Get to Know Us: Q&A with Leah Bostwick
We have a small but mighty team here at Seattle Parks Foundation, with dedicated and knowledgeable staff ready to help our fiscal partners achieve their goals.
Our Manager of Grants and Institutional Engagement Leah Bostwick (she/her) grew up in the Detroit, Michigan area before embarking on a decade of world exploration and learning. During this time, she was able to diversify her non-profit experience, ranging from program and partnership development to grant procurement and management, in local to international organizations. She has spent her career using the power of words to drive impact in each of the agencies she has worked with and strongly values being part of a creative, mission-driven team.
Since joining Seattle Parks Foundation over 2 years ago, you’ve quickly developed strong relationships and forged impactful connections for our partners. What advice do you have for anyone who might be new to the region as to how they might approach getting involved in their community?
Know and utilize the resources and opportunities available! Think about your interests, join lists (scan those flier QR codes!), follow interesting accounts on social media, attend community events that you might see posted online, and follow through with attending is the best way to get out there and meet people while getting involved in your community. Never underestimate the power of a quick internet search to find cause-based meet-ups, social media forums/groups, and other opportunities, like through Green Seattle Partnership.
You manage our corporate engagement opportunities, connecting companies to our partners with service opportunities in the community. One great example of this has been the annual Amazon Day of Service. How does a large event like that come together, and are there opportunities for smaller teams to connect with our partners?
We’re so grateful for the amazing partnership we’ve developed with the employees at Amazon. Their company holds an annual month of volunteering, and a day dedicated to parks and the outdoors is one of the focuses. I worked closely with representatives from their public policy and community engagement teams, as well as with Seattle Parks and Recreation, to design this large-scale event at five locations across the city. With such a large number of people involved (over 300 each time), this event does take a few months to plan and has a lot of moving pieces, but we’ve seen great exposure for our partner groups and parks in general as a result- so totally worth it!
We know that not every team has the resources needed for such a large-scale event. We value every person’s time, talent, and treasure donated in support of our work, and we honor that by offering an extremely flexible corporate engagement program. I regularly work with smaller groups to craft volunteer events catered to their specifications, getting out in parks in need for a few hours of clean-up and team building. Every event has impact, and we celebrate folks’ willingness to get out and take care of their community.
You hosted our series of Grant Tip Tuesday videos, offering advice for our partners and anyone applying for grants. Knowing firsthand how difficult the grant application process can feel, what are some key things to keep in mind when seeking funding and completing applications?
Having a basic elevator pitch for your project is super helpful for grant applications. You should be able to concisely answer the 5Ws plus H for your project: Who are you serving? What is the problem you are addressing? When will you do it? Where does the problem take place/is the solution being implemented? Why are you doing it- focus on the intended impact here. How will you do it- think methodology. Using this as a framework puts you in a good place to answer standard grant application questions. The more organized you can be ahead of time, the less intense it will feel to complete the proposal. It’s also a great filter to use when determining if a grant opportunity is appropriate for you to pursue.
You’ve created a number of resources for our partners so they can stay informed about grant opportunities. What is one resource you think all of our partners can benefit from reviewing, regardless of the type or scope of their project?
The recording of my grants training workshop! I delivered this workshop virtually in September 2022, but the content is definitely still relevant, whether folks are actively fundraising or not. In it, I discuss common elements of the grant process and how to work your way through composing the best proposal possible!
You moved to Seattle after living in Austin, and many other places throughout the world before that! What is one of your favorite things about living here, and what is one thing you miss most about Austin or anywhere else you previously lived?
The Pacific Northwest is definitely one of the most beautiful regions of the U.S., and for someone who loves the outdoors like me, there is just so much to do year-round. With the Sound, lakes, mountains, trails, and scenic viewpoints all at our fingertips, my family is never bored. The thing I miss most about living abroad and traveling so regularly, though, is the constant learning and gaining of vastly different perspectives and life experiences. That was a very enlightening and grounding experience, especially for someone like me who loves the power of stories.
With two young children, you have a heavy workload outside of the office and within! Does your family have any favorite parks or public spaces, especially as summer kicks into high gear?
My sons and I are water people, and you can regularly find us playing volleyball at Alki Beach, finding the troll along Puget Sound at Lincoln Park, or camping along the coast! When we are feeling up for a more strenuous activity, we head up into the Cascades to hike and take a dip in whatever water source we find.