Elaine Nonneman

We are deeply saddened to share the news that Elaine Nonneman, lifelong activist and feminist social justice philanthropist, died on November 26, 2024, after a sudden illness.

Elaine founded the Channel Foundation in 1998 because she was passionate about advancing women’s legal equality and human rights around the world. One of Elaine’s primary goals with the Channel Foundation was promoting the power of feminist civil society organizations globally. She supported the development of numerous regional women’s funds worldwide and was especially focused on promoting the inclusion, leadership, and rights of Indigenous women and women with disabilities. She was long interested in promoting the inclusion of women, peace, and security, and the protection and well-being of human rights defenders.

Under Elaine’s leadership, the Channel Foundation embraced a partnership model. “We believe that regional women’s [and human rights] funds are best positioned to know and distribute our funding to groups on the ground that we couldn’t reach as a small private foundation,” said Elaine.

Elaine first got involved in the movement towards social justice philanthropy in the 1980s by joining A Territory Resource (now the Social Justice Fund NW). For the rest of her life, she was supportive of SJF, the Potlatch Fund, and many other Seattle, national, and global organizations that aimed to promote a change in philanthropy and the world.

Elaine was a dedicated member of the Women Donors Network, and former co-chair of its international peace circle, focused on lobbying for the Women, Peace & Security Act, and support for the leadership of Afghan women.

In the years before her passing, Elaine was in the process of retiring from the Channel Foundation and preparing for a leadership transition so that the work of the Foundation would seamlessly continue into the future. With her transition, Elaine was shifting her attention to focus even more on increasing affordable housing in the Seattle area.

We are truly grateful for Elaine’s dedication, vision, and incredible work with the Channel Foundation.

For more about Elaine, read her full obituary on Recompose’s website, the brief obituary that ran in the Seattle Times, or the beautiful tributes from the Social Justice Fund Northwest and Grassroots International.

Elaine has been laid to rest in Seattle, Washington. If you feel moved to honor her, please support one of the Channel Foundation’s grantee partners or donate to the Social Justice Fund NW.