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Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle

The URBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN SEATTLE (ulms) empowers african americans, as well as other diverse underserved communities, to thrive by securing educational and economic opportunities.

$6.8M
Granted FY2025still arriving
14
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2023 to 2025.

Community Improvement$101kEducation$56kFood & Nutrition$51kEmployment$20kArts & Culture$13kRecreation & Sports$12kYouth Development$10kHuman Services$10k
02FY2025 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 14 grants below total $181,117, the rows itemized in this filing. The $6,793,765 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $6,612,648 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $107k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$51M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ISLAND SOUL LLC$50,000
NORTHWEST HARVEST EMM$20,000
SEATTLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND$15,000
BASEBALL BEYOND BORDERS$12,000
KD HALL FOUNDATION$10,104
SERVICE IS A LIFESTYLE$10,000
FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS$10,000
BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK LLC$10,000
ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY INC RHO LAMBDA ZETA CHAPTER$10,000
HIGHLINE COLLEGE FOUNDATION$10,000
KITARA JOHNSON LLC$7,000
WHERE YA AT LLC$5,863
CHARLES DAVIS BBQ$5,650
BLACK EDUCATION STRATEGY ROUNDTABLE$5,500
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY23–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 7% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK LLC: $10k → 16%SERVICE IS A LIFESTYLE: $10k → 9%ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON CITIES: $20k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $20k → 9%KITARA JOHNSON LLC: $7k → 12%C DAVIS TEXAS BBQ: $15k → 9%FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $10k → 9%CHARLES DAVIS BBQ: $6k → 9%NORTHWEST HARVEST EMM: $20k → 9%WHERE YA AT LLC: $6k → 9%BLACK EDUCATION STRATEGY ROUNDTABLE: $6k → 9%HIGHLINE COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%ISLAND SOUL LLC: $50k → 9%TABOR 100: $20k → 9%ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY INC RHO LAMBDA ZETA CHAPTER: $10k → 9%EVERMARK LLC: $16k → 9%KD HALL FOUNDATION: $10k → 9%SEATTLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND: $15k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Black Owned Business Excellence

Help create a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in Washington State.

Community Improvement
2
Rainier Beach Cummunity Empowerment Coalition

Rainier Beach Action Coalition is a grassroot, Black-led organization devoted to locally driven development. It promotes quality education, living wage jobs, affordable transportation and housing, and building community capacity in…

Community Improvement
3
Washington African American Chamber of Commerce

WAACOC nonprofit organization focuses on promoting economic development by providing crucial business development and technical assistance services. Through strategic partnerships and targeted programs we support entrepreneurs and small…

Human Services
4
Columbia Pacific Economic Developme

The columbia pacific economic development district is to diversify and expand the economic base of the district by actively supporting existing businesses and promoting new business development.

Community Improvement
5
Greater Washington Board of Trade

The greater washington board of trade leads the business community in advancing a vibrant regional economy.

Community Improvement
6
Economic Opportunity Institute

Equip the public and public decision-makers with the policy research and practical tools they need to embed the values of fairness, care, and opportunity into the foundations of Washington's economy.

Community Improvement
7
Cowlitz Economic Development Council

Foster Growth in the Community

—
8
Community Credit Lab

To support equitable access to economic opportunities for immigrants, refugees, low-income, marginalized, and underserved communities in king county and the united states.

Human Services
9
Washington Ethnic Studies Now

Washington Ethnic Studies Now WAESN is a multigenerational majority POC-led nonprofit advancing Ethnic Studies and racial justice in Washington. We center people of color build youth-centered leadership and learning and organize…

Education
10
Pathwaves Washington

Pathwaves Washington builds the collective power of leaders of color to transform early childhood systems so that every child and their community thrives.

Education
11
Enterprise Washington

See schedule o.enterprise washington empowers its members to effectively engage in public affairs and the political process. enterprise washington provides its business and association members with leading-edge research and strategies to…

Community Improvement
12
Independent Colleges of Washington

Independent colleges of washington is the leading advocate for not-for-profit, private campuses in washington state.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Business Impact Nw; the most unlike its peers is Kd Hall Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

9 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 9 of the 18 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
2/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ISLAND SOUL LLC: $50,000 · OtherISLAND SOUL LLCTABOR 100 INC: $20,000 · OtherTABOR 100 INCNORTHWEST HARVEST EMM: $20,000 · OtherNORTHWEST HARVEST EMMASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON CITIES: $20,000 · OtherASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON CITIESEVERMARK LLC: $16,390 · OtherEVERMARK LLCC DAVIS TEXAS BBQ: $15,000 · OtherC DAVIS TEXAS BBQSERVICE IS A LIFESTYLE100 BLACK PARENTS: $10,000 · OtherBLACK RESTAURANT WEEK LLC: $10,000 · OtherZETA PHI BETA SORORITY RHO LAMBDA ZETA CHAPTER: $10,000 · OtherKITARA JOHNSON LLC: $7,000 · Other+2 more: $11,513 · Other+2 moreFOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $30,000 · EducationFOUNDATION FOR TACOM…KD HALL FOUNDATION: $10,104 · EducationKD HALL FOUNDATIONHIGHLINE COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationHIGHLINE COLLEGE FOU…SEATTLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND BUSINESS IMPACT NW: $15,000 · Community ImprovementBASEBALL BEYOND BORDERS: $12,000 · Recreation & SportsBLACK EDUCATION STRATEGY ROUNDTABLE: $5,500 · Civil Rights
Other$189,903Education$50,104Community Improvement$15,000Recreation & Sports$12,000Civil Rights$5,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTABOR 100 INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetNORTHWEST HARVEST EMM: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON CITIES: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSEATTLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND BUSINESS IMPACT NW: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBASEBALL BEYOND BORDERS: $12,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetHIGHLINE COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBLACK EDUCATION STRATEGY ROUNDTABLE: $5,500 over 1y, 2.8% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Seattle FoundationCredit Unions in the …The Norcliffe Foundat…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Seattle FoundationWA17.9× affinity7 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · Credit Unions in the State of Washington · The Norcliffe Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 18 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home