Fund for PPS reports $1.4 million-plus in giving; Champion PPS Schools allocated $930,000 for tutoring and supports

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education on Sept. 30 received the Fund for PPS annual report, a requirement of the district'wide advocacy and fundraising policy the board revised in 2024. The Fund for PPS presented financial totals for 2024'25 and described the launch and first allocations of the Champion PPS Schools campaign.

The report said total giving for 2024'25 exceeded $1.4 million. "More than $1,400,000 were invested between 2024 and 2025," Fund leaders told the board, with $507,489 directed to programming for students and roughly $930,000 assigned to Champion PPS Schools. The Fund said it has a stated goal of raising $1,000,000 for Champion PPS Schools in 2026'27 and an additional $200,000 for programming and $200,000 for operational capacity.

Why this matters: The board adopted the district-wide advocacy and fundraising policy in 2024; that policy requires the district to receive an annual accounting of donations and major projects from a designated district foundation. Fund leaders told the board they are rebuilding governance and community engagement after recent policy changes and that allocations this year prioritize evidence-based interventions such as high-impact tutoring and basic needs supports.

The Fund for PPS described how Champion PPS Schools was used in May 2025 to make near-term grant awards for the 2025'26 school year. The parent advisory committee (PAC) for Champion PPS Schools, the Fund said, is composed of nine parents and two students and recommended allocations that include high-impact tutoring for K'3 students, math supports for 9th'10th graders and food pantries in 20 community schools. Fund leaders told the board the Fund invested more than $660,000 in high-impact tutoring to reach more than 400 K'3 students and that 30 schools are partnered with Reading Results; nine Spanish dual-language immersion schools were offered bilingual reading supports, six schools were offered a single reading support educational assistant, and 10 elementary schools were offered an online pilot.

The Fund said it invested in a visible set of programs during 2024'25: an electric school bus pilot funded by PGE (described as both transportation and an educational catalyst), student art exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum, direct family assistance and school murals. The PAC also allocated $100,000 as seed funding to support future fundraising.

Fund leaders emphasized that some of the dollars reported for 2024'25 included carryover from local school foundation funds that were transferred into the districtwide Fund in the transition to the new policy. Board members asked detailed questions about the mix of funds (restricted vs. unrestricted), whether unrestricted dollars would cover a new executive director's salary and whether the Fund would continue to raise money for staffing or focus on non-salary programming; Fund leaders said unrestricted dollars may offset some capacity costs but that Champion PPS Schools dollars are intended for direct student programs.

"The fund is alive and well," Fund chair Jackie Wirz told the board, adding that Fund leaders are "building this plane as we're flying through the air" and are actively recruiting an executive director, school liaisons and PAC members. Superintendent Armstrong introduced the presentation and highlighted that the Fund's Champion PPS Schools model has invested $930,000 this school year, with the majority directed at high-impact tutoring.

Board members and staff discussed equity and the transition from formerly independent local school foundations to a single districtwide foundation. Several board members and the superintendent expressed concern about the scale of prior local foundation fundraising (reported in previous years to be higher) and about designing an on-ramp or mitigation for schools that relied heavily on local foundation dollars. Fund leaders acknowledged the transition is difficult for some school communities and said they plan outreach and ongoing review of PAC investments.

The Fund's full annual report and financials are available on its website, the Fund told the board. Fund leaders asked the board to help recruit school liaisons and PAC members and to publicize upcoming Fund events and corporate partnership fundraisers including sports events.

Ending: Board members praised the presentation and asked staff and Fund leaders for follow-up information on fundraising strategy, the breakdown of restricted vs. unrestricted dollars, and engagement steps for former local foundation leaders and parents.