2024

Report to the Community

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01

Reflecting on an historic campaign

Steve Hill

Board Chair, Seattle Colleges Foundation

Jon Fine
‍

Board Chair,
2023-24

Barbara Dingfield

Board Chair,
2020-23

Walk the hallways of North, Central or South Seattle Colleges and you’ll likely be amazed at the variety of people you meet: Diverse in age. In race. In income. In place of origin. In faith. In first language. In gender. In career goals.

We are community colleges, and this is our community. More than that, we are a microcosm of our country — the land of opportunity — and we are determined to bring the fullness of educational opportunity to all we have the privilege to serve.

That is why, in 2020, the then-new Seattle Colleges Foundation announced the five-year, $50M Equity Can’t Wait campaign. Our goal: help every student, of every profile, achieve their version of the American Dream.

We reached our $50M goal in early 2025, but the more exciting news is how the money is being invested so that our students, in all their varied circumstances, can thrive.

For starters, we’ve doubled our number of scholarships, and also made each scholarship bigger. In parallel, we’ve invested in modernizing and streamlining the Colleges' financial aid processes, removing obstacles to the other supports that can help students pay for school.

We’ve funded a promising new mentoring program for men, including men of color. We’ve strengthened pre-apprenticeship programs in the trades. We’ve also helped establish a popular new BS in Computer Science program.

Are we succeeding in helping more students of more kinds succeed at our schools? Early signs say Yes, and we’re excited to now be working with a prominent data-mining consultancy, Storytellers.ai, to tell the full story — including where we can do still better.

Thank you for your part in this progress. And thank you also to Jon Fine and Barbara Dingfield, my immediate predecessors as Board chairs. Their drive and passionate leadership have been remarkable.

$

50.4

M

raised

2,824

donors

3,785

gifts

At North, funded a new BS in Computer Science program — just the second in the state at a community college.

With help from the Seattle Mariners, supported maritime education programs leading to jobs in the ferry system, shipping, commercial fishing and beyond.

At Central, funded advisors for first-year students, new scholarships for Creative Academy students, and a new navigator for students in the School of Apparel Design & Development.

At the Wood Technology Center, funded new staff positions to recruit and support students entering the building trades, including carpentry.

At the Pac Tower Health Education Center, funded new scholarships for dozens of future nurses, respiratory therapists, and medical assistants.

At South, funded new scholarships for students in Aviation Technology, Culinary Arts, and other programs.

At Georgetown, funded a major ramp-up of skilled-trades pre-apprenticeship programs. Plus supported a new program manager position in the Sustainable Building Science Technology baccalaureate program.

Supporting Students

02

Scholarships
2024-25

513

recipients

$4,279

average award

70%

first generation
college students

29

average student age

Supporting Students

Seattle Colleges Scholarships

Making higher ed possible in our expensive city

Every year, thanks to the generosity of hundreds of individuals, families, organizations, and companies, we are able to award scholarships to high-achieving Seattle Colleges students, easing their financial burden. In 2024-25 we distributed a record amount, $2.2 million. Thanks in part to new Stay in the Game funds, the average scholarship also hit a high: $4,279.

513 scholarship recipients — twice the number awarded when the Equity Can't Wait campaign began.

Find out how Nydjah Istatia, a scholarship recipient and mom to two young boys, has propelled herself through South’s aviation technology program and on to multiple internships with NASA.

Supporting Students

A few of the hundreds of 2024 grads who, thanks to campaign donors, received a Seattle Colleges scholarship.

Created with start-up funding from the Seattle Mariners, Stay in the Game scholarships help students with their financial need still remaining after tuition assistance, state and federal grants, income from work, and other scholarships. Often, students have thousands in unmet need even after these supports, making it hard — in our increasingly costly city — to pay rent, keep food on the table, and afford childcare.

Research shows that the greater the unmet need, the higher the likelihood a student will pause their education, or even step away entirely. That's a loss not just for them, but all of us. As a community, we need the full talents and skills of everyone on the field.

Supporting Students

03

Seattle Promise is a college tuition and success program launched by Seattle Colleges, Seattle Public Schools, and the City of Seattle following passage of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy in 2018. Open to all graduating seniors from the city’s public and public-charter high schools, Seattle Promise has three core components:

Student support and advising beginning junior year of high school and lasting through completion of a degree, certificate, credential or transfer to a four-year institution.
Up to two years of free tuition at any of the Seattle Colleges: North, Seattle Central, or South.
Flexible funding for books, transportation, housing, etc. for students with financial need.

Supporting Students

THE NUMBERS

Seattle Promise participants complete their degrees at twice the rate of community college students nationally.

One-third of students are the first in their families to attend college; two-thirds are from communities of color.

Nearly 2/3 of seniors graduating from Seattle Public Schools applied for the program in  2024.

Over 50% of Promise students come from families earning less than $75K a year.

Program enrollment has increased from about 220 students in Fall 2018 to 1,460 students in Fall 2024.

Large numbers of Promise participants later transfer to traditional four-year schools including the UW, WSU and Seattle University.

Perhaps the greatest, most thrilling achievement of all is what is emerging: not just a model for free community college, but a new model for education.”

— Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap, Chancellor, Seattle Colleges

Seattle Promise Path to UW

Jonathan Bristle

From fitting hummingbirds with backpacks to becoming a past-master with pipettes, Jonathan’s on the fast track to a life in science. More about Jonathan.

Alex Roque

Committed to serving her community no matter the obstacles, Alex is destined for leadership. Read her inspiring story. Read her inspiring story.

Powering Innovation

04

Powering Innovation

A new mentoring program

Project Baldwin is a mentorship initiative designed to boost completion and transfer outcomes for Seattle Colleges students overall, including men, who now enroll and persist in higher education at significantly lower rates. Named for celebrated American author and activist James Baldwin, the program provides students with the social, financial and scholastic support to thrive personally and academically. The program’s pillars are a growth mindset, positive racial identity, and a strong sense of belonging.

The program has seen significant growth, with 103 participants in the 2023-24 academic year, roughly double the year prior. Participants come from more than three dozen programs across the Colleges. Twenty-three Baldwin participants graduated in 2024, with a number transferring to the UW and other 4-year schools.

In fall 2024, a dazzling new mural depicting James Baldwin was unveiled in the newly-remodeled library at North. Learn more in this short video.

Powering Innovation

A new mentoring program

Powering Innovation

B.S. in Computer Science

With nearly 131,000 workers, the tech industry is a powerful engine of the Seattle-area economy. Even amid some recent retrenchment, many job categories continue in hot demand, including machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, and data science.

To meet the need — and include local people in these opportunities, not just talent from elsewhere — in Fall 2022 the Seattle Colleges established a new Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree, only the second in the state at a community college. Amazon generously seeded the program with grants totalling $2.5M.

North Seattle College's BS in Computer Science program lets students with a relevant associate degree earn a high-value bachelor’s through two additional years of study. Response has been strong, with enrollment nearly doubling from the first Fall 2022 cohort (24 students) to Fall 2024 (46 students). Broadly diverse in backgrounds, they will be part of a new generation of industry contributors that brings both technical expertise and sensitivity to the cultural and ethical issues surrounding today’s technologies.

Excitingly, a growing number of students in the new B.S. in Computer Science program are starting their educational journey in Seattle Promise.

Recent job and internship placements for B.S. in Computer Science students

Austie Colombe talks of his journey from a childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation to Seattle Central’s Wood Technology Center.

05

Strengthening capacity

Skilled Trades Programs

Seattle will need at least 112,000 more homes by 2040, planners say. In addition, regional plans are in motion to further expand light rail, revitalize a long stretch of I-5 through downtown, and fortify or remake infrastructure being affected by climate change, including stormwater systems and the electrical grid. All of this will take people trained in skilled trades, including carpenters, welders, electricians, and ironworkers.

But a “silver tsunami” of retirements is fast depleting the ranks of skilled tradesworkers. Fortunately, a growing number of young adults is attracted to the work because of the good pay, no or low student debt, comparative insulation from Artificial Intelligence, and the sense of tangible accomplishment each day.

Thanks to help from generous individuals, the Lowe’s Gable Grants program, the Schultz Family Foundation, and McKinstry, we have been able to help more students — and more diverse students — explore skilled-trades careers through pre-apprenticeships. These are unpaid, and for some can pose a financial hardship. So with donor assistance we’ve provided small cash grants, ORCA transportation cards, access to a food pantry, and free tools and work gear, such as expensive steel-toe boots.

The result: record numbers of pre-apprenticeship grads — and people proceeding to apprenticeships and other skilled trades opportunities.

Strengthening Capacity: Financial aid redesign

"Prior to this program I was in a career that I hated. I knew I wanted to something in the trades but didn’t know where to begin. This helped me find what I like to do and also taught me how navigate getting hired as an apprentice. I’m happy to say that I just got an offer with Seattle Public Utilities!"

— Valerie, recent grad from the ANEW pre-apprenticeship program at Georgetown

Strengthening Capacity: Financial aid redesign

Strengthening capacity

06

2023-24 | At a Glance

33,837

enrolled students

48%

first in their families to attend college

28

average age

20%

have dependents

Contributors

The Equity Can't Wait campaign reached its historic $50M goal thanks to thousands of supporters throughout the region who see the immense potential of our students and their importance to the community. The gifts — large and small, and from individuals, charitable foundations, organizations, and companies — will help ensure we collectively have the talent to innovate, build, and care for each other — inclusively. To all who gave, thank you.

► View our honor roll of contributors!

Did you know?

Nationally, roughly a penny of every dollar donated to higher ed comes to community colleges — schools that serve over 40% of U.S. undergrads. Equity Can't Wait has helped change that equation.

Meet two of thousands of campaign donors.

Shiao Yen-Wu

A highly successful real estate investor and leader for community organizations, Shiao-Yen recently elected to make a generous legacy gift to the Colleges. Read why

Matthew and Deb Achak

An accomplished entrepreneur and professional artist, respectively, Matthew and Deb Achak are sharing the good fortune they’ve enjoyed in life. Their deep respect for people who work with their hands has inspired them to support skilled trades programs. Discover more

Corporate Supporters

We’re blessed to live in one of the most innovative and economically vibrant places on the planet, and Seattle Colleges grads find some of the best job opportunities anywhere just outside our doors.

But the great companies in our region not only hire our grads, they also actively influence our programs by advising us on the emerging skillsets they need and helping us shape curricula. And many lend their generous financial support, including:

Alaska Airlines
Amazon
American Financial Solutions
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
Bank of America
BECU
The Boeing Company
Charles Schwab
Costco Wholesale
The Herbfarm
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Liberty Mutual Foundation / Safeco Insurance Fund

Lowe's Foundation
Marination LLC
McKinstry
Microsoft Corporation
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
Oppenheimer & Co, Inc.
Port of Seattle
Seattle Children's Hospital
Seattle Mariners
Slalom Foundation
Touch Worldwide
U.S. Bank
Washington State Employees Credit Union

07

Meet the full Council

All Advisors

Ultimately, any successful campaign comes down to strong relationships — people who believe in what you're about and are willing to share their time and resources. We couldn't have reached our $50M milestone without an extraordinary set of relationships, starting with the distinguished group of people who agreed to lend their voices and influence as members of our Advisory Council, including Honorary Chair Jim Sinegal and Campaign Co-Chair Constance Rice. On behalf of the Foundation and the thousands of students you've helped, thank you!

– Jon Fine

Board of Directors

Chair

Seve Hill

Trustee Emeritus, Seattle Colleges; Community Volunteer

Vice Chair

Rahim Rajan

CEO, AQL Labs

Secretary

Sarah Jane Gunter

Vice President, Latin America Stores, Amazon

Treasurer

Mark Dawson

Private Investor

Meet the full Seattle Colleges Foundation Board

All Directors

There’s not a day that passes when a member of the Advancement Team doesn’t seek the counsel of one of the Foundation’s Board or Advisory Council members. The level of investment they bring with their knowledge, resources and relationships is remarkable.

– Kerry Howell, Vice Chancellor for Advancement and CEO of Seattle Colleges Foundation

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the time, passion and expertise of those who volunteer as Board and Advisory Council members with the Seattle Colleges Foundation. Thanks to the community perspective and enthusiastic advocacy of these leaders we can dream bigger, reach higher and achieve so much more.”

– Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap, Chancellor, Seattle Colleges

08

2023-2024 Financials

Thank you!

Thank

you!

The work continues. To get involved: advancement@seattlecolleges.edu.