Executive Director
Priority Spokane
FOCUS
There are over 500 nonprofits operating in Ryan Oelrich’s home town of Spokane, Washington, and approximately 30,000 across Washington state. There is no formal system for connecting or aligning the efforts of nonprofit organizations doing similar work. As a result, scarce resources and valuable time are too often wasted as organizations reinvent wheels and/or duplicate existing services. As the founder of several nonprofit organizations and projects, Oelrich’s mission is to change this. He hopes to facilitate increased collaboration and a collective impact approach to addressing some of the biggest health problems facing his region.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE: Spokane Nonprofit Incubator
The Nonprofit Incubator will strengthen and support nonprofits in Spokane while improving regional collaboration and coordination. My project will include: 1. a regional nonprofit assessment and SWOT analysis of the current health of nonprofits, as well as inequities that may exist; 2. nonprofit board boot camps to include roles, responsibilities, ethics, and general guidance for nonprofit board members; 3. establishment of the Nonprofit Collaboration Awards to incentivize coordination (successfully launched in May of 2020); 4. executive director connects: monthly opportunities for executive directors new and old to connect and coordinate; 5. C3 list: the creation of a regional list of area nonprofits sorted by focus area; And 6. COVID response support & technical assistance. Twenty-five regional organizations, including regional foundations, businesses, and universities, have committed to partnering on this project.
MORE ABOUT RYAN
Ryan Oelrich is a husband, philanthropist, artist, and part-time Hobbit. He believes even the smallest person can accomplish BIG things for their communities. He built a Hobbit House for an office to remind himself and others of this fact. He serves as the executive director of Priority Spokane and has received congressional recognition for his work on poverty and homelessness issues.
Click here to watch Ryan’s Legacy Project video.