ARTICLE - An Interview with Kevin Wallace
Eastside Community is a Growth Engine and Source of Momentum
The Eastside region is an economic and social force in the Northwest—fast-moving, diverse, and full of potential. For Bellevue native and prominent property developer, Kevin Wallace, the signs of progress are everywhere: a booming business community, expanding neighborhoods, and vibrant cities that are evolving in real time. And Wallace sees an opportunity to build something even greater by increasing collaboration between business, government, nonprofits, and philanthropy to address complex social challenges. This vision and love of the Eastside motivated Wallace to create Eastside Foundation, a community development foundation focused on the region.
Wallace, who is President of Wallace Properties and Chair of Eastside Foundation, has witnessed and participated in the transformation of the Eastside into a thriving cosmopolitan community. The unique character of the Eastside is a magnet for families and professionals who seek welcoming neighborhoods and opportunities for prosperity.
Powered in part by the region’s growing tech industry, the Eastside has also become a place where different backgrounds and cultures comingle, and shared values are embraced. What stands out to Wallace is the level of cultural diversity. “There are people from every part of the world that live here,” he said. “And yet, everybody, for the most part, gets along.”
Continued growth on the Eastside does bring inevitable challenges. Wallace experienced these challenges firsthand while serving as a Bellevue City Council Member. Engaging with local human service organizations, he recognized that while there was a breadth of resources—successful businesses, impactful nonprofits, committed government officials—each with their own special talents, they often operate in silos.
“It’s more about alignment in trying to break down silos and eliminate fragmentation.”
All the major cities and small towns on the Eastside have multiple departments addressing emergency and human services. Layered on top are dozens of nonprofit social service providers offering valuable support. At the same time, there are lots of small, medium, and large businesses that are expanding their footprint. The result is a fragmented landscape where many of these groups are working toward similar goals but are frequently disconnected and lack coordination.
Community Collaboration Drives Success
As a major property developer in Bellevue and former government official, Wallace has a unique perspective. He believes that government maintains stability, nonprofits bring a human touch, and businesses excel at being nimble and creative. “There are distinct personalities and skill sets in each of these organizations.
All of them have good skills, they just don’t have the same skills,” said Wallace. This realization sparked the idea to establish a community development foundation to bring these groups together and tackle issues like homelessness, affordable housing, mental health and addiction, education outcomes, and other challenges.
With Eastside Foundation, there was an opportunity to unite organizations, pool resources, and address the region’s complex challenges. According to Wallace, Eastside Foundation has a convening function but also an organizational function in “…getting people to move in a common direction to solve a problem.” There are other foundations doing good work, but Eastside Foundation is the only organization playing this kind of coordinating role on the Eastside, connecting public, private, and nonprofit sectors to foster and fund collaborative solutions.
So many of the social challenges and the opportunities cut across city limits and impact the whole region. Wallace believes the key to solving difficult problems is bringing people together. “It’s more about alignment in trying to break down silos and eliminate fragmentation,” said Wallace. Eastside Foundation is currently focused on supporting homelessness solutions, affordable housing initiatives, increasing behavioral health resources, improving education outcomes, and also looking at other areas of positive community development.
Eastside Foundation has worked to elevate the nonprofit community and build trust in their mission. The intent is to partner with the nonprofit service providers to support their efforts and strengthen the social services infrastructure. Eastside Foundation has also been instrumental in raising the level of engagement of the business community, an important source of insights and funding. And by taking a collaborative approach and leveraging connections with community leaders, Eastside Foundation bolsters the contributions of local and county government.
Centralized Channel for Philanthropy and Engagement
By serving as a centralized channel for philanthropy and community engagement, and working with local service providers and community initiatives, Eastside Foundation helps mobilize resources and drive high-impact programs. The Foundation invites any individual or organization to be part of building a stronger community together.
To learn more about Eastside Foundation, visit eastsidef
