The Community Fund is the school’s most critical yearly fundraising effort. Because tuition does not cover the full cost of a Seattle Waldorf School education, we rely on community-wide support to balance the operating budget and provide our students with an extraordinary Waldorf Education.

Gifts to the Community Fund provide crucial support to the school in areas that we care deeply about:

• Professional development for faculty and staff
• An inclusive financial aid program
• Continued enhancement of curriculum offerings
• Engaging learning spaces and opportunities inside and out

Community Fund gifts support the people and programs that make our school so special. Each year, the Community Fund provides the money necessary to support critical aspects of our day-to-day operations, including:

• Supporting our inclusive financial aid program (over $1.5 million distributed annually)
• Attracting and retaining the best teachers (competitive salaries, professional development)
• Maintaining our three campuses (classrooms, playgrounds, gardens)
• Field trips, outdoor programs, and service-learning projects (Potlatch, wilderness hiking)
• Curricular materials and technology (art supplies, laptops, microscopes)

We ask all SWS parents to support our community by contributing to the Community Fund. Gifts range in size from $10 to more than $10,000, with many parents stepping forward to give at the Leadership level of $2,500 or more. We realize that the financial circumstances of families differ, and we do not expect everyone to give the same amount. We simply ask that parents make a gift that is meaningful to their family. No gift is too small, and every gift counts!

Corporate matching is a powerful way to double or even triple your contribution to the school. More than 16,000 employers match gifts made by employees. Please contact your employer’s Human Resources office to facilitate a match. You can double or triple the impact of your gift!

List of companies in the Puget Sound area that offer a matching gift program

A gift is a single payment made by cash, check, or credit card. A pledge is much like an I.O.U.—it is a promise to make a gift at a later date or over time. When you make a pledge, we can count your gift toward our goal and you can make your payment later in the school year. All Community Fund pledge payments are due by May 14, 2023.

Make a pledge

If you would like to make a pledge, please contact development@seattlewaldorf.org.

High levels of participation demonstrate to school leaders and the greater community that SWS parents are deeply invested in the school’s mission. It signals our community’s confidence, so the school can reliably move forward with strategic plans. Broad participation also demonstrates to philanthropic foundations that the community is strong, united, and worthy of outside support.

The  Sharlyn Turner Fund for Faculty Wellness and Renewal supports opportunities that promote and sustain the well-being of SWS faculty. It provides grants to faculty members to pursue areas of interest or activities that encourage personal growth and lifelong learning. The fund was created in honor of Sharlyn’s deep commitment to Waldorf education and her invaluable service to Seattle Waldorf School. Sharlyn Turner served on the SWS Board of Trustees for seven years, three as Board Chair. She passed away in January 2018.

Many companies have matching gift programs and will match donations from current employees, directors, retirees, and spouses. If your company matches your donation to Seattle Waldorf School, the value of your contribution can be significantly increased.

List of companies in the Puget Sound area that offer a matching gift program

Some companies also provide a match for your volunteer hours—please ask your human resources department.

Please contact your employer’s human resources department about how to get your donation to Seattle Waldorf School matched. If your company matches donations and is not in our list, we would be happy to add them. Please contact our development office at development@seattlewaldorf.org.

If you would like to gift stocks to the school, please contact our Director of Finance, Denese Giordano.

Each spring, we invite our community to come together to celebrate our students and raise critical funds to support a specific need that will strengthen our programs and enhance our children’s learning experience. We invite your support in the form of donations and sponsorship.

In past years Inspire has been a hosted dinner and auction with live entertainment. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Inspire 2020 and 2021 celebrations were held online.

Our 2021 fund-a-need campaign is in support of more permanent outdoor learning spaces at all three campuses. Please visit our Inspire webpage for details.

We’re grateful to our many sponsors, whose monetary and in-kind gifts help to bring a very special evening to our community.

Sponsorship of Inspire helps to underwrite the cost of the event and offers a unique opportunity to gain visibility within our loyal school community. If you would like to know more about our sponsorship program, please email development@seattlewaldorf.org.

Families and neighbors can support Seattle Waldorf year-round through the following programs:

• Fred Meyer Community Rewards—this program provides a simple and automatic way for your purchases to directly support SWS. Log into your Fred Meyer online account and choose Seattle Waldorf School as your organization of choice. Once linked, SWS will earn a donation for every purchase at Fred Meyer. Follow this link to create or log into your account!
• Amazon Smile—if you shop online, using Amazon Smile is easy. In your browser, just log in to smile.amazon.com and specify Seattle Waldorf School as the charity you want to support. Or from the Amazon mobile app on your phone, open the main menu and under Programs & Features, tap AmazonSmile, select Seattle Waldorf School as your charity, and follow the on-screen instructions. Follow this link for more information.
• SWS Community Businesses—Please visit our Community Connection website to learn more about local businesses owned by members of our community.
• Volunteer—Our school community’s long-standing tradition of volunteerism is strong. Opportunities to participate are numerous. Whether you have an hour each month or time every week, your support is deeply appreciated. Visit our SWS Community Association page for more information on opportunities to volunteer.

If you have any questions, please contact the Development Office. Thank you!