Latest news with #Pullman-based
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'The people being punished are the people that need help the most': Washington joins lawsuit against cuts to AmeriCorps
Apr. 30—The Phoenix Conservancy, a Pullman-based nonprofit organization that restores endangered ecosystems on the Palouse, the Great Plains and in Madagascar, stands to lose a $220,000 federal grant after the Trump Administration's Department of Government Efficiency Service slashed $400 million in funding for AmeriCorps. The cuts, Executive Director Chris Duke said Wednesday, have left the small organization scrambling to fill a quarter of its budget. "I just don't understand, just the numbers don't seem like it would make that much of a difference," Duke said. "It's $220,000 for us, which means the world to us, but $220,000 is just a drop in the bucket to some of the things that they're choosing to spend money on now." For the conservancy, the grant was seen as a milestone, as it was the first time since it was founded in 2016 that it had received AmeriCorps funds. The program, Duke said, was rigorous, with "enormous" fiscal oversight to ensure efficiency. In Washington, the group is focused on restoring the Palouse prairie by combating weeds and working to restore a habitat for pollinators. The Phoenix Conservancy also works with local schools to teach students how to plant seeds and grow native plants. Over the past nine years, it has restored more than 700 sites across 117,000 acres of land. "The people being punished are the people that need help the most," Duke said. In late January, nonprofit organizations became anxious, Duke said, as the Trump administration began to gut grants and service programs across the country. "We always kind of suspected that this was going to happen," Duke said. "But it is nonetheless extremely jarring and disappointing, to say the least." Last week, organizations across the country received the news they had long feared: They would lose their grant funding. AmeriCorps has cut approximately 41% of its grant funding and placed 85% of its paid staff on leave. The cuts to AmeriCorps programs sparked a lawsuit Tuesday from 25 states, including Washington, which allege they violate the Administrative Procedures Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. "AmeriCorps provides hope and belonging in American communities nationwide. It gives inspiration and purpose to the young people who join its ranks annually," Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement Tuesday. "But the president thinks public programs and public dollars are his to do with what he will, snatching them up through the same scheming that federal courts have already said is likely illegal." AmeriCorps notified Washington on Friday that it would immediately cancel all but one program supported under AmeriCorps. The cuts, Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement, would "dismantle" around 800 service sites in the state administered through Serve Washington with approximately 1,300 volunteers, "touching virtually every corner of our state." According to Ferguson, the state stands to lose $21.6 million in funding for programs, which will "impact critical services that benefit all Washingtonians, but especially our most underserved residents." Ferguson said the program aids various efforts on wildfire prevention, staffing food banks, veteran and senior services, college preparation and reading programs. Affected organizations in Spokane County include the United Way, which lost a $50,000 grant, and NorthEast Washington Educational Service District 101, which lost $370,000, and the MLK Day of Service, which lost $200,000. CJ Peterson, VISTA director for the United Way of Spokane County, said the organization received word on Friday that it would lose the grant they've had for 10 years. According to Peterson, the grant allows the agency to be an intermediary with the Volunteers in Service to America program. As of Tuesday, the five VISTA members were placed on administrative hold, with a termination day set for May 20. For the Phoenix Conservancy, the grant required "kind of a leap," Duke said, as it largely reimburses costs already accrued, with the organization only receiving a "very small portion" of the funds. Since receiving the grant, the organization has brought on seven AmeriCorps members and is working to add several others. Under the program, participants receive a small stipend to help pay for living expenses. The rest of the funds are used for equipment. "The big issue, I think for a lot of nonprofits, is the way that it was already structured required nonprofits and anybody with AmeriCorps, to basically take the plunge first and front the costs, under the promise of being reimbursed," Duke said. "So we have a pretty substantial chunk of costs that we've invested. So not only did we lose a fair portion of the funding, we've incurred a bunch of costs that we may or may not be reimbursed for." For the conservancy, the hope is that donors help close the funding gap. "At the end of the day, pulling weeds and planting seeds, they can't really stop us from planting seeds," Duke said. "At least in our case, we can carry on, but the funding hole is a scary problem for a lot of groups."
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
These are the best Washington companies to work for in 2025, according to Forbes ranking
Are you looking for work? Several Washington-based companies are among the best places to work in the nation, according to Forbes. The media company recently ranked the best large and mid-size employers in the United States, surveying workers about their favorite places to work. Microsoft was the highest-ranked Washington company on Forbes' list of the top businesses with more than 5,000 employees, ranking No. 7 in the nation. 'Research over the past decade has shown that employees have remained relatively steadfast when asked what they care about most in an employer: compensation, employee development and advancement opportunities, meaningful work, supportive colleagues, and workplace well-being and flexibility,' Forbes notes. Workers in general are looking for more on-the-job training, a culture of collaboration and better communication regarding the adoption of technology in the office, according to a recent report from tech research firm Gartner. Based in Redmond, Microsoft is one of the best large employers in the country, according to Forbes, taking the No. 7 spot in the rankings. Microsoft was the third highest-ranked tech company on the list, one spot behind Google and three spots behind NVIDIA. Microsoft is the third-largest employer in the state, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal, with more than 50,000 Washington-based employees. Real estate listing site Zillow took the No. 40 spot. The company, which was founded in Seattle in 2006, employs nearly 7,000 people, including around 1,500 in the Seattle area, according to The Seattle Times. Just two spots behind Zillow at No. 42 was another Washington mainstay, Costco. The membership-based retailer employs more than 300,000 people worldwide, including about 7,000 at its Issaquah headquarters, according to South Sound Business. It also operates 34 stores in Washington state. Nintendo, which is based in Japan but has its U.S. headquarters in Redmond, was the only Washington company to make the top 100 of the mid-size employer rankings, coming in at No. 97. While no other Washington companies made Forbes' list of the top 100 best employers, a few others placed between No. 101 and No. 200. The media company's full rankings included more than 1,000 businesses. In the large employer category, Forbes ranked Seattle's Fred Hutch Cancer Center at No. 117 on the list, while Pullman-based Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories took the No. 190 spot. In the mid-size employer category, Confluence Health, a medical provider in the Wenatchee area, placed at No. 148, followed by the Lake Washington School District at No. 190. These were ranked the top 10 employers in the United States, according to Forbes. Many of the companies employ people in Washington state, including Trader Joe's and Navy Federal Credit Union: University of Notre Dame Trader Joe's Houston Methodist NVIDIA Navy Federal Credit Union Google Microsoft In-N-Out Burger Delta Air Lines Raymond James Financial To produce the 10th anniversary edition of its America's Best Large and Midsize Employers lists, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista. The 2025 rankings were based primarily on survey responses from more than 217,000 employees working at companies within the United States that employ more than 1,000 people. Respondents to the survey were asked whether they would recommend their employer as a good place to work. They were also asked to give the company a rating based on specific criteria like salary, work culture, training and opportunities for advancement. Participants were also asked if they would recommend recent employers or the employers they knew through their industry connections, friends or family members. 'The responses were tallied and analyzed along with additional survey data from the last three years,' Forbes said.
