Washington Youth & Families Fund

The Washington Youth & Families Fund (WYFF) was created by the Washington State Legislature in 2004 and amended to include youth in 2014. Building Changes administers this fund of public and private dollars to make grants across the state focused on innovative housing interventions and strategies. We fund organizations and tribes that have built trust in their communities and can nimbly and effectively assist youth and families with culturally appropriate services.

Through our WYFF grantmaking, we:

• Identify and test promising practices in partnership with providers and community
• Collect data and evaluate interventions, models, and programs
• Advance strategies informed by research and community
• Support housing and service providers through peer learning, training, and capacity building

We designed our most recent round of WYFF grantmaking to support these innovative strategies:

• Supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority (BIPOGM) immigrant and refugee families at risk of or experiencing homelessness by fostering housing stability through trauma recovery and healing services, flexible funding, and equitable access to health services.
• Supporting young people, particularly BIPOGM and Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, Queer/Questioning, and Two-Spirit (LGTBQ2+) youth, to gain safe and stable housing as they exit juvenile detention facilities through individualized, holistic coaching services and flexible funding.

Learn more about these strategies and grant awards made in 2024.