Program areas at Fund for Portland Public Schools
The crisis relief Fund for pps students and families serves our community who face extreme financial hardships that cause instability for their children. Our students need the basic building blocks shelter, food, warm clothing so that they can show up healthy and ready to learn. Our pps school social workers identify pps students and families, refer them to community resources and, when appropriate, access the crisis relief Fund.
Our students are passionate about visual and performing arts and climate justice. The Fund for pps supported the 2023 heart of Portland k-12 arts showcase at the Portland art museum where students from across the city displayed their talents, including a visual arts exhibit plus dance and music performances. We supported the 2023 spring climate justice summit hosted at Portland state university focused on innovation, activism and empowerment for the future they seek to create.
In the 2022-23 school year, local school foundations fundraised just over $2.5 million dollars. Two thirds of the funding supported additional staff in the Schools that fundraised, and one-third was awarded to other Schools via the pps parent Fund awards. The pps parent Fund awards went to 62 Schools and programs with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, for a total of $1,168,000.