Employees Community Fund: 75 Years of Impact
Puget Sound chapter celebrates $650M in local giving during diamond anniversary event
The Employees Community Fund of Boeing (ECF) recently celebrated its 75th anniversary at Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry, bringing together Boeing employees, community partners, and local leaders to honor the remarkable legacy and contributions in the region.
President of the Employees Community Fund of Boeing — Puget Sound Chapter, Katrina White, gives remarks at the 75th anniversary celebration of ECF at the Museum of History and Industry.
By the numbers:
- Puget Sound is the largest of ECF’s 20 U.S. chapters.
- Since its inception, the Puget Sound chapter has contributed more than $650 million to Washington nonprofits.
- Companywide, ECF has contributed more than $1 billion to nonprofits across the United States.
The Boeing fund was originally known as the Boeing Employees Good Neighbor Fund. The logo featured a Robin Hood-like figure named Dumore Goode.
Puget Sound Impact: Originally known in the Puget Sound region as the Boeing Employees Good Neighbor Fund, ECF is a nonprofit managed entirely by Boeing employees and constitutes one of the largest employee-giving campaigns in the world. One of the grant recipients included the predecessor to the 911 service we know today.
- “Back in 1972, the Boeing Employees Good Neighbor Fund essentially saved a new emergency medical service called Medic One,” said Cheri Carter, vice president of Boeing Global Engagement. “Medic One ran into some funding problems early on when the city council declined to fund the pilot program. That’s when the Fund stepped up with a donation large enough to buy six medic units and train 1,500 firefighters as emergency medical technicians.”
Last year alone, the Puget Sound ECF chapter invested nearly $5 million in 68 organizations, all made possible by donations from Boeing employees and retirees.
- “By pooling Boeing employee contributions together, we can make immediate and positive differences in the lives of families, children, and individuals in need,” said Katrina White, President of the Employees Community Fund of Boeing – Puget Sound Chapter
Boeing employees present a new medical vehicle to the King County Fire Chiefs Association in 1973, helping launch Seattle’s Medic One. (Boeing Archives)
One of the first grants made by the Good Neighbor Fund was to Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, now Seattle Children’s. (Boeing Archives)
What partners are saying: Housing Hope and HopeWorks are among the organizations who have felt ECF’s positive impact.
“We stand united in acknowledging the profound impact that Housing Hope and HopeWorks, fueled by the generosity of ECF, have had on homelessness and poverty reduction in our region,” said Donna Moulton of Housing Hope and HopeWorks. “It’s not just a collaboration, it’s a testament to the power of collective action, community support, and shared values.”
Building – and continuing – a legacy: The executive director of the Museum of History and Industry, Leonard Garfield, reflects on how Boeing and its employees have served the community over the years.
“For over seven decades the Employees Community Fund has given back to make our community stronger, healthier, more resilient, more just,” he said. “You have made each of our communities, the entire Puget Sound region, and frankly our nation a better place to live and work. And for that I thank you, on behalf of all of us, and wish you a happy anniversary!”
