2023 Annual Review

Our annual look back at all of the incredible things you’ve helped us accomplish for the students and faculty at Spokane’s community colleges. We hope you enjoy this small piece of a much larger mission to make potential possible!

INDEX Financials

4

What we gave.

6

Meet our alumni!

8

Strategic Plan Update

10

Student Collection

11

Expenses Breakdown

Revenue Breakdown Property Income

Programs

Properties

$1,662,002

$898,058

$948,165

TOTAL REVENUE

$5,843,775

Investment Income

TOTAL EXPENSES

$2,716,663

$3,121,265

Donations $817,635 Admin Fees $202,804

In-Kind Donations

Operations

Development

$467,641

$402,799

$40,069

INVESTMENT INCOME: Income from investments

OPERATIONS: Expenses related to operating the Foundation

PROPERTY INCOME: Income received from tenants at Foundation-

PROGRAMS: Money spent on CCS students and programs

owned buildings

DEVELOPMENT: Expenses related to raising donations and in-kind

DONATIONS: Monetary gifts from Donors

donations

IN-KIND DONATIONS: Non-monetary gifts from Donors

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: The cost of running Foundation-

ADMIN FEES/MISC: Income from 2.5% administrative fee on

owned buildings

restricted gifts and miscellaneous

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What We Gave!

Over

$461,000 Awarded in scholarships and emergency aid.

Over

Adult Education Center Student Food Pantry Recently, the CCS Foundation team heard that the Student Food Pantry at the Adult Education Center on Monroe needed a little support.

Those CCS Foundation community members who have been with us a few years now might remember the AEC pantry as the focus of several of our Giving Tuesday campaigns! It seemed fitting that this giving season, we were able to kickstart some renewed support for the students at our Monroe Center.

First, our team hosted a building-wide food drive during the month of October. We collected donations from so many folks at our Riverpoint One building.

$334,000

Then, staff have taken turns running a weekly shift at the food pantry. We’re booked all the way until the start of spring.

452

The Foundation team then packs and weighs each order, so that we can track our impact over the year.

Given to support CCS’s 120+ programs.

Emergency aid awards

203

Scholarship awards

We partner with staff at the Monroe Center, like Building Manager Melisa McNabb. Melissa helps students select the items they’d like for their order based on what’s available in the pantry.

Popular items have included coffee, creamer, spaghetti sauce and noodles, and canned fruit.

Our team even took a trip to buy bulk items for the students as they head into the holiday break season.

We are so excited to be able to help students in this way every week, and we have so much gratitude for our colleagues who reached out to us about this amazing project. Together, we make potential possible!

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Sasquatch for Life Meet Our Alumni!

It Runs in the Famly Meet Jon Heimbigner!

When our team interviews an alum, we’re excited to hear their amazing story. But when we sat down to interview Jon Heimbigner, we didn’t realize we were getting a special on amazing stories. It was a three-for-one deal, a family of alumni stories.

Jon started his college journey at Spokane Community College in 1966. He ended up being in the first graduating class in 1968 at Spokane Falls. And he has nothing but wonderful things to say about his time at CCS. When he graduated in his hometown of Odessa, he was really shy. He credits the environment of community college with welcoming him and helping him gain confidence.

“I really want to promote two-year schools; they’re the right thing for so many people,” – ­ Jon said.

Jon played a year of basketball at CCS and completed his AA before transferring out to Eastern Washington University, where he got his business degree in finance and economics. It’s still his start at SFCC that he credits with his stellar sporting career (Jon is in seven different halls of fame here in Spokane, including EWU’s and CCS’s) and his 50-year business career. In Jon’s 21-years in banking, he worked his way up to Vice President. Later, he and his colleagues started a telecommunication company that he continued with for the rest of his career.

“Academically, socially, and inspiring me to give back to my community, community college assisted me and helped me be confident,” Jon said. He also talked about other strengths of CCS, including that it’s more affordable and

“

I’ve never worked for a company like this before, one that really cares about their employees.

The Go-To Guy Get to Know Michael Smothers Our Sasquatch Soiree guests may remember Michael Smothers, a Welder who graduated from Spokane Community College.

We reconnected with Michael this year because of a recommendation from his supervisors and the Senior Director of Operations at Metals Fabrication Company, where Michael works.

Michael is doing so well at Metals Fab. Co. that a Shop Foreman and two Supervisors sat with our team for an interview with Michael.

Michael Hammond, Shop Foreman, said that Michael learns “extremely quickly” and learns something new every day.

“He strives for excellence in everything he does,” Hammond said. He called Michael a top welder and a mentor to others, who embodies the cornerstone traits of the organization, like accountability and efficiency.

Joshua Israel and Kurt Fromm, Material Supervisors, agreed. In fact, they called him the go-to guy for work.

you still get a quality education. It’s the advice he shared with student recruits he’d meet with on his visits to play basketball and work out at SFCC after he retired. And it’s the advice he gave his own kids and grandkids.

Jon’s daughter JoEne played volleyball at SFCC and became an all-conference setter, as well as a member of their Hall of Fame. After graduating with her AA, she followed in her dad’s footsteps and transferred to EWU to get her teaching degree. She is also in the EWU Hall of Fame for her sporting career and is a primary education teacher here in Spokane.

The legacy of SFCC education continues, and now Jon’s grandson - JoEne’s son - Andrew, is at SFCC. Jon’s daughter-in-law, Suzie, is a counselor at the Falls and has been a real mentor to Andrew. Andrew is currently getting his AA and plans to then transfer to Eastern Washington University to pursue electrical engineering. He’s currently getting his AA and hopes to someday work in architecture.

Another of Jon’s grandson’s, Josh, recently decided to go to SCC to study in the fire sciences program. He’s planning to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a localfirefighter.

“I always talked about how school and doing well in school was so important to my three kids and six grandkids. And they’re all educationally excellent,” Jon said.

Jon’s own history and success is a great alum story that shows the amazing futures our students have. But it’s really special to think of three generations of graduates in one family whose careers all got started right here at CCS.

“He shines here,” Israel said.

It’s not every person who gets this kind of praise on the job. That’s one of the things that makes Michael so special. When asked about it, Michael said he’s humbled by it and by the supportive environment he works in.

“I’ve never worked for a company like this before, one that really cares about their employees.”

He often works six days a week, and even volunteers with his team when they do their annual Centennial Trail clean-up.

He credits SCC for his welding certification and for teaching him the foundation of his trade. He’s learning even more skills on the job and hopes to become a Certified Welding Inspector after a few more years of work.

“It’ll open more doors for me,” he explained.

It’s clear from talking to Michael that he’ll achieve this dream. His supervisors see his potential too, stating that whatever Michael wants to do, they know he’ll accomplish it.

“It doesn’t matter the task, [Michael’s] going to give it a 100% from start to finish and you’re going to be happy with the product,” Hammond explained.

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Two Years of Strategic Plans Fiscal year 2023 saw the launch of our three-year Strategic Plan. After completing a SWOT analysis, updating our mission, defining our values, and creating a scholarship philosophy, our Board heard from 100 of our constituents and decided what our goal would be.

7,500 students. Think about that number. 7,500 people is considered a city in almost any U.S. state. It’s everyone you’ve ever met so far in your life. That’s how many unique Community Colleges of Spokane students we want to provide direct support to each year. It’s a goal that more than doubles our current impact.

With a strong team, clear mission, and strategic plan underway, we know we can achieve it.

Here’s where we are on the journey so far:

● We have refreshed our brand ● We have developed partnership and community engagement plans ● We completed an Infrastructure Audit ● We have outlined our new Board Relations strategy ● We will be continuing our student engagement surveys ● We have created an alumni engagement plan ● We developed our Key Performance Indicators and phase 1 of our public dashboards are live!

Amazing Students

Meet some of our scholarship awardees, like Benjamin and Katrina!

A New Start for the Second Half Benjamin Bazaldua is a current Machinist/CNC technology student at Spokane Falls Community College.

Retired from the U.S. Air Force, Benjamin began his postretirement employment but found no future or connection to it.

“I realized that the work I was doing was not going to be what I enjoyed doing, nor would it give me a path towards what I wanted,” Benjamin wrote. “I’m a hands-on kind of person and being stuck behind a desk or stocking shelves is not how I want to spend the second half of my life.”

After considering his goals and what he wanted for his new career, Benjamin chose SCC and the handson training he could receive about operating manual machines like a lathe and mill, as well as learning the basics of Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machines, how they operate, and writing & executing programming.

It’s been going well; he’s in the second year of his program and is excited to graduate and build towards his dream.

“My dream career is to own my own small business, specifically in firearm repair, and this two-year course is one of two I'll be taking to achieve my goal.” Benjamin said.

Staying focused on this goal is how he keeps himself motivated through the challenges of his program.

“The most challenging aspect of this program is working on and writing & executing the proper programming for the CNC machines. I’m 45 years old, so easily understanding and accomplishing aspects of this course that involve parts of the technology on-hand can be daunting. Regardless, I put in the work necessary to complete the job required.”

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Scholarships give the individual the financial resources to not only pay for courses and associated material, but to also have the chance to succeed in what they want.

Something that also helps is that Benjamin is a dedicated and focused individual. His determination is evident in everything he shares about his story.

“I will not fail,” he said.

And he takes a lot of pride in his education and what it’ll allow him to accomplish for himself and his community.

He shared his gratitude for the Gene Haas and Mark Anderson scholarships he received from the Foundation and called them “an opportunity to succeed.”

“Scholarships give the individual the financial resources to not only pay for courses and associated material, but to also have the chance to succeed in what they want. The work you put in now is the foundation of your life in the future.”

We know that Benjamin has a clear vision for his future and his dedication and passion will help him achieve the goals he’s dreamed of for the next phase of his career.

Meet Katrina

An Ivy-Covered Future

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Katrina Peters’ story is one of transformation and cycle-breaking.

Her mother, a social worker, passed away when Katrina was young, and she was raised by her dad.

Growing up, her family’s financial situation changed often. Now a mother of three, Katrina wanted to break that cycle and make choices that would build generational wealth for her three daughters.

She’s well on her way to achieving this goal.

Currently, Katrina is earning her direct transfer degree at SCC. She’ll graduate this spring and plans to transfer to a four-year to earn her Bachelor’s.

Katrina was awarded the Foundation’s Trustee Scholarship, which Katrina said allowed her to not work.

“I wouldn’t have made it through school without the scholarship. If I had to balance work, raising my kids, and school, I think it would have been too much to manage,” she said. The scholarship allowed her to focus more on school and her family.

~ Katrina's daughters

“I’m a nontraditional student. It took me a long time to decide about going to school or about what to study,” Katrina said.

She thought about all the people who’ve supported her and realized they had something in common: social work.

“Everyone I’ve worked with when dealing with my mental health has had a bachelor’s in social work,” she explained. “Those people have taken me from dark places to being able to see a future. I want to be that light for someone.”

Originally, her plan was to transfer to a local university to study social work; however, due to her amazing record, Columbia University reached out and invited her to apply. Now she’s considering going to Columbia University or Princeton University and focusing on public policy so that she can make lasting, systemic change for communities.

As she started her schooling, Katrina got accepted into a year-long advocacy training program with Head Start and ECEAP. She spent the year working on public policy and talking to legislators about these state programs. She was so inspired, she thought about running for office here in Spokane, but she didn’t think she had enough experience.

“Now I’m considering a public policy or law degree,” Katrina said. “Just a year ago I didn’t think college was for me, and now I want to stay a while.”

Princeton has a public policy and law dual degree.

She hopes now that she can attend that program and work in public policy in Washington, D.C. Katrina’s story is an amazing example of the transformative futures our students create for themselves.

“I hope to show my kids that, no matter what you go through, you can make it to where you want to be,” Katrina said.

Before starting school, a mentor had suggested to Katrina that she try school, even just for a quarter. If she did a quarter, she could at least say she’d tried it.

“But now, when I graduate, I can say that I did it. I didn’t just try, I did it.”

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I wouldn’t have made it through school without the scholarship.

www.ccsfoundation.org foundation@ccs.spokane.edu 509-434-5123 501 N Riverpoint Blvd Suite 203 Spokane, WA 99202