We've been expecting you. There's a seat with your name on it.

Spokane & Inland Northwest

For women building in Spokane and the greater Inland Northwest.

A listing people actually search. A room every month where nobody asks what you do for a living. Introductions to the women who decide where money goes. Somebody who picks up when things go wrong. All of it starts free.

Buy Local

Events

Focus on women

90%

of a woman's income goes back into her family and her community. For men, it's 30 to 40 percent.

Not just a feel-good statistic.

An economic indicator.

It is the reason building with women is community infrastructure and not charity. Women are the highest-leverage entry point for strengthening a region. When they have resources and relationships, everyone downstream of them benefits. That single piece of math is the logic behind everything HIKE does.

Source: World Bank; UNAC, 2012; World Economic Forum, 2014

73%

of Spokane County women ages 16+ are in the labor force.

ESD, 2025

1 in 5

employer firms in Spokane are women-owned.

U.S. Census, 2022

46.5%

of all Washington State businesses are women-owned.

SBA, 2024

What makes Us Different

This is not a just another networking group.

There is enough here. Enough money, enough knowledge, enough opportunity. It is just siloed.

Disconnected. Never got introduced. HIKE is about changing where resources flow and who they flow between, not adding another event to your calendar.

That makes this community infrastructure, not charity. The goal is not more events. It is a community that can hold its own weight when things get hard.

Where this came from

"I have lived around the world and, in most of my experience, when you arrive somewhere new, somebody has already saved you a seat. Walks you to the market. Tells you which office to go to and whose name to use when you get there.

Then I came back to the US that was just gone. You are supposed to arrive, figure it out by yourself, and call that independence. HIKE is me refusing to accept that this is how it has to be."

Stephanie High, Founder

Our Four Pillars

What it means to truly belong to a community.

Most communities ask you to prove you belong before they let you in. HIKE works the other way. There are four things every person needs to go from surviving to thriving, not just in business, but in the community around them.

Seen

You get found by people looking for exactly what you do.

The directory is a searchable index of women-owned and women-led businesses across the Inland Northwest. Get found. Get referred. Be recognized for the full picture of who you are.

Heard

You get a say in rooms that used to decide without you.

HIKE Lab, the INW Speaker Roster, and research-driven programming exist to change systems, not just survive them. Being heard is not a comment box. It is how a community starts deciding instead of reacting.

Connected

You get people who show up when it goes wrong.

Not transactions. Relationships. HIKE events, peer circles, and the Happy Hour Tour build trust over time, the kind that holds up when it counts.

Considered

You get in front of the people holding the money.

HIKE connects women to funding, grants, partnerships, and capital across both for-profit and nonprofit channels. The room where resources get decided should not be invitation-only.

Why the order matters

These four are not separate programs. Being seen opens the door to being considered. Being considered means nothing without real connection. And connection without voice is just a nice network, not power. Together they are what turns a group of people into a community that can hold its own weight.

Events & Activities

Come sit down.

Every event is built around real conversation, not performance. Turn up once and somebody will know your name the next time.

See All Events

Monthly · In-Person

Happy Hour Tour

Rotating stops at women-owned venues across Spokane. No sales pitches. No scripted networking. Just women in real conversation.

Quarterly · In-Person

Visionary Lab

Research-informed conversation on the systems women navigate. Built to produce tools, not just awareness. Inaugural session: November 2026.

Real results

Real results from real women.

"I posted my Spark program in the directory — it's a significant investment, so I honestly wasn't expecting much. But someone enrolled after finding me through HIKE. It's working."

Brandy Ferrer, CEO & Founder, Pathfinder Strategies

"What stood out at HIKE Happy Hour was the energy. It wasn't sales-driven, and it didn't feel like the typical networking environment. The conversations were authentic, and I left with multiple leads that came naturally through connection."

Anna Marie, Grant Writer, SpokeAnna

Weekly / Monthly · Free · Inland Northwest

Be in the know.

Early access to events, funding updates, and what is actually happening in Spokane's women's economy. No noise. No gatekeeping. Just the information you need, when you need it.