Youth and education became a focus of the Spokane Alliance several years ago, as Alliance institutions became aware of the detrimental trends occurring in the youth population. Since then Alliance members have searched for ways to help address youth issues in Spokane. The Children's Investment Fund  is the outcome of these efforts.

   The fund is modeled after other similar efforts in Miami, Portland and Seattle. Recently, the Alliance has begun a signature gathering campaign in an effort to place the initiative on the ballot in August of 2010. To do this, the Spokane Alliance and our community allies will have to collect 12,000 signatures by mid-April.    

Children engaging in learning activities at a local early learning center similar to those the Children's Investment Fund will assist.

  The initiative proposes a six year levy on property taxes of only .35 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, creating around $5 million in revenue each year. The average annual cost to homeowners with a house valued at $197,000--the average home value in Spokane--would be only $69.   

  This money will be used to invest in youth programs in four primary areas:

• Early Childhood Education and Intervention
• Child Abuse Prevention
• After-School Programs
• Mentoring

The Fund will provide for:

· Expanded capacity to local youth-serving organizations and programs.

· An annual audit which will demonstrate the progress made by each grantee as well as how the funds were spent.

· A 6 year sunset clause to ensure that programs and the initiative will have to meet their commitments.

· Only programs with evidence based, best practice, and proven programs with measurable results.

· A funding decision making process which will be made publicly by the Citizens Oversight Committee with community input.

· Accountability measures which will require grantees to track client and program data to demonstrate results.

To learn more about the Children's Investment Fund, visit the campaign website at www.ourchildrenfirstspokane.org  

  To find out about what SustainableWorks can do for you and your community, visit www.sustainableworks.com