Assistance League of Seattle

Assistance League of Seattle operates on the vision that when essential needs are met in our community, families flourish. Assistance League of Seattle volunteers transform the lives of children and adults in Seattle through community programs.

We embrace the following core values in our work in the community:
* Commitment
* Service
* Learning
* Integrity
* Empowerment

Our motto: Empowering students by removing barriers to education.

We support students in Seattle who are most in need by providing basic essentials (clothing, shoes and backpacks), funding to pursue enriching summer education opportunities, and supporting dreams of higher education with full tuition and books at community colleges and technical schools.

These are Assistance League of Seattle's 2020 – 2023 strategic goals:

RETAIN AND ENGAGE MEMBERSHIP
* Increase member involvement
* Mentor new members
* Work toward attracting a more diverse membership
* Create succession plan for leadership

COMMUNICATION
* Improve communications with members
* Improve communications with community
* Improve communications with donors

ADVISORY COUNCIL
* Recruit group of professionals that can provide council and guidance to increase the awareness of Assistance
League of Seattle
* Take advantage of expertise that can guide the chapter moving forward

CREATE NEW REVENUE STREAMS
* Maximize the use of the Thrift Store, Annex and Garage
* Expand online sales
* Explore additional fundraising opportunities

In developing the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, AL Seattle Board of Directors identified several strategies to accomplish goals:

MEMBERSHIP
* Develop ongoing training programs for current members
* One on one mentor for first year for new members
* Work on updating language to ensure sensitivity and inclusiveness to community we serve
* Find volunteer coordinators to help schedule and coordinate member opportunities
* Create calendar of committee workshops/meetings
* Encourage members to participate 4 hours/month
* Utilize survey to better match members with areas of interest

COMMUNICATION
* Create calendar of committees, workshops, meetings, volunteer opportunities
* Increase social media presence
* Increase use of our website
* Create community newsletter
* Increase communication with donors
* Communicate open positions within organization
* Create a donor database

ADVISORY COUNCIL
* Define who we need on the council based on the goals of the chapter
* Recruit members including: attorney, media person, contractor/architect, finance, etc.
* Establish meeting times and board member involvement
* Create expectations of Council

CREATE NEW REVENUE STREAMS
* Use Thrift Shop for current and quality goods
* Use Annex as pop-up, selling to the trade
* Use garage as clearance
* Expand on-line sales/ sources
* Create committee to explore additional fundraising opportunities

Assistance League of Seattle is an all-volunteer organization with no paid permanent staff, and governed by an active board of directors. We rely solely on the power of members and community volunteers to run our operations, programs, and the AL Seattle Thrift Shop, which generates our largest source of funds to support our programs and operations.

In FY2021, 91% of all donations went directly to serving Seattle's students in need through our four programs. In addition, our 144 members and volunteers contributed 21,304 volunteer hours in our 2020-2021 fiscal year, valued at $608,016 by IndependentSector.org.

Assistance League of Seattle's philanthropic work is made possible through our community partnerships. To connect with students who could benefit from AL Seattle programs, we collaborate with Seattle Public Schools' teachers, counselors, Family Support Workers, and social workers. In 2015 and 2016, we expanded our partnerships with other human services nonprofits, such as homeless shelters and transitional housing providers, in Seattle.

To accomplish our 2020-2023 goals, the AL Seattle Board of Directors assembled committees, and progress on these goals is reported at monthly Board meetings.

In FY21 (ended 5/31/21), Assistance League of Seattle:

• Clothed 3,510 students through Operation School Bell
• Distributed 5,300 books through OSB Book Drive
• Donated 265 grocery gift cards through OSB Emergency Fund
• Provided 724 warm winter coats through OSB Emergency Fund
• Awarded 42 summer camp scholarships in April 2021 through Enrichment Scholarship Program
• Provided full tuition support and books for 12 community college / technical school studentsthrough Financial Aid for Education
• Had 64 students join Assisteens of Seattle, which provides leadership and volunteer opportunities to students in grades 7-12 in Seattle.
• Contributed 21,304 volunteer hours