About the Foundation for Tacoma Students

FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS

The Foundation for Tacoma Students is the backbone nonprofit and staff dedicated to ensuring the continuity, stability and growth of the Graduate Tacoma community-wide movement. Serving as the only cradle-to-career intermediary in Tacoma, the Foundation plays the unique role of helping align organizations, institutions and individuals — community partners — around positive outcomes for students.

What is a backbone organization?

FOUNDATION VALUES

Equity

Every child has the capacity to be successful with the right resources and support.

Inclusion

We are strengthened by diversity and inclusive of all community voices.

Transparency

We share data and information to influence and improve outcomes for youth.

Innovation

We test and try new ideas and actions because we believe in innovation.

Accountability

We trust in collective ownership and shared responsibility.

Collaboration

We believe in collaboration as the best pathway to achieving our goals.

Boldness

We are ambitious because our students deserve nothing less.

Optimism

We celebrate Tacoma as a place people choose to live, learn and lead.

Foundation Priorities

Connecting & Convening

We facilitate a sense of belonging and create shared ownership by engaging Tacoma parents, youth and community (indirectly and directly), policy makers and elected officials from across multiple sectors to address equity gaps facing youth cradle to career.

Data Transparency & Analytics

We provide a trusted source of aggregated, disaggregated, and student-level data for Graduate Tacoma Networks and community partners to best impact and influence improved outcomes for youth and families – cradle to career.

Public Policy & Advocacy

We inform, activate, and elevate the Graduate Tacoma community movement in local, regional, and state policy to affect equitable outcomes and dismantle systems of oppression – cradle to career.

Professional Development

We are a resource for community partners to expand and sustain community’s capacity and capability to improve measurable outcomes for youth by supporting and facilitating continuous skills sharing cradle to career.

Aligned Resources & Funding

We serve as a key intermediary, to help align funding and community resources around strategies that positively impact youth achieving success from cradle to career.

Operationalizing Equity

Equity is an approach. Equity recognizes that we do not all start from the same place because advantages and barriers exist. Equity is a process. By acknowledging these varied starting places, FFTS seeks to correct the imbalance for the most marginalized and minoritized populations.

Our Equity Commitments

01

Focusing on populations furthest from meaningful opportunities.

02

Disrupting and dismantling structural and institutional racism and systems that result in oppression.

03

Aligning and directing resources to populations under-resourced.

04

Representing the community in which FFTS serves, and at all levels.

05

Redress past systemic and institutional practices by partnering and contracting with women-owned businesses and business owned and operated by people of color.