Believe 2026: Putting 14 Eastside Nonprofits in the Spotlight

Sam Jones  |  May 28, 2026

On a clear evening at the Bellevue Botanical Garden last week, guests gathered for our third annual Believe nonprofit showcase, introducing the Eastside to the smaller and newer nonprofits doing essential work. Fourteen orgs tabled at the event, and the room filled with exactly the kind of conversations we hoped for: People learning, often for the first time, about the causes working quietly in their own backyard.

Looking Past the Postcard

Bellevue and the broader Eastside carry a reputation for having everything figured out, and Chamber President & CEO Joe Fain named that perception directly, before pushing back on it during his remarks. The point of Believe, he said, is to make room for the people working against a need that does not show up on the postcard.

"There's so much of a belief sometimes in what Bellevue is and what the Eastside is, [and] that everything over here is just peachy keen. But there is A LOT of need, and there are A LOT of people that are working really hard, every day, to try to fill that need in really remarkable ways." — Joe Fain, President & CEO, Bellevue Chamber

The Ones Who Don't Always Get the Microphone

In its second and third years, Believe has narrowed its focus to the organizations that have the hardest time being heard — newer nonprofits, founded within the last five years and operating on modest budgets — and we wanted to feature the ones that, as Fain put it, "Don't always get the microphone."

This year's lineup included: Theatre33, DiepCFoundation, Friends of Grand Connection, League of Women Voters Seattle King County, See Me Now Project, Girl Scouts of Western Washington, BigHug, Acquaint, Music Aid Northwest, Gustave Foundation, Old Friends Club, the Bellevue Police Foundation, Bellevue Symphony, and Nourishing Networks Consortium. 

Thanks to all who joined us!