least 24%. Given the increasing need, these capital budget dollars were crucial for MADF to have the resources to serve the community. At PCS, we were successful in securing two capital budget allocations for MADF.

PCS secured $500,000 in funding for the MADF Foodbank Warehouse & Delivery Center that upholds Eloise’s Cooking Pot Foodbank. Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank provides quality food to communities in both Pierce County and King County. This program serves 75k people monthly with 1.5 million pounds of food. Eloise’s Cooking Pot is the largest food bank with the largest delivery center in Pierce County. Additionally, PCS secured a $1,500,000 investment in the MADF Farm Fresh HUB. The Farm Fresh Hub provides technical assistance to BIPOC farmers, producers, and other MADF hunger relief partners through mentorship for business planning, marketing, development, food safety training, resource development, and more!

Homestead Community Land Trust: $8,050,000 Capital Budget Investment

Homestead Community Land Trust creates stability, equity and opportunity by developing land and housing in trust, giving lower-income households the opportunity to own a home that is affordable to them and remains affordable to future owners. Homestead has enabled more than 300 households to achieve first-time homeownership, offering not just a set of keys but stability, dignity, and the security of predictable housing costs. Many of these homeowners are raising children, working essential jobs, and building lives deeply rooted in their communities, and through homeownership they gain the freedom to plan for the future without the constant threat of eviction. The benefits are generational, with families experiencing greater financial resilience and children seeing improved educational, health, and economic outcomes. In a housing market where opportunities remain inequitable and even dual-income households are often priced out, Homestead is lowering barriers that have historically excluded many, resulting in more than 60% of its homeowners being led by BIPOC heads of household.

PCS lobbied for and secured $8,050,000 for Homestead Community Land Trust's Skyway Housing and Greenspace Project. This project aims to address the housing crisis in King County, as the median home price is currently $800,000. This project will build 57 permanently affordable homes for income-qualified households earning less than 80% of the area median income. The project is situated on a 17-acre site, with 3 acres for homeownership and 14 acres of restored green space with public access. Wetlands in the community will be restored and modern stormwater infrastructure will be incorporated. Furthermore, the greenspace will include community gathering areas, urban food production, and children’s play zones. With a commitment to clean energy, there will be onsite energy production with solar panels for carbon-neutral living. This project is rooted in innovation, as it is the largest U.S. project of its kind led by BIPOC-driven organizations – ensuring current and displaced residents can remain in the community.

Centers for Independent Living: $150,000 in Operating Dollars Secured

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in Washington State are a network of five community-based nonprofit organizations that provide free, peer-driven services for people with disabilities. Unlike traditional service providers, CILs are led and staffed largely by individuals with disabilities, creating a model built on empowerment, respect, and shared experience. Their mission is rooted in the Independent Living Philosophy – the belief that people with disabilities should have the right to make their own decisions and live independently as full members of their communities. CILs offer a wide range of supports, including skills training, peer support, advocacy, and assistance with resources for employment, housing, transportation, communication, and transitions out of institutional living. They also play a vital advocacy role, working alongside the Washington State Independent Living Council to hold government and institutions accountable and to advance equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Serving 19 counties across the state, CILs provide a consistent and trusted space where people with disabilities can access resources, connect with peers, and gain the tools needed to build fulfilling, self-directed lives.

PCS secured $150,000 in state operating dollars for the Centers for Independent Living. This is a major milestone for the CILs as they had not received state funding outside of the required contributions from the REHAB Act of 1974. Under the last amendment in 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WOIA), added a fifth core service – transition and diversion services. This new service doubled the number of people served by CILs, however, no additional funding was provided. Thanks to our lobbying efforts, the CILs will now receive additional funding for the fifth core service.

Rise Above: $369,000 in Operating Dollars Secured for Native Youth Sports

Rise Above empowers Native youth to lead healthy lives despite their challenges. They deliver education, prevention skills and mentorship through programs tailored to their needs. Rise Above began with free basketball skills and drills clinics and has since expanded its programming to include additional sports and broader initiatives. The organization embraces sport as a powerful tool for growth, grounded in research that shows children learn more effectively when they engage both body and mind. Its blueprint for change is guided by the evidence-based Behavior-Image Model, which combines the prevention of harmful behaviors with the promotion of healthy habits through brief, community-designed interventions. Rise Above partners with community leaders, spiritual and traditional healers, and mentors to address local challenges at their roots, while using sports to deliver pro-social, multigenerational, and culturally relevant prevention programs. In addition to sports-based programming, Rise Above now offers an assembly model that reaches all students within local schools and organizes community engagement events that bring families and residents together to address pressing issues impacting their communities. PCS successfully lobbied for $369,000 in state operating dollars to support their Native Youth Sports Programs.

YMCA of Greater Seattle: $9,045,000 in Capital Budget Dollars Secured

Through its strong advocacy and lobbying efforts, Pettigrew Consulting Services (PCS) successfully secured millions in state capital budget investments for the YMCA of Greater Seattle, advancing critical projects that expand access to youth development, housing, and community wellness. The Snoqualmie YMCA Expansion Project received $1,200,000, supporting the growth of the facility from 12,000 to 40,000 square feet, including new aquatics, fitness, and multipurpose spaces. For YMCA Camp Colman, PCS achieved $3,670,000 in state funding to strengthen and expand outdoor learning opportunities for young people, while also securing an additional $1,400,000 dedicated to the preservation and upgrade of cabins, ensuring the camp remains a safe and accessible resource for generations to come. On the Eastside, PCS helped the Bellevue Family YMCA and Housing initiative obtain $250,000, an early step in the redevelopment of the aging facility into a modern hub for wellness and affordable housing. Meanwhile, in Seattle, PCS delivered two separate wins for the University YMCA, securing $600,000 for immediate improvements and an additional $1,925,000 to help realize a transformative new facility that will provide transitional housing, expanded youth programming, and community health resources.

These victories underscore PCS’s ability to deliver meaningful results for its clients, with a total of over $9 million secured across YMCA of Greater Seattle projects. Each investment represents not only a milestone for the YMCA but also a testament to the power of effective advocacy in bringing vital community projects to life.

Key Legislative Victories

House Bill 2SHB 1515: Successfully advocated for legislation that enhances public experience and safety in Seattle in preparation for the 2026 World Cup. This bill promotes pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, allows breweries to share outdoor dining areas, and modernizes alcohol service regulations, backed by a successful pilot program demonstrating reduced consumption and no underage drinking incidents.

SSB 5445 ("Bill's Law"): In honor of the late Senator Bill Ramos, this bill implements changes to special license plates pursued by the Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC. Once signed by the governor, it will direct proceeds from special license plates to the RAVE Foundation and the Washington State Leadership Board for community initiatives, promoting equity and environmental stewardship.