50 Years of Making Potential Possible

On October 22, the CCS Foundation celebrated 50 years of supporting the students and programs of Spokane and Spokane Falls Community Colleges.

50 years of connecting with donors. 50 years of encouraging students. 50 years of impact.

Watch our video, and read more below!





It all started in 1972 when the Foundation was established with the directive to "Discover, develop and manage alternative sources of income in perpetuity for student support and program development."

In other words, the Foundation was created to support CCS’s students and programs. And over the last five decades, the heart of our work hasn’t changed.

In the beginning, we managed gifts-in-kind and small scholarships. Then, in 1982, we conducted our first annual campaign. And just a few years later, we launched our first capital campaign, raising $1.5 million.

Between 1996 and 2003, we had awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarships to more than 7,000 students. During that time, we also raised $1.5 million in a matching gift campaign to endow scholarships and purchase equipment for CCS programs.

CCS said about the Foundation and our donors at the time, “Faced with rising costs, diminishing sources of income, and students with greater and greater needs, countless community volunteers and staff have developed and supported a strong, independent foundation.”

Over the next two decades, we launched countless initiatives to support the students, staff, and programs at CCS: the Touch the Future House; the Alumni Association; the Saling Award, Mini Grants, and Welty Award; and several donor- and student-focused events. We redefined our mission: we make potential possible. And we discovered our core values and wrote one of the first scholarship philosophies.

In total, over the last five decades, we’ve awarded more than $10.3 million in student scholarships and emergency aid. And we’ve provided over $10 million to CCS’s 120+ programs.

It's been an amazing 50 years, and we’re so grateful to our donors and community as we look back. But we’re also so excited and energized for the next 50 years and all the students we can support.

We hope you’ll join us in making 50 more years of potential possible!

Sincerely, Your 50th Anniversary Honorary Chairs,

Dave Bosch
Gary Douvia
Jane Johnson
Elinor Magnuson
Bridget Piper
Craig Soehren