Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools
Getting kids to school happy, healthy and ready to learn.
Learn how to support this organization
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Research has shown that household income is one of the strongest factors shaping a child’s academic path. Children from impoverished households are already behind their more affluent classmates by the time they enter kindergarten, and the disparities persist through school. Alleviating the stress of financial instability and providing access to enrichment and mentoring will improve academic outcomes for kids.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Basic Needs
We see “basic” as what students need to come to school healthy, happy and ready to learn. A bed. Glasses. Dental care and hygiene items. School supplies. Shoes and clothing, to name a few.
Early Learning
We believe early access will allow our community’s most vulnerable children to get in step with their peers. Our early learning programs provide important evidence-based results that will allow educators to support these children through their entire k-12 school experience.
Enrichment
The Foundation provides enrichment grants in all schools so all students have opportunities that spark their interests, connect them to their passion and help them envision and plan for their future success in college, career and life.
Mentoring
Students are more likely to succeed if they have a mentor. It could be a parent, a teacher, a coach — someone special who keeps an eye out for a student in need. Sadly, hundreds of VPS students do not have positive adult role models in their lives.
Currently, 19 VPS elementary schools participate in the Lunch Buddy program. More than 100 children are on the wait list, most of them boys, making the need for male mentors especially critical.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Families
Related Program
Enrichment
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
During the 2022-2023 school year we provided $80,000 in enrichment grants and engagement activities benefiting students at 37 schools through projects, programs, and experiences.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
All enrolled students of the Vancouver Schools District #37 have access to programs and services funded through our organization.
Number of children and youth who have received access to stable housing
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Basic Needs
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
During the 2022-23 school year, 493 children from 221 households received housing stability assistance to prevent eviction. Coming out the pandemic, housing stability needs have risen greatly.
Number of clients receiving the grocery shopping services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Low-income people
Related Program
Basic Needs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
During the 2022-2023 school year we provided nearly $25,000 in grocery store gift cards for families in need. During this timeframe access to food pantries was greatly expanded to accommodate need.
Estimated dollar value of clothing and household goods donations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Basic Needs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
From pre-k thru HS graduation, there may be times when a student needs extra support for things that cannot be funded by the school district. Private donations enable the Foundation for VPS to address needs thru basic needs support, enrichment activities, mentoring programs, and early learning programs.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
A majority of the work we do is focused on removing barriers to student learning and achievement. The Foundation for VPS has partnered with VPS to adopt a Community School Model to encourage collaboration between the community and the schools creating stronger connections to social service resources, learning enrichments and positive role models. By 2020 we plan to expand the services of the Community Schools Model to all 36 schools.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Foundation for VPS works to provide significant funding for the district's 18 Family-Community Resource Centers and mobile unit to ensure consistent access to support services for students and their families at the district's highest poverty schools. Through FCRCs we are able to leverage $4 in services for every $1 donated.
In 2017-18, the Foundation for VPS anticipates investing $350,000 in direct support to students in order to mitigate barriers based on economic and social need. These barriers include housing instability, food insecurity, school supplies and fees, school readiness/early learning, transportation, and medical needs, including dental and vision challenges often not covered by health insurance.
The Foundation also anticipates investing $150,000 in enrichment and mentoring support and opportunities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
During 2015-16, the Foundation for VPS worked closely with the school district to develop a broad strategic vision for future collaboration. The result of those planning conversations led to the formation of the Community Schools initiative, which ultimately seeks to bring the benefits of the community schools model to all VPS students by 2020.
In the process of developing the Community Schools initiative, the Foundation for VPS vetted and hired Nada Wheelock as Executive Director. A former Foundation for VPS Board member, Nada was specifically selected to spearhead the process of carrying out the strategic objectives reflected in the Community Schools initiative. In recent months, Nada has met personally with more than 20 key influencers in regional philanthropy, including Jennifer Rhoads of the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington. Many other interviews involved people who are also actively engaged with the Community Foundation. The early interviews strongly supported the strategic vision of the Community Schools initiative, and input from participants has shaped ongoing efforts to rally leading givers to support the project.
Formal fundraising for the initiative begins in early 2017, starting with 100% commitment from the Board of Directors. By end of 2018, the Foundation for VPS anticipates securing $3 million to support multi-year funding of Community Schools priorities.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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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 make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- 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.
Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools
Board of directorsas of 09/07/2023
Jeff Fisher
American Family Insurance
Term: 2023 - 2025
Amy Reeves
OnPoint Credit Union
Term: 2023 - 2025
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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 ? Yes -
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? Yes
Organizational demographics
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/02/2022GuideStar 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
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.