Foundation & Development Office - Giving Opportunities

Endowed scholarships can be established to provide lasting annual scholarships for SSCC students. The Foundation manages an endowment by investing the original gift and then using the earnings to fund the charitable purpose in perpetuity. The initial contribution can be paid over a period of up to five years and may be named to honor an individual or company. Contributors may select the program of their choice for the scholarship or allow the selection committee to choose a deserving student from any program.

Currently $25,000 is needed to create a new scholarship endowment that will provide tuition for many future generations of students after the initial gift is given. Donors who wish to give less may contribute to existing endowments or may give to the SSCC Foundation's Pooled Scholarship Endowment. The minimum gift to the pooled endowment is $5,000.

The SSCC Foundation also accepts endowment gifts to benefit other purposes, such as faculty development, faculty chairs, childcare, instructional needs, and the Arboretum.

Endowments are often created by donors who have made a bequest in their will. Learn more about bequests.

A memorial gift made to the South Seattle Community College Foundation is a testimonial to the meaningfulness of a life that has passed on. A tribute gift is a loving way to remember someone still living or to commemorate a special occasion.

The South Seattle Community College Foundation recognizes the heartfelt intent of these gifts, and we have provided opportunities for such contributions. These are truly caring ways to recognize those you love and hold dear to your heart, as well as making an investment in the lives of those who remain behind.

Tribute gifts are a special way to acknowledge the important people living in your life. Tribute gifts are often given on special occasions, such as a friend's or relative's birthday, graduation, or anniversary. They are also appropriate gifts for holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. Finally, tribute gifts are often given to show appreciation for someone's kindness or to recognize their impact on your life.

Memorial gifts and tribute gifts, like all donations to Foundation, can be made by mail, credit card, or over the phone. Donors should be sure to indicate that their contribution is a memorial gift or tribute gift and include the name(s) of those being recognized. Donors should also be sure to provide the names and addresses of anyone who they wish to receive an acknowledgment of their donation.

When a memorial or tribute gift is received by South, a letter is sent to the donor to acknowledge the gift, as well as to any persons that the donor indicates should receive an acknowledgment card. This may include the family of the deceased or the person being recognized, informing them of your kindness.

Special opportunities for memorial and tribute gifts exist at the college’s Arboretum. Learn more about giving to the Arboretum.

For more information on memorial and tribute gifts, please contact us.

The naming of college facilities offers a unique way to acknowledge the philanthropic support of education. Some of the opportunities at South include:

• New and Existing Buildings, Classrooms, and Halls
• Named Funds
• Artwork & Sculptures
• Endowments, Scholarships and Internships

The naming opportunities at South Seattle Community College allow us to thank and recognize donors - whether they are individuals, families, corporations, foundations or organizations - with a lasting tribute.

For more information on naming gifts, please contact us.

In some cases the South Seattle Community College Foundation is willing to accept gifts of used recent-model automobiles, airplanes and related instructional equipment. Repair and restoration of a car or plane that has seen better days can be a valuable educational experience for the students in our Automotive Technician, Auto Body, and Aviation Maintenance Programs. Some restored vehicles are kept as educational tools; others are sold to raise money for scholarships or other purposes. Please contact us to determine whether a particular automobile or airplane is a good fit to our curriculum needs.

For more information on gifts of automobiles and airplanes, please contact us.

In many cases the South Seattle Community College Foundation is willing to accept gifts of up-to-date property (so-called "in-kind gifts") that we can use in our instructional programs. Examples include: landscaping tools, equipment and supplies; automotive tools, testing and repair equipment; aviation testing and repair equipment; winery equipment and supplies; and welding equipment and supplies. Please contact us to determine whether a particular gift is a good fit to our curriculum needs. Most gifts of property are deductible from your income tax at their fair market value; an appraisal is required for gifts valued at $5,000 or more.

The Landscape Horticulture Program has become increasingly popular -- enrollment has grown by 42% over the last three years. It offers training in greenhouse operations, landscape design and construction, plant identification, irrigation systems, and forestry. Courses combine technical expertise, theory and practical hands-on training preparing graduates for jobs in a rewarding, healthy field.

Students benefit from a skilled faculty, excellent facilities and an opportunity to practice their skills in the South Seattle Community College Arboretum, greenhouse, retail garden center and the Seattle Chinese Garden which is under development adjacent to the Arboretum.

To take full advantage of the unmatched educational opportunities available to students in Landscape Horticulture program, South (and its supporters) must make investments in our educational facilities and programs. Therefore, as a part of the Landscape Horticulture campaign:

The Judge Warren and Nobie Chan Education Center was dedicated in January 2008.

This highly functional facility serves numerous instructional and program needs for SSCC students, Chinese Garden patrons, and garden enthusiasts. The building features include:

• Two multipurpose classrooms
• Outdoor covered work, storage and staging areas
• Tools, supplies and equipment storage areas

Funding for the $1.2 million facility was provided by three sources:

• Chinese Garden Society ~ $450,000
• SSCC Campaign ~ $150,000
• State of Washington "Match" ~ $600,000

Student Support and Program Enhancements ~ $75,000

Industry internships, a required program element for each student, are extremely valuable. Campaign funds were used to strengthen the program and expand opportunities within the Arboretum (assisting with ongoing maintenance and improvements) and with industry leaders. Tuition scholarships also provide funds to enable students to enroll who other wise might not be able.

Building on a highly successful and beneficial international internship opportunities at the Harlow Carr Garden in northern England would continue to provide select student an incredible learning experience. Please contact the SSCC Development Office at

Office Email: ssccfoundation@seattlecolleges.edu
Phone: (206) 934-5809
FAX: (206) 934-5393, Attention: Foundation
Mailing Address:
South Seattle Community College Foundation
6000 16th Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98106-1499

South Seattle Community College maintains a beautiful Arboretum at the far north end of the campus as an amenity for the benefit of the college and the surrounding West Seattle community. This six-acre garden is a park-like setting with walking paths, multiple specialty gardens, reflecting pools and large gazebo. Visitors can see Elliott Bay and the Seattle skyline from the garden’s northern-most edge. The Arboretum serves as an outdoor classroom and living laboratory where students in the college’s Landscape Horticulture Program benefit from hands-on experiences. This working garden provides our students with instructional opportunities in the areas of landscape design, plant identification, arboriculture, irrigation, landscape maintenance and landscape construction.

Gifts to the Arboretum Fund
Gifts made to the Arboretum Fund are a great way to support this special garden at South. The Arboretum Fund provides general support to the Arboretum; gifts to the fund are applied to the area of greatest need. For example, your generous financial contribution to the Arboretum Fund might support development of new gardens, expansions and updates of existing gardens, the expenses of maintenance and upkeep, or the cost of student internships in the Arboretum.

Commemorative Giving at the Arboretum
The college offers a number of commemorative giving opportunities designed to celebrate a loved one or a special friend while providing support for the South Seattle Community College Arboretum. Tribute gifts of any amount are welcomed and provide much-needed financial support to sustain this resource for the West Seattle Community.

Memorial Gifts
Gifts of any amount may be made in honor or memory of an individual or group. Memorial or tribute gifts are a popular way to make a thoughtful gift recognizing a friend or family member while demonstrating support for the Arboretum. In response to each gift, a personalized card is sent to the family of the honoree notifying them of the gift.

Commemorative Trees
A tree in the South Seattle Community College Arboretum may be dedicated in memory or honor of an individual or group with a gift of $1,000. In keeping with the Arboretum's development plan, the commemorative tree program does not provide for planting new trees, but rather the dedication of young, already established trees, about two to three years of age. Available commemorative trees are identified each year by the Arboretum Coordinator in cooperation with the Foundation. Dedicated trees will be identified with a permanent name card. If in the future a dedicated tree must be removed due to death, disease or changes in the Arboretum, a substitute tree will be appropriately identified.

Commemorative Benches
With a gift of $5,000, a bench may be dedicated in the Arboretum, in memory or honor of an individual or group. In respect for the Arboretum's plan, bench sites are pre-determined and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. A small plaque is inscribed with tribute information and mounted on the bench.

Scholarships and Internships
Donors may make gifts in support of student internships in the Arboretum or scholarships for Landscape Horticulture Students. Currently a gift of $1,000 will provide support for a one-quarter working internship.

Harlow Carr Garden Internships
South Seattle Community College maintains a special relationship with the Royal Horticulture Society’s Harlow Carr Garden, located in North Yorkshire, England. A select group of our most promising students are offered the opportunity to complete a summer internship at this internationally famous botanical garden. Contributions of $1,000 per student allows the Foundation to offer stipends in support of this unique educational opportunity.

Endowment Gifts
Endowment gifts can be made to establish permanent funds that would support the Arboretum, scholarships or internships. The Foundation manages an endowment by investing the original gift and then using the earnings to fund the charitable purpose in perpetuity.

For more information on giving to the Arboretum, please contact us.

At South we see the chain reaction of our work when students go on to lead better lives, having benefited from our knowledge, inspiration and encouragement each year during the Employee Giving Campaign, we have another opportunity to help our students.

We ask YOU to join us in support of the Employee Giving Campaign!  Supporting the Employee Giving Campaign gives students the opportunity to achieve their goals and relieve some of the financial pressure, Like Paul Brokaw, a 2012 foundation scholarship recipient.

“I am honored and grateful that you would select me for a scholarship. I am confident that the awarded funds will be instrumental in my future success in the aviation maintenance program here at South Seattle Community College. I am approaching my final three quarters in the program so it is a big relief to me to be able to focus solely on my studies and take my mind off of the financial aspect of school.”    -Paul Brokaw

We know everyone can’t give the same amount, but we believe that it’s what we can do together that will make a difference! 

Download your Employee Giving Pledge Form and support students today!

THANK YOU!

South Seattle Community College Employee Giving
2013 Community Business Supporters

West Seattle Bowl
Zippy’s
The Seattle Mariners