A local community effort blossomed into a significant windfall for Seattle’s Solid Ground this holiday season, as the West Seattle Nursery and its generous customers turned a modest $3,000 goal into a total donation of $13,178.74.

The fundraiser began with the nursery suggesting a $5 donation from customers, with the business pledging to match up to $1,000. However, the response from the community far exceeded expectations.Customers donated a total of $5,589.37, leading the nursery to write a check for $6,589.37 after their match was included. Because the funds were delivered before a December 31st deadline, the amount was matched again, bringing the grand total to over $13,000.

Marcia Bruno, owner of the West Seattle Nursery, noted that the decision to support Solid Ground came after she attended a West Seattle Garden Tour event where representatives from the organization gave a pitch for grant money. "I was like, 'Oh my god, Marie (speaking to Office Manager Marie McKinsey), I saw these guys last night and we just have to do Solid Ground,'" Bruno recalled. After learning that Solid Ground had a matching program in place, the nursery decided to move forward with the partnership.

Reflecting on the success of the drive, Bruno expressed surprise at how quickly the community responded. "We had it all the way up... like the first weekend and we were like, 'Okay, change the numbers!,'" she said, referring to how they had to repeatedly adjust their expectations as donations poured in.

"It was easy. It was just really easy," Bruno said of the fundraising process. "It was zero effort... it's the customers that stepped up". While the nursery suggested small contributions, many patrons went above and beyond. "We were only asking for $5 for each person. And we had some people that gave a hundred, some people that gave $50 or they would do $20. Like they were doing more than than what we were anticipating," Bruno added.

Solid Ground, originally founded in 1974 as the Fremont Public Association, is a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to ending poverty and undoing racism and other oppressions. The organization assists more than 75,000 households annually across King County through programs involving housing, food, and legal aid.

In addition to the monetary donation, the West Seattle Nursery team provided a box of seeds for Solid Ground to use at Marra Farm, in South Park where the organization raises produce for local food banks.

As Bruno summarized the community's collective effort: "That's West Seattle."