Seattle Colleges Foundation
Seattle Colleges Foundation is the unified 501(c)(3) philanthropy arm for the Seattle Colleges district, serving 35,000 students annually through $500–$5,000 scholarships, the Stay in the Game persistence initiative, and the Seattle Promise Endowment, funded by individual, corporate, and estate gifts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Seattle Colleges Foundation does
Seattle Colleges Foundation is the unified 501(c)(3) institutionally-related foundation serving the Seattle Colleges district, formed in 2019 by consolidating three previously separate campus foundations (North Seattle College Foundation, Seattle Central College Foundation, and South Seattle College Foundation). The foundation serves as the sole authorized charitable entity for all three colleges and five specialty training centers (Georgetown, New Holly, Health Education Center, Seattle Maritime Academy, Wood Technology Center), reaching approximately 35,000 students annually, the great majority of whom are first-generation college-goers with an average age of 28 and a 70% working-while-enrolled rate. Its mission is to catalyze community support that bridges an average $4,920 shortfall between student resources and the true cost of attendance at Seattle Colleges.
The foundation's core offerings are scholarships of $500 to $5,000 per academic year, distributed through a single application during Winter quarter, plus the Stay in the Game student persistence initiative (combining scholarships, College & Career Navigators, and emergency supports funded with start-up capital from the Seattle Mariners), the Seattle Promise Endowment (a partnership with the City of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools providing two years of free tuition), the Chancellor's Changemakers recurring giving society, planned giving, and the Together at Seattle Colleges peer-to-peer crowdfunding platform. Technology infrastructure is minimal and non-proprietary: AwardSpring is used for scholarship application processing and a Blackbaud-hosted site powers crowdfunding. There is no AI, proprietary platform, or software product at the foundation.
The business model is donation philanthropy across four streams: individual donations (one-time, recurring, payroll deduction, stock/securities), bequests and planned gifts, corporate partnerships (Amazon committed $2.5M cumulatively to the BS in CS program; Microsoft, Boeing, Nordstrom run workplace giving and matching programs), and workplace giving campaigns via United Way of King County, Washington State Combined Fund Drives, and King County Employees' Giving Program. Operations are run by a 21-person team led by CEO Kerry Howell (Vice Chancellor of Advancement), with specialized roles across major gifts, planned giving, philanthropy, communications, scholarships, and finance. Distribution channels include an online donation portal, mail, payroll deduction, stock/DAF transfers, in-kind contributions (equipment, software, vehicles, tools), and in-person solicitations by campus-specific gift officers.
Seattle Colleges Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Seattle Colleges Foundation
- Legal name
- Seattle Colleges Foundation
- Website
- https://foundation.seattlecolleges.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Seattle Colleges Foundation is the unified 501(c)(3) philanthropy arm for the Seattle Colleges district, serving 35,000 students annually through $500–$5,000 scholarships, the Stay in the Game persistence initiative, and the Seattle Promise Endowment, funded by individual, corporate, and estate gifts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Seattle Colleges Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Foundation Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Fundraising & Annual Giving (EDALAOAB), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)
Keywords
Where Seattle Colleges Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Seattle Colleges Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual donors, including the Chancellor's Changemakers monthly giving society, payroll deduction for employees, and stock/securities gifts.
- Bequests and Planned Gifts: Legacy gifts including bequests in wills, living trusts, retirement account balances, and life insurance. The Eva Gordon Estate contributed approximately $10 million to 17 Western Washington community colleges.
- Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorships, matching gift programs, and grants from companies like Microsoft, Boeing, Nordstrom, and others. Amazon committed $2.5 million to the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program.
- Workplace Giving Campaigns: Employee giving campaigns with workplace charity codes including United Way of King County, Washington State Combined Fund Drives, and King County Employees' Giving Program.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Seattle Colleges Foundation Scholarships |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Seattle Colleges Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Seattle Colleges Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and estates and channels those funds into scholarships, emergency student grants, and program support for students attending Seattle Central, North Seattle, and South Seattle colleges. It also administers planned-giving programs, an employee-giving and matching-gifts program, and the Together crowdfunding platform for project-specific student support.
Product overview
Seattle Colleges Foundation operates as a unified institutionally-related foundation serving North Seattle College, Seattle Central College, and South Seattle College. The foundation's core offerings center on scholarship programs (ranging from $500 to $5,000), the "Stay in the Game" initiative combining scholarships with College & Career Navigators and emergency supports, the Seattle Promise Endowment for tuition-free education, planned giving options, and recurring donor programs like Chancellor's Changemakers. Additional services include employee giving via payroll deduction, in-kind donations, and the Together at Seattle Colleges crowdfunding platform. The foundation serves as the sole authorized charitable entity for the Seattle Colleges district, coordinating fundraising across all three colleges.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Stay in the Game: Initiative launched with start-up funding from the Seattle Mariners to help students through scholarships, emergency grants, and college navigators.
- Chancellor's Changemakers
- Seattle Promise Endowment
Products and services
- Scholarships
Quantifiable outcome
- Average $4,920 scholarship impact per student
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Seattle Colleges Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Seattle Colleges Foundation technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Seattle Colleges Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered key, supporting, featured and core.
- Seattle MarinerskeyThe Mariners provided start-up funding for the 'Stay in the Game' initiative, which helps students persist through scholarships, emergency grants, and college navigators.
- United Way of King CountysupportingDonors can designate Seattle Colleges Foundation on United Way pledge forms for workplace giving campaigns.
- Alaska AirlinesfeaturedFeatured corporate partner supporting Seattle Colleges programs and students.
- Bank of AmericafeaturedFeatured corporate partner supporting Seattle Colleges programs and students.
- Lowe'sfeaturedFeatured corporate partner supporting Seattle Colleges programs and students.
- McKinstryfeaturedFeatured corporate partner supporting Seattle Colleges programs and students.
- City of SeattlecoreCity-supported Seattle Promise program provides two years of free tuition and wraparound services at Seattle Colleges for recent Seattle Public Schools graduates, in partnership with Seattle Colleges Foundation.
- Seattle Public SchoolscorePartner with City of Seattle and Seattle Colleges in Seattle Promise program to provide free college tuition and support services for recent SPS graduates.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Seattle Colleges Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Seattle Foundation: Seattle's largest community foundation, managing charitable assets and grantmaking across King County. Directly comparable as a geographically co-located community foundation competing for the same donor pool, workplace giving partnerships, and corporate partnerships in the Seattle region.
- Bellevue College Foundation: The institutionally-related foundation for Bellevue College, another Washington State community college. Directly comparable as a peer community college foundation with scholarship programs, corporate partnerships, and alumni/donor fundraising.
- College Success Foundation: A Pacific Northwest nonprofit focused on college access, scholarships, and student support for low-income and first-generation students. Closely comparable mission and programming to the Seattle Colleges Foundation, including scholarship administration and student navigation services.
- United Way of King County: The regional United Way affiliate that runs workplace giving campaigns the Seattle Colleges Foundation participates in. Comparable as a competing King County donor intermediary that captures a portion of employee giving dollars and partners with overlapping employers.
Broad incumbents
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: A globally scaled philanthropic foundation headquartered in Seattle with major investments in postsecondary access and student success. Comparable as a much larger institutionally-adjacent grantmaker that sets funding priorities in the same community college and education equity space.
Regional players
- Tacoma Community College Foundation: The institutionally-related foundation for Tacoma Community College, also a beneficiary of the Eva Gordon Estate bequest. Comparable as a Washington State community college foundation with parallel scholarship and donor programs but serving the South Sound region rather than Seattle.
Emerging players
- Washington State Community College Foundation Collective: Representative body of Washington State community and technical college foundations. Comparable as the sector-wide coordination entity for community college foundations across the state, including joint advocacy and shared fundraising platforms that overlap with Seattle Colleges Foundation's network role.
Others
- Washington State Student Achievement Council: Washington State's higher education planning and financial aid agency administering state-level scholarships and the Washington College Grant. Adjacent as the public-sector counterpart that shapes the broader postsecondary aid environment the foundation's scholarships sit within.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Seattle Colleges Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceSeattle Colleges Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Seattle Colleges Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Seattle Colleges Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Seattle Colleges Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Seattle Colleges Foundation
What does Seattle Colleges Foundation do?
Seattle Colleges Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and estates and channels those funds into scholarships, emergency student grants, and program support for students attending Seattle Central, North Seattle, and South Seattle colleges. It also administers planned-giving programs, an employee-giving and matching-gifts program, and the Together crowdfunding platform for project-specific student support.
Is Seattle Colleges Foundation a public or private company?
Seattle Colleges Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Seattle Colleges Foundation founded?
Seattle Colleges Foundation was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Seattle Colleges Foundation based?
Seattle Colleges Foundation is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Seattle Colleges Foundation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are bequests and Planned Gifts, corporate Partnerships and workplace Giving Campaigns.
Who are Seattle Colleges Foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Seattle Foundation, Bellevue College Foundation, College Success Foundation and United Way of King County. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent. Tacoma Community College Foundation is listed as a regional player. Washington State Community College Foundation Collective is listed as an emerging player. Washington State Student Achievement Council is listed as an others.
Does Seattle Colleges Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Seattle Colleges Foundation.
What industry is Seattle Colleges Foundation in?
Seattle Colleges Foundation's product category is Higher Education Foundation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations, with a secondary code of EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8200.