About the Foundation for Tacoma Students

FOUNDATION FOR TACOMA STUDENTS

The Foundation for Tacoma Students is the backbone organization to the Graduate Tacoma community-wide movement.

Our mission is to build and strengthen Tacoma’s community-wide movement to help every child achieve success from cradle to college and career by aligning goals, data, resources, and partners.

Our Priorities

Connecting & Convening

We facilitate a sense of belonging and create shared ownership by engaging Tacoma parents, youth and community (indirectly and directly), policymakers, and elected officials 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, influence, and improve outcomes for youth and families — 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.

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 & Continuous Improvement

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

Our Commitment to 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, the Foundation seeks to correct the imbalance for the most marginalized and minoritized populations.

Focusing on populations furthest from meaningful opportunities.
Disrupting and dismantling structural and institutional racism and systems that result in oppression.
Aligning and directing resources to populations under-resourced.
Representing the community in which FFTS serves at all levels.
Redress past systemic and institutional practices by partnering and contracting with women-owned businesses and business owned and operated by people of color.