Top Seattle fundraiser for schools changes its course

Seattle schools are at the brink of a major transformation with the new superintendent about to release a five-year strategic plan.

And now the district's major private fundraiser is following suit, planning to change the way it passes along money for schools.

The Alliance for Education, a nonprofit that serves as a conduit for donations to Seattle Public Schools, also will more closely monitor the results of its investments and act as an umbrella organization for other educational nonprofits or community groups interested in helping the district.

With new leadership at the school district, the timing seemed right to rethink the alliance's role, said President and Chief Executive Patrick D'Amelio.

"The alliance has often been described as a 'critical friend,' " he said. "We think of it more as a constructive partner. They challenge each other. They can be critical. They hold each other accountable."

Like the school district, the alliance wants to narrow its focus -- to work on fewer projects and initiatives, but in greater depth.

The organization also plans to let school district officials determine what academic areas to focus fundraising dollars on and make sure investments mesh with the goals in Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's strategic plan, which is due this spring.

It will be a major shift -- the alliance and the school district had allowed some donors to fund pet projects or direct their donations to certain schools.

Donors will still be able to have a say in how their money is used, but "any investment must align with the strategic framework" the district sets, D'Amelio said.

A new Educational Investments Task Force, made up of School Board members and community representatives, will help decide where the money is invested.

If a donor wants to invest in something that doesn't align with the district's priorities, "we will have the discipline to say no," D'Amelio said. "There are lots of ways, independent of the alliance, for people and groups to support the school district."

Goodloe-Johnson was unavailable for comment Thursday, but said in a prepared statement that she was enthusiastic about the organization's plans.

"The results of this renewed focus to invest in priorities set by the district will dramatically increase the odds of success," she said.

Since the alliance was formed in 1995, it has raised more than $100 million for Seattle Public Schools.

In its "Update to the Community," a report released Thursday, the organization promises to put more emphasis on accountability, regularly reviewing the projects it funds to make sure benchmarks are being met and the money is being invested wisely.

It also will be more candid when reporting the results of those reviews, D'Amelio said.

"It's not that we didn't do that before," he said, "but we need to do a better job."

As part of its restructuring, the alliance also reduced its staff by a third and streamlined its board of directors from 60 to 40 members.

ON THE WEB

For more information, visit alliance4ed.org/news/update.htm