PLATINUM2023

WEA CHILDREN'S FUND

No child should go without the basics.

Federal Way, WA   |  www.washingtonea.org/childrensfund

Mission

The purpose of the Children’s Fund is to make sure all Washington State children thrive in school, regardless of their family income. To that end, the fund reimburses WEA members in public education who purchase shoes, coats, clothing, school supplies, and other necessities for children throughout our state. Members will be reimbursed for up to $100 for a student who needs any of the above supplies.

Notes from the nonprofit

In the 2021-2022 school year, over 1,000 students were helped by the Children’s Fund. The fund was started in 1990 with $30,000, but now requires close to $100,000 per year to meet the demand of our students. It is because of generous donations that this program works. Throughout the year, contributions to WEA Children's Fund make it all possible. Please consider donating the money you already planned to give to charity this year to help out students in your district and in towns across Washington.

Ruling year info

1997

WEA Vice President

Janie White

WEA Chief Financial Officer

Donna Wesley

Main address

PO Box 9100

Federal Way, WA 98063 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

91-1470555

NTEE code info

Children's and Youth Services (P30)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (O12)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (O12)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

There is often an income disparity among students in public schools. Those who are experiencing poverty, unstable housing, and/or homelessness are not able to do as well in school as their income-stable peers. Students who do not have access to proper clothing, adaptive clothing, and clothing that matches their gender are also subject to bullying and a decrease in school performance. We can help.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

WEA Children's Fund

Times are hard for many families, and the past three years have made things even harder. Many students go to school every day without clean, well-fitting clothing, proper shoes, and school supplies to participate in class. Those without stable housing may not have bedding to sleep on at night. Our educators see these issues every day and want to help support our kids so they can put their best foot forward.

The WEA Children's Fund was started in 1990 with $30,000, but now requires close to $100,000 per year to meet the demand of our children. During the 2021-2022 school year, over 1,200 students were supported by educators via the Fund. It is because of generous donations that this program works. No child should go without the basics.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

Washington Education Association 1990

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Total dollars received in contributions

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Year reflects end of school year totals. Example, 2022 is for the 2021-2022 school year.

Number of students assisted by the program

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, Children, Preteens, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

WEA Children's Fund

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Year reflects end of school year totals. Example, 2022 is for the 2021-2022 school year. 2020-2021 was lower due to many students starting the school year virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our goal is to modestly help these students by providing clothing, shoes, school supplies, and bedding to those students in need.

We reimburse public school educators up to $100/student (limit of 5 students per year) when they purchase items like clothing, shoes, and school supplies for students in their districts.

Our ability to meet our goals is determined by our donations. For the 2021-2022 school year, we assisted 1, 229 students in grades K-12 through our program.

Over the past three years, we have:
- expanded our operating dates to September - June (previously September - January)
- increased our reimbursement amount from $75 to $100.
- added blankets and pillows to the list of items we cover.
- covered items to assist transgender students.
- assisted in purchasing adaptive clothing and supplies for disabled students.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Public school educators: teachers, paraeducators, office staff, school counselors, etc.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Suggestion box/email,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Educators let us know that, due to the high amount of unstable housing/homeless students in some of their classrooms, they would like blankets and bedding to be covered. We officially added that to our list of covered items in 2021 along with increasing our reimbursement amount from $75 to $100 dollars. We also added coverage for PPE (masks, shields, sanitizer) in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, as not all schools had enough masks for every student.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    Our board,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Asking for feedback has increased the usage of the program and fostered a good relationship with educators throughout the state.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

WEA CHILDREN'S FUND
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

WEA CHILDREN'S FUND

Board of directors
as of 01/20/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Janie White

Washington Education Association

Term: 2024 - 2018


Board co-chair

Yelonda Wilke

Washington Education Association

Term: 2022 - 2024

Barb Cruz

Washington Education Association

Mary Lindsey

WEA Retired

Jan Olmstead

Washington Education Association

Cookie Grant-Suggs

Lake Washington Education Association

Kirstin Nicholson

Central Kitsap Education Association

Martha Patterson

Central Kitsap Education Association

Marilyn O'Malley-Hicks

Tacoma Education Association

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/20/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/20/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.