Fundraising
Blue Envelope Give Campaign
We’re kicking off our Annual Blue Envelope Direct Give Campaign on November 10th! Every dollar raised goes directly to our school to make it such a special place for our kids.
Our goal for our November drive is to raise $100,000. That’s roughly a $300 additional investment per student. Our broader Seattle community is in greater need this year. Many families cannot afford to donate $300 per student which is why we are asking those who can to make an additional donation or consider sponsoring 1-2 more students. To meet our goal, we’ll need at least 100 families to sponsor an additional student and 50 families to sponsor 2 or more students.
We ask that each student return the Blue Envelope, even if you’re not able to donate. Every year we see donations range from a few dollars to generous amounts that support multiple students. 100% participation is an important goal! Each classroom that returns their envelopes with or without money receives a Cookie Party (allergy free options available). Donate online via our 99 Pledges fundraising page 2026 Blue Envelope Direct Give or return your envelope with a cash or check donation to Fairmount Park Elementary PTA. Any donation can be broken into monthly payments by using PayPal.
Every child deserves a school experience that goes beyond the basics. In Washington State, education funding has declined as a percentage of the overall state budget and Seattle Public Schools has an ongoing budget crisis. Despite these challenges, Fairmount Park is one of the best elementary schools in the state. PTA funding gives the school the capacity to fill in the gaps and continue to support every student the best we can.
As a 501c3 non-profit organization, donations to the Fairmount Park PTA are tax deductible. We welcome employer matching funds; please also consider if there are grandparents or other family that might be willing to support your student’s learning.
What does my donation support?
Your gifts directly fund additional teaching and curriculum support in our school, as well as allow the PTA to respond to community needs. Some of the many things the PTA funds include:
- Additional Music teacher time so Ms. Teather can offer instrumental music to all fourth and fifth graders instead of SPS funding a lottery for only 25 students to participate. Ms. Teather is also able to offer choir, and (new this year!) jazz band and class music concerts with PTA funding.
- Added Counselor time so Ms. Soto can be onsite three days a week and supervise our graduate counselor intern instead of Ms. Soto’s time being split 50/50 with another school.
- More Librarian time so Ms. Halladin can offer more reading support and library hours. And hopefully launch a new tutoring program this spring!
- Boosting Ms. B’s reading support role to help students before they fall behind. SPS only funds students who are already a grade level behind.
This year we’re spending $90,000 on additional teacher and staff time. That’s in addition to the $15,000 in grants to classroom teachers, $6,000 in assemblies, $3,000 in curriculum support, $6,500 in art supplies, $3,000 in PE supplies, and $1,000 for music equipment.
This year we have doubled the number of families who requested food support and have a record amount of enrichment need-based scholarships. Your generosity provides $17,000 in grocery support and $8,000 in enrichment scholarships. We’re also spending $12,000 on school and community events like Diversity and Inclusion Night or Falcon Fest, and $4,000 in school supplies for families who can’t cover the cost.
We also provide scholarships for Field Trips, Salmon in the Schools and sponsor Teacher Appreciation Week.
Fully funding these programs costs $180k! Last year, fundraising only covered 50%. If we aren’t able to improve this year, it will mean more cuts.
Frequent Asked Questions
Why do we fundraise?
We have an amazing community, dedicated teachers, and a strong performing school. What we don’t have is all the funding our students need to thrive. In Washington State, education funding has declined as a % of the overall state budget and the state doesn’t allow local levies to fully account for the higher cost of living, and therefore higher costs, in districts like Seattle. State reimbursement for special education is also capped, leaving districts to cover the difference.
When SPS adopted a balanced budget for 2026-27, it did so largely by changing school staffing, while the district has said its longer-term structural deficit remains unresolved. Superintendent Ben Shulidener finally said what parents have been feeling for years: “As everyone knows, we’re broke.” The district is chronically short on operating funds and keeps cutting back more each year. And due to SPS’s equity formulas, schools like Fairmount Park Elementary receive some of the lowest funding per student in the whole district.
For Fairmount Park, this has meant a steady loss of the people and programs that make our school wonderful. In 2024, we lost a classroom teacher and 0.5 art teacher. In 2025, we lost another classroom teacher and instructional assistant time. This year, the school had to rescind an offer to an additional classroom teacher over the summer and lost the special education case worker role at the start of school, when students need the most help. SPS even eliminated the budget for nursing supplies! And just last week, we lost a 0.5 multilingual assistant.
How did schools end up so underfunded?
PTAs shouldn’t need to be fundraising for school staff and programs! The state should fully fund public education, the “paramount duty” of our State Constitution. But the reality is Washington state chronically underfunds education and the SPS budget situation keeps getting worse each year.
1) McCleary, a 2012 Washington State Supreme Court case meant to address historic underfunding of rural districts, has over-corrected things such that urban districts like Seattle are not getting enough state funding. Given the cost of living crisis in Seattle, it simply costs more for our teachers to live here and more for us to fund their salaries and we are not getting this funding from the state.
2) As part of McCleary, the state caps the amount of funding school districts can raise in local levies. Seattle voters have generously approved property tax levies in excess of this amount that the state won’t let the district collect!
3) Education funding as a % of overall state funding has decreased from approximately 50% to 42% in recent years. Put another way, the state is underfunding education by approximately $4 billion a year.
4) To limit state funding on education the state arbitrarily caps the % of special education services it will fund to 10% of the student population. But in Seattle the special education population is more like 14% – and this “extra” 4% of students are morally, ethically and legally entitled to receive the special education services they need. This creates a big hole in SPS’s budget.
Faced with financial scarcity, the district has to decide where to deploy its too limited funds. There is an equity-tiering model to funding, and schools deemed less in need, both because of the socio economic background of the students and because of test scores, get less funding. Fairmount Park continues to be in the bottom 25% of SPS elementary schools in terms of funding per student.
Despite these challenges, Fairmount Park Elementary is a special place and continues to be one of the best elementary schools in the state. It’s your gifts that give us the ability to fill in the gaps and continue to support every student the best we can. State and district funding must improve, but we also don’t want our students to suffer now while the grown-ups figure it out.
What Do I Do With My Blue Envelope?
Our goal is for every family to return their blue envelopes regardless of the level of giving. Every year we see individual donations range from a few dollars to thousands. 100% participation is always the goal! Please complete the response form and return it in the blue envelope to your child’s homeroom teacher. Even if you donate online, or are choosing not to donate at all, please return the response form and blue envelope for each child you have at Fairmount Park.
When is the deadline?
Can I use a credit card to donate money?
Response forms and blue envelopes should be returned to your student’s homeroom teacher by Friday, November 20th. Online giving will run through Monday November 30th at 2026 Blue Envelope Direct Give.
Yes! You can pay with a credit card via the 99 pledges 2026 Blue Envelope Direct Give page. Please be sure to also submit a paper or digital donation form so we can track your donation. You can also submit cash or a check payable to Fairmount Park Elementary PTA. Please note PayPal charges a non-profit collection fee of 1.99% + $0.49 per transaction. You can choose to offset these charges when you donate.
Can we spread our donation throughout the year?
Yes! You can set up recurring monthly donations via our PayPal account.
Do you accept employer matches?
YES!!! Every year, employer matches play a big part in our blue envelope campaign. Click Here to see local businesses that have corporate matching. Please reach out to your employer and request matching funds. Please indicate the name of your employer in your Blue Envelope form (paper or digital) so that the PTA can anticipate the matching gift. If you need more information, please email us at fundraising@fairmountparkpta.org.
Is my donation tax-deductible & Receipts?
Yes! Please email treasurer@fairmountparkpta.org if you would like a letter documenting your contribution to Fairmount Park PTA. Our Tax ID is 46-5002849
Can you join the fundraising committee? Have an idea?
Email fundraising@fairmountparkpta.org.