Bureau of Fearless Ideas to close Greenwood location

by | Oct 23, 2024

The Bureau of Fearless Ideas, a non-profit learning organization where young people ages 6-18 are inspired by words and discover their creative voice, has announced that they are shuttering their Greenwood location of almost 20 years.

While not a street-facing organization – they are nestled in the back of what used to be the Space Travel Supply Co. and the current Pencil Box – they plan to continue to support the Phinneywood community through in-school programming and potentially other options. They will shut down the in-house workshops some time between now and the end of 2025 when their lease ends, depending on if they can find a sublessee. Know anyone looking for 3600sf of rentable commercial space? The listing is here.

BFI is in high need of community support in terms of donations, which can be done from their website. They are also hoping to have the Pencil Box open through the holidays with a guest artist doing a pop-up there, in addition to the regular store items being available).

The full press release is below.

Dear Fearless Community,

As we continue our journey to write the next chapter of the Bureau of Fearless Ideas, we want to share the next step in our organizational transformation. 

After two years of dedicated service, Matt Kingston is stepping down from his role as Interim Executive Director, effective September 18, 2024. Matt stepped into this interim role during a time of change for our organization, and we are deeply grateful for his dedication and leadership over the past two years. 


As we move forward, the Board of Directors and staff have decided to pursue a flat organizational structure. This structure reflects our commitment to fostering a more collaborative and inclusive environment where all team members are empowered to take on leadership roles and contribute to decision-making processes. With this change, we have paused our previously announced Executive Director hiring process. We will continue to evaluate the state of the organization as we implement these changes and welcome your feedback through the process. 

We are excited to move to this new organizational model and believe this shift will enable us to operate more efficiently, respond quickly to community needs, and continue to innovate in our mission of creating equitable learning communities that encourage youth to reimagine our world through writing and storytelling. To that end, our fall programming schedule can be viewed on our website and we are currently enrolling students in Greenwood, Yesler Terrace, and virtual programs.

As we embark on this next phase of our transformation, we encourage you to continue sharing your feedback and support through our [email protected] email address. Your input is invaluable.

Please join me in thanking Matt Kingston for his leadership and dedication to the Bureau of Fearless Ideas. We wish him the best in his next adventure. 

We are excited about this new chapter and confident that, together, we will continue to make a meaningful impact. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to the Bureau of Fearless Ideas. We can’t do the work we do without you. 

In Kindness,

Jamie Campbell
Board President
The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas
[email protected]

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