In July, we shared that the Foundation for Tacoma Students was entering a period of strategic pause to reflect, reset, and redesign our work. We promised to go deep, and today, we’re sharing what that deep dive yielded.

Over the past two months, our Board and staff have been immersed in a strategic engagement process, listening intently to stakeholders across education, workforce, and community-based organizations. This extensive insight allowed us to assess our backbone role and determine the most sustainable, effective path forward.

The Challenge is Clear

What emerged from stakeholder input and research data is the essential nature and scale of the work ahead:

This process confirmed that supporting postsecondary pathways and economic mobility remains critical work.  It also delivered clear directions on how we must refine our efforts to achieve greater impact. Our partners didn’t hold back, and that’s exactly what we needed. Here’s what we heard:

Get Focused | Partners strongly encouraged us to simplify our scope. They made it clear that investment and confidence will increase only when our goals are better defined.

Results Build Trust | Complexity has diluted our impact. Show tangible progress that justifies continued partnership.

Strengthen Backbone Role | Lean into what we do best: sharing data, advancing policy, and aligning efforts across K-12, postsecondary, and workforce systems.

Where We Go From Here

The difficult decisions made this summer created space to listen and learn. Now, we’re moving from reflection to action.

Our small staff team is finalizing a strategic plan that is deeper and more focused than ever before. Simultaneously, our Board is actively fundraising to secure the resources necessary to launch and sustain this new strategy.

We are committed to full transparency. The success of this next chapter relies on both a clear plan and the dedicated resources to execute it. We will share more details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we thank you for your patience and continued partnership.

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Our Current Commitments

While we finalize our strategic pivot, we remain committed to existing key initiatives:

• Campaign Free Aid Leadership Convening: Bringing together leaders across Pierce County’s college and career advising landscape
• Participatory Budget Regranting: Supporting $1M in community-driven funding decisions that directly impact residents
• Expanded Learning Opportunities: Creating more pathways for students outside traditional school hours throughout Pierce County.
• Policy Advocacy: Maintaining our advocacy work that supports postsecondary pathways.