Activism has been a part of Kerry Washington’s life since she was a teenager, and the actress became a prominent political advocate during Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. But it wasn’t until the morning after the 2016 election, when Olivia Pope (the fictional crisis-management fixer Washington played on ABC’s Scandal) started trending in response to Donald Trump’s election to the presidency that she realized her potential for greater impact.
“People wanted this imaginary character to fix their problems, and I felt like this was a moment of real disconnect because we’re living in a democracy; we’re the people who hold the power to unlock the change that’s most important, but we keep passing that power off to characters on television,” explains Washington. “I wanted to use my platform to remind people that they’re the fixers in their communities. They’re the change-makers and the problem-solvers in their lives, in their families, in their neighborhoods, in their school boards and in their states.”
During the next midterm election, Washington began attending community events and meetings with local political organizers like Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority, and Art Reyes III, executive director of We the People Michigan. Inspired by their efforts, she formed the Vision Into Power (VIP) Cohort, which provides resources to those groups and eight additional grassroots organizations around the country, including One Hood, Florida Rising and Arizona Coalition for Change. In 2020, she partnered with the Social Impact Fund (a fiscal sponsor of nonprofits) to launch the KW Foundation, which encompasses the VIP Cohort as well as the Influence Change initiative that focuses on educating artists about social issues and organizations with which they can partner.
“Social Impact Fund has allowed me to do the work in the field without being responsible for receiving donations and grants and all the legal and fiduciary responsibilities that are absolutely necessary,” Washington explains. “My core team gets to focus on changing the world instead of accounting and tax filings and insurance.”
Kerry Washington at a Black Voters Matter rally to encourage voter turnout in the November 2022 Pennsylvania elections.
Courtesy of the KW Foundation
A challenge over the course of her career, Washington says, has been making sure she doesn’t give up her voice as she becomes more famous. “It’s scary when you’re in the public eye to go out there and say things and create change, because you’re so vulnerable,” she admits. Working with Social Impact Fund, which has a decade of experience managing philanthropic projects for celebrities in the entertainment world, has eased her worries about speaking up and taking action. “A lot of people don’t do this work; they don’t step in more deeply because they’re paralyzed with fear. Can I manage a foundation? Do I know everything I need to know to do this? To be guided by a fiscal sponsor who has a proven track record in the nonprofit space means I don’t have to give up my whole career in the arts or in production in order to do this work.”
For Washington, using her voice is exercising the very right she’s most passionate about mobilizing others to embrace. “We’re living in a moment where people have forgotten how powerful they are,” she says. “There are so many issues that matter right now: climate change, LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, education, health care, poverty, racism. There’s so much that’s at stake, but all those issues can be impacted with democracy-building.”
A version of this story first appeared in the Aug. 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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