About School's Out Washington
Ensure equitable access to high-quality youth development and expanded learning programs across Washington state by strengthening programs, providing professional learning, advocacy, and grant facilitation to support youth—especially low-income youth and youth of color.
Focus Areas
Afterschool programsSummer learningYouth developmentLiteracy (Feed Your Brain)STEMProfessional learning and trainingGrantmaking/grant facilitationSupport for BIPOC, LGBTQ, immigrant, homeless, and low-income youth
Who They Fund
school-age youth (summer & afterschool participants)early learners / preschool-age childreneducators / program staff and coordinators (stipend recipients)
About School's Out Washington
School's Out Washington centers its grantmaking on expanded learning for young people across Washington, with a strong emphasis on summer programming, school-impact support for refugee students, and initiatives that strengthen youth-development organizations. Its recent grants show that work at large scale, with seven-figure awards to Kent School District for Refugee School Impact Program support and substantial funding for other districts and community-based providers. The foundation also links direct grantmaking with program facilitation: it runs the Summer Program Fund, supports the King County Best Starts for Kids Expanded Learning Initiative, and connects schools, tribes, and community organizations to training and funding streams through Feed Your Brain. Across these programs, the focus is on youth development, literacy, STEM, and access for low-income youth, youth of color, immigrant youth, homeless youth, and tribal communities. Recipients range from school districts and municipal agencies to nonprofits serving specific communities, including International Rescue Committee, Lutheran Community Services Nw, and Geeking Out Kids of Color. The pattern is less about isolated awards than about sustained support for the infrastructure of out-of-school-time learning in Washington.
What School's Out Washington Funds
One clear thread is refugee and newcomer support. School's Out Washington gave $1,156,380 to Kent School District and $480,600 to International Rescue Committee through RSIP, and also awarded $257,700 to Lutheran Community Services Nw for the same program. Another major area is expanded learning in King County, where grants supported organizations such as Geeking Out Kids of Color with $304,996 and Seattle Housing Authority with $214,841 under BSK. Summer learning is another consistent focus: the Summer Program Fund supports youth programs across Washington, and the 2022 Summer Program Fund selected 139 organizations for awards of $10,000 to $45,000. Feed Your Brain adds literacy and meal access by funding schools, community-based organizations, and tribes that run summer literacy programs.
How School's Out Washington Gives
The grant size distribution points to a middle-weight funder: the 25th percentile is $32,213, the median is $45,640, and the 75th percentile is $95,860. At the same time, the recent grants list includes much larger program awards, showing that the foundation uses both standard-size grants and major initiative-based allocations. The same recipients recur across multiple years, including Kent School District, Auburn School District, Federal Way School District, Geeking Out Kids of Color, Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue, and Neighborhood House, which suggests ongoing partnerships rather than one-time support. School's Out Washington is a regular funder, not a DAF. Its grant programs are initiative-driven and state- or county-specific, and several are described as not accepting unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$9.8M
Total Assets
$4.3M
Total Revenue
$14.8M
Total Expenses
$14.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $32K and $96K, with a median of $46K.
25th Percentile
$32K
Median
$46K
75th Percentile
$96K
Geographic Reach
Local3 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
ELIZABETH WHITFORD
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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