...founded in 1907 and celebrating
100 years of service!
January 21, 1907 a small group of women met in the home of Mrs. Park
Weed Willis at 1316 Columbia Street to organize the "Seattle Fruit and Flower Mission.
" It was incorporated on February 11, 1907. It was patterned after similar groups in
San Francisco, Portland and particularly Boston, where flowers from debutante parties and
hampers of fruits and vegetables were distributed to hospital patients. On December 6, 1935 the name was changed to the
Seattle Milk Fund.
The purpose of the Mission was later crystallized in the following motto:
"
To contribute to the health program of Seattle - to cooperate with other agencies - to
strive to keep homes united and to conduct investigations and give aid so that no one feels disgraced."
Seattle Milk Fund: Not Just Milk Anymore
Seattle Milk Fund’s name is derived from
its former primary service of sponsoring
families for free milk deliveries.
These milk deliveries ceased in the
early 1990s with the closure of a
supplier of milk and in light of the
greater need in other program areas.
Seattle Milk Fund is currently comprised
of 375 volunteer members, belonging to
one of 29 circles, who work together on
a variety of fundraising and service
projects. Each circle sends
representatives to a monthly governance
meeting. Circles tend to form based on
neighborhood, work, or college
affiliations, and are often named for
notable local women philanthropists.
Being part of a circle is socially and
personally fulfilling, it is an easy way
to volunteer, and to donate, to help
families in the Seattle area. It is a
direct service opportunity for
volunteers and donors to see the
benefits of their money and efforts.
While
the face of Seattle Milk Fund’s
assistance has changed substantially
since 1907 when assistance consisted
mainly of food, milk, and flower
deliveries to widowed mothers or the
very ill, the driving principles remain
the same. Presently, Seattle Milk Fund
assists the community with 4 main
programs:
-
Childcare
Grants.
Seattle Milk Fund provides partial
childcare grants while one or both
parents attend school. This program
is designed to meet the needs of
both parents and children, as
parents work toward educational
goals and financial independence,
and the children get a valuable
early learning opportunity in a
quality licensed childcare or
preschool. This year Seattle Milk
Fund is assisting over 70 families
with
childcare grants, totaling over
$278,000. Seattle Milk Fund is the
only charitable source of funding in
the area for childcare costs for
college students.
-
Education
Grants.
Seattle Milk Fund provides tuition
and book grants to students
attending local colleges,
universities, and vocational
schools. Seattle Milk Fund
selects grant recipients based on a
combination of need, motivation, and
scholastic ability, with priority
consideration given to students that
are parents. Seattle Milk Fund
awards tuition and textbook
scholarships to over 40 students per
year, totaling over $100,000.
-
Family
Assistance.
Seattle Milk Fund assists families
in urgent need of basic necessities,
including food, clothing, diapers,
hygiene supplies, and household
items. In the last fiscal year,
Seattle Milk Fund has assisted
hundreds of families on a
short-or-longer term basis, with
items ranging from $25 food gift
cards to whole sets of furniture.
Additionally, many families receive
Thanksgiving and Christmas
sponsorships.
-
Children’s
Supplies.
Seattle Milk Fund provides shoe
vouchers, backpacks and school
supplies to children in the greater
Seattle area. So far this year,
2470 shoe
vouchers, over 880 backpacks, and
thousands of dollars in school
supplies have been distributed.
Clients access Seattle Milk Fund
programs by a short written referral
from a school or other social services
agency. An office is maintained in
North Seattle, and the day-to-day
program and finance operations are
facilitated by a single full-time employee who
supervises a part-time Administrative
Assistant, work-study students and
dedicated volunteers.
The
Seattle Milk Fund budget is comprised of
the following income sources:
-
Dues.
Members pay $30 annually or $300
lifetime membership dues to join a
Circle. Dues are approximately
1.5%
of Seattle Milk Fund revenue.
-
All-City
Projects and Circle Projects.
Circles join together to work on
organization-wide projects called
All-City Projects. These include
the annual favorite, CookieFest, at
Macy’s; Poinsettia sales, in
partnership with Molbak’s; and a
Milky Way Auction which is held
every other year. Circles also plan
projects to raise funds on their
own, called “Circle Projects”.
These projects include wine parties,
auctions, craft fairs, dinners, crab
feed, lectures, and cooking
classes. Recent successes include
an Oktoberfest, cooking classes with
Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau,
the annual all-you-can-eat crab
feed, lecture on science with Dr. Ed
Baker, sips and satchels sale, and a
variety of other projects. Combined, these projects
represent approximately 19% of
Seattle Milk Fund revenue.
-
Donations
and Grants.
Donations from individuals and
business, including those in
memorial or honor of a loved one,
are critical to the success of
Seattle Milk Fund. Seattle Milk
Fund receives grants from private
foundations and other grant makers.
Funds are also received
through Local Independent Charities'
and United Way's Workplace giving
campaigns. These donations and grants total
approximately 67% of Seattle Milk
Fund revenue. Seattle Milk Fund
does not receive United Way Combined
Drive funds, or any government
funding.
-
Coin Boxes.
Collection boxes are placed in local
businesses for people to donate
loose coins to Seattle Milk Fund.
These coins may seem like a small
amount, but annually they add up to
1.5% of Seattle Milk Fund revenue.
-
Investment Income.
Interest and dividends on donated
assets and past investments make up
the balance of Seattle Milk Fund
revenue.
Due
to very low overhead, 87% of funds
raised reach clients. This year, the
Seattle Milk Fund budget is
$562,400. In-kind donations of over
$100,000 per year are also distributed
to the community though the efforts of
the dedicated circle members.
The
impact of Seattle Milk Fund is best
captured by the words of the clients
served:
“You
can do anything you put your mind to,”
was the mantra of my childhood, chanted
by my mother through the ultimate
destitution of homelessness and
despair. My younger years were spent
wandering a nomadic life through the
Heartland of America with my younger
brothers and sisters and were full of
opportunities for me to learn life’s
more challenging lessons first hand. I
am happy to have had those difficult
childhood experiences, but I am
determined to build a more solid
foundation for my children
instead...thanks in part to childcare
help from the Seattle Milk Fund, I was
accepted to Seattle University School of
Law and will begin my law studies as the
class of 2009! As I continue my
graduate education, I embrace my future
through my carefully laid plans in the
present."
-Sunshine Eversull, 2006
UW Graduate and Childcare Grant
Recipient
“Dear
ladies of the Seattle Milk Fund, Thank
you from the bottom of my heart for your
hard work, financial support and
encouragement all of these years. I
know this (donation) isn’t much but I
would like to show my gratitude. Happy
New Year”
-Dr. Amy Cook, DDS, Past Grant Recipient
“I am
in receipt of your letter that notified
me of a most pleasant surprise of
additional funding for winter quarter! I
was absolutely shocked and immediately
shared the news with my three children.
They were as excited as I was. My
oldest, 13, quickly computed how many
books I could purchase with the
additional funds and pointed out that
I’d now have enough money to purchase my
loupes (a needed item for her course of
study). I am determined to succeed and
look forward to the next 6 quarters of
the dental hygiene program. Thank you!”
-Tami Barron, Current Education Grant
Recipient |
