I Heart Downtown Seattle
An action-based movement dedicated to making Seattle beautiful and safe for all
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Seattle Litter Pick Events
Activities are led by volunteers, and several contract service providers with lived experience:
*Organize regular volunteer trash cleanups in public spaces
*Create a sense of community by welcoming everyone to be involved in real civic engagement
*Build a network of people who no longer walk by neighbors in need and areas needing repair while expecting someone else to help
*Clean up litter and eradicate graffiti
*Develop great partnerships with like-minded stakeholders
*Work cooperatively with city and county employees and leaders
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total pounds of debris collected
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Seattle Litter Pick Events
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
2022: held 101 debris cleanup events 2021: held 108 debris cleanup events 2020: held 13 debris cleanup events
Number of people no longer living in unsafe or substandard housing as a result of the nonprofit's efforts
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Homeless people, Ex-offenders, Victims of crime and abuse, Substance abusers
Related Program
Seattle Litter Pick Events
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Number of community events or trainings held and attendance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Seattle Litter Pick Events
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Volunteers meet to clean debris in difficult terrain, such as ravines and homeless encampments. Average participation: 12-20 community volunteers & 2 paid staff with homeless living experience.
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Seattle Litter Pick Events
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Community volunteer hours spent cleaning debris in difficult terrain. This activity builds layperson awareness and empathy for people in homeless encampments. Figure excludes Board volunteer hours.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The challenges surrounding Seattle’s urban spaces is well documented, as is the homelessness crisis that results in thousands of people living outdoors, while rendering community spaces unusable for their intended purposes. To address this, We Heart Seattle (WHS) – an action-based, boots-on-the-ground organization – mobilizes hundreds of volunteers for debris cleanups in public spaces and offers resources to the unhoused neighbors we meet along the way.
This unique form of community harm reduction is typically located in difficult-to-access yet highly valuable public spaces that city workers cannot or will not access for several reasons.
WHS achieves dramatic outcomes when measured as a whole, yet these outcomes are achieved by restoring individual public spaces and focusing outreach support to individual people living in those public spaces. Each urban environment or greenspace we restore builds upon the next; each person we assist in moving from homelessness to safe & humane indoor living makes the citizenry stronger.
WHS measures its impact in the following ways:
• Number of debris cleanup events held, tallied by site, zip code and date
• Pounds of debris removed at each debris removal event
• Number of volunteers and volunteer hours contributed to each debris cleanup event
• Number of teams and individuals fulfilling their community service hours with WHS
• Number of people assisted out of dangerous, inhumane situations into safer living conditions inside
• Number of in-depth outreach client engagements, as measured by stipends provided
• Number of people with recent homelessness experience WHS brings on staff (providing meaningful work and compensated with fair wages)
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The WHS program involves the following main components, and most of these activities occur somewhat in parallel with cleaning and maintaining a specific park, playground, greenspace, alley, sidewalk, vacant lot, or commercial zone.
Strategy 1: Debris Cleanup & Waste Management as Harm Reduction:
After assessing a degraded public space recommended by community members, a debris cleanup event is scheduled; large numbers of volunteers work 2-4 hours to bag thousands of pounds of waste; WHS rents a truck to haul the debris and hazardous waste to the transfer station, else WHS moves the bagged waste to a location where Seattle Public Utilities can collect them. Some sites are so large and degraded they require 2, 5, or even 8 major debris cleanup events to restore the site. A site steward volunteer is established.
Strategy 2: Outreach and Housing Pathway Activities:
Outreach teams start removing debris from encampments, approximately 25% of the people living there pitch in to help us clean the space they inhabit. In appreciation for their volunteer labor, WHS offers a basic needs stipend in the form of a gift card. We return daily. The Outreach Team continually offers resources that might remove barriers. This includes finding resources to fulfill basic needs like getting a paying job or accessing benefits to establish income. Case Management services are often held in local cafes and restaurants, enabling the client to feel relaxed in a clean, quiet, professional setting. Other common locations are business and government offices while enrolling for benefits, employment, or housing. Transportation is provided. If the client decides they’re ready to move off the streets, we assist them - including in some cases referring people to treatment service providers, employment agencies, transportation, and various housing providers.
Strategy 3: Common Barriers WHS Outreach Team helps people overcome:
We help people get employment through contracted labor arrangements with UpLift Northwest (upliftnw.org, FKA The Millionair Club). We help people establish sobriety to qualify for housing by referring them find a treatment provider who can accomplish this, often on the same day they request it. We provide transportation to wherever they need to go to remove barriers and move into housing.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Financials
Sign In or Create Account to view assets data
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
I Heart Downtown Seattle
Board of directorsas of 03/17/2023
Kevin Dahlgren
I Heart Downtown Seattle
Term: 2020 - 2024
Andrea Suarez
I Heart Downtown Seattle
Rebecca Laszlo
I Heart Downtown Seattle
Lisa Zerda
I Heart Downtown Seattle
Beth Bunnell
I Heart Downtown Seattle
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data