Questions and Straight Answers
Ask Us Anything.
If your question is not here, just write to us. A real person reads every message and we would rather answer it twice than have you guessing.
Need help right now?
Skip the reading. Add your name to the fund waitlist and we will take it from there. If tonight is the emergency, call or text 211 first.
Asking for Help
If You Need Support.
There is nothing shameful about being here. Most of us have been.
I need help with rent, food, or bills. What do I do?
Add your name to the fund waitlist. It takes about five minutes, and most of it is optional. You tell us what you need and how soon you need it, and we take it from there.
You will get a reference number when you finish. Keep it. It means you never have to explain your situation twice.
Why is there a waitlist at all?
Word got out, and far more neighbors need help than the funds we hold can cover. We could hand money to whoever asks first, but that rewards whoever happens to be online at the right moment, and that is not fair.
So we keep a list and sort it by how urgent things are. An eviction notice with a date on it moves ahead of a request with more room in it.
How long will I wait?
We cannot promise a date, and we will not pretend otherwise. It depends on how much has come in from donors and how many people are ahead of you with something more immediate.
Time spent waiting does count in your favor, so nobody sits at the bottom of the list forever.
Do I have to prove anything?
No. Nothing you tell us has to be backed up with a document, and nobody checks up on your answers.
We never ask about your immigration status, your Social Security number, or your history with the legal system. We do not need any of it and we will not ask for it.
Will you tell me if you cannot help?
Yes. Every single time. We contact everyone on the list either way, and when we cannot fund a request we say so honestly and try to point you toward somewhere that might.
You will never be left refreshing your inbox wondering.
What if the emergency is tonight?
Do not wait on us. Call or text 211 for immediate Washington resources including shelter, food, and utility help. Then add your name to the waitlist so we can pick it up from there.
Can GSNS help me find other resources or services?
We are not a referral agency and we do not have a caseworker on staff, because we do not have staff at all. But we are people who have spent a lot of time in these systems, and when we know of something that fits we will tell you.
For anything urgent, 211 will know more than we do.
One promise. Asking does not put you in any database that follows you around, does not affect any benefits you receive, and does not obligate you to anything. What you write goes to a small volunteer review team and nowhere else.
The Free Stores
Shopping for Free.
Two spaces, held by different hands, with the same promise.
What is a free store?
A store where nothing costs anything. You come in, you browse, you take what you need, and you leave. No money changes hands and no one asks why you are there.
Everything on the shelves was donated by a neighbor and sorted by hand by a volunteer.
Where are the free stores and how do I visit?
There are two, one in Seattle and one in Shoreline. Both are open by appointment rather than on set hours, so reach out and we will find you a time.
The free store page has the details for each one.
Why appointment only? That feels like a hoop.
It is not a screening step and there is nothing to qualify for. It is simply that nobody here is paid, and we do not have enough volunteers to keep doors open on a schedule. So we open them one visit at a time instead.
If you want these doors open more often, the honest answer is that it takes more volunteers. Come help.
Who actually runs The Village?
The Village in Seattle is a community initiative, independently organized. GSNS supports it and helps hold the infrastructure, but we do not run it or direct it.
The Shoreline space is ours. It started as the GSNS storage unit where donations land before they head back out to neighbors, and rather than let it sit as a stockroom we opened it up to shop.
Do I need to prove I need something?
No. No proof of need, no paperwork, no income check, no referral. That is the whole point of a free store.
What happens to items nobody takes?
They keep moving. When something has been on the shelves a long while without finding a home, we pass it along to another mutual aid group, repurpose it into something useful, or recycle it responsibly if it is truly at the end of its life.
The stores are a place things pass through, not a warehouse.
Giving and Helping
If You Want to Show Up.
Every bit of it matters, and none of it requires an interview.
How do I volunteer?
Email info@gsnseattle.org or fill out the short signup on the Get Involved page. There is no application to pass and no minimum commitment. You tell us what you can offer and we find a fit.
Our biggest need right now is people to host free store appointments. Every host we add is another block of hours we can offer neighbors.
I have a disability. Can I still volunteer?
Yes. Disabled comrades belong in every part of mutual aid including organizing, planning, and direct action. Contribution is not measured by physical capacity, speed, or visibility.
Tell us what works for you and what does not. Not all participation looks the same, and that is exactly the point.
I have items to donate but nowhere to take them.
Email info@gsnseattle.org with what you have and roughly where you are, and we will arrange a drop off or a pickup at whichever location makes sense.
Clothing, furniture, household essentials, baby items, hygiene products. If it is clean and usable, we want it, and if it does not move at our stores we will make sure it reaches someone who can use it.
How do I donate money?
Through our GiveButter page. That fund covers emergency relief and the unglamorous costs that keep everything running, such as gas, trailer rentals, and storage.
If you would rather give to something specific, every project has its own page on Support Our Work.
My organization wants to partner with GSNS.
Email info@gsnseattle.org and tell us who you are and what you are building. If it is rooted in solidarity and direct community care, we want to hear about it.
I run a community project and need somewhere for funds to land.
We can host funds for mutual aid work and community led organizing that shares our values. No committee, no cut taken, and no one taking over your project.
This is not a grant program. It is practical support for work that is already happening. Start a conversation.
About GSNS
How This Thing Works.
The structural questions, answered plainly.
What is GSNS?
Global Solidarity Network Seattle is a volunteer run mutual aid network based in Shoreline, Washington. We are a 501(c)(4) with no paid staff, no hierarchy, and no one taking a cut.
We move resources between neighbors: emergency funds for rent, utilities and food, free stores for goods, and fund hosting for community projects that need infrastructure.
What does 501(c)(4) mean, and why that instead of a 501(c)(3)?
A 501(c)(4) is a social welfare nonprofit. The tradeoff is that donations are not tax-deductible, and in exchange we are free to do advocacy and political work that a 501(c)(3) cannot.
We took that trade on purpose. We would rather speak plainly about why people need mutual aid than protect a tax status.
Are donations tax-deductible?
No. Because we are a 501(c)(4), contributions to GSNS are not tax-deductible. We say it everywhere on purpose so nobody is surprised at tax time.
Do you take grants?
No, and we do not plan to. Grants come with funder priorities, reporting requirements, and restrictions on how resources move. We would rather stay small and answer only to our community.
Every dollar we have has come from people who believe in this work.
What kinds of projects does GSNS support?
Community led efforts aligned with solidarity and mutual aid: emergency funds, free stores, organizing projects, and international solidarity work.
Most of it is independently organized by other people. We do not direct or control that work. We show up in solidarity, help hold the infrastructure, and get out of the way. Where something is ours, we say so.
How do I know my money actually reaches people?
There are no salaries to pay, so nothing is skimmed off the top. What does not go directly to a neighbor goes to the costs of moving things around: gas, trailer rentals, storage, and supplies.
If you want to know where a specific dollar went, ask us. We will tell you.
Still Wondering?
Just Ask Us.
No ticket system. No bots. No runaround. A real person reads every message and answers it.