By Dahlia Bazzaz, July 9, 2020, Seattle Times.
A group of seven elementary school PTAs in South Seattle has secured $100,000 in funding to help families make it through the current financial crisis.
The gift marks one of the Seattle Foundation’s largest awards for coronavirus relief to date.
In addition to its size, this type of grant is relatively rare. The Seattle Foundation, one of the city’s major philanthropic nonprofits that awards about $125 million yearly, seldom receives or grants requests for funding from parent-teacher associations. PTAs traditionally fund school services and supplies, and the Foundation, which is focused on funding advocacy initiatives, doesn’t normally award money for education causes or direct services.
But as schools have seen soaring requests from families for rent assistance and help with other basic expenses due to the pandemic and economic downturn, some PTAs are playing a large role in helping quench immediate need, and the Foundation is taking a different approach to funding.
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