Seattle Donut Economics Workshop: Pathways for Projects, Policy, Funding, and Partnerships
Join the Seattle Donut Economics Coalition for a hands-on City Portrait workshop held in connection with Global Donut Days 2026, an initiative of Doughnut Economics Action Lab. The afternoon will begin with an introduction to Donut Economics and a brief overview of the coalition’s Seattle City Portrait. Participants will then work in small groups to use the Portrait’s findings to identify actionable projects, partnerships, funding opportunities, and policy strategies for building a more socially just and ecologically regenerative city.
Sunday, October 25, 2026
1:00–5:00 p.m.
Seattle Public Library—Central Library
Level 4, Conference Room 1
Free; Luma registration required Coffee, light refreshments, and snacks will be provided
What Is Donut Economics?
Donut Economics offers a simple framework for understanding what a thriving city requires. The inner boundary represents the social foundation, the essentials everyone needs, including housing, food, health, fair wages, and a meaningful voice in public decisions. The outer boundary represents the ecological ceiling, the limits beyond which human activity places excessive pressure on the climate and living world. Between them lies the “doughnut”: the space where everyone can thrive within the planet’s ecological limits.
The Seattle Donut Economics Coalition has spent the past year and a half developing a Seattle City Portrait that examines where the city is falling short of its social foundation and exceeding its ecological ceiling. This workshop will put that research into action.
What to Expect
The afternoon will begin with a brief introduction to Donut Economics and the Seattle City Portrait. You will then work in a small group focused on an area in which Seattle faces a significant social shortfall or ecological overshoot. Together, your group will co-develop potential projects, programs, or policies for making progress in that area.
Your group will:
Map the organizations, initiatives, public programs, and policy levers already addressing the issue
Identify where the coalition could lead a project, support an existing effort, build a partnership, or influence policy
Evaluate potential pathways based on impact, feasibility, community priorities, funding readiness, and coalition capacity
Develop a preliminary concept and identify a clear next step
The workshop will conclude with a collective review of what each group has designed. By the end of the afternoon, the coalition aims to identify three to five promising concepts to advance through future funding conversations and engagement with the City of Seattle.
No background in economics is required. Bring your knowledge of the neighborhoods, communities, sectors, and systems you know best, along with your curiosity and willingness to collaborate.
Come spend an afternoon helping turn Donut Economics into concrete action for Seattle.