Supporting Student Leadership: College Spark Awards $180,000 Grant to Alliance for a Just Society
At College Spark Washington, we believe that the most powerful and lasting changes in education come when students lead the way. That’s why we’re proud to announce a three-year, $180,000 grant to Alliance for a Just Society (AJS) in support of their Communities for Our Colleges (C4C) program—a statewide effort to organize, train, and mobilize students across Washington’s community and technical colleges.
As policymakers and institutions grapple with how to advance equity in higher education, C4C provides a critical answer: ask the students, and support them in leading the work.
Ask the students, and support them in leading the work.
Lifting Up Student Voices in 2-Year Colleges
C4C is the only program of its kind in Washington that consistently supports student-led organizing across multiple community college campuses. Through deep relationship-building with equity staff, student groups, and community partners, C4C helps students form advocacy committees, lead participatory research projects, and directly engage college leadership around the issues that matter most to them.
The work is hands-on, intersectional, and deeply grounded in lived experience. Whether students are fighting for improved mental health services, more inclusive curriculum, or stronger protections for undocumented classmates, C4C gives them the tools—and the platform—to speak out and be heard.
This grant from College Spark provides program-level operating support, allowing AJS to not only continue its campus-based advocacy work but also expand statewide coordination and provide flexible, responsive resources to meet the evolving needs of students.
Centering and Protecting Undocumented Students
One major focus of C4C’s current work is improving the experience and safety of undocumented students across Washington’s colleges. Last year, C4C partnered with the Washington Student Achievement Council to host a convening highlighting the unique barriers undocumented students face—and the structural solutions needed to address them.
This effort is just the beginning. With support from College Spark, C4C will:
- Expand student-led campaigns for state-funded work-study programs accessible to undocumented students
- Distribute “know your rights” resources widely across campuses
- Partner with colleges to create more proactive, protective policies to shield immigrant students from threats like deportation and data misuse
This kind of organizing doesn’t just inform policy. It builds power and solidarity in a time when students of color and immigrant communities are increasingly under attack.
“Young people in Washington’s 2-year colleges are not a footnote in the education system—they are architects of its future.”
From Storytelling to System Change
At the heart of the C4C approach is the belief that student stories are not just anecdotes—they are data. And they are powerful.
Student fellows, supported through paid leadership roles, gather and analyze stories from their peers to identify collective challenges and shape campus-level and statewide solutions. These efforts have led to concrete wins, including the incorporation of student voices into college Equity Action Plans required by SB 5194.
C4C also hosts an annual Student Power Building Conference, bringing together community college students from across Washington to learn from one another, strategize, and step more fully into their roles as advocates for change. These students don’t just learn about power—they practice it.
Investing in the Long Game
One of the challenges of organizing in higher education is the high turnover rate among students. C4C meets this challenge by building strong institutional relationships and supporting a growing network of equity staff, community partners, and student leaders. That infrastructure makes it possible for advocacy to continue year after year—even as student populations shift.
By supporting C4C at the program level, College Spark is investing in the sustainability of student-led advocacy. We’re also sending a clear message: young people in Washington’s 2-year colleges are not a footnote in the education system—they are architects of its future.
Looking Ahead
As higher education equity initiatives come under increasing scrutiny, we need bold, flexible, and community-driven responses more than ever. C4C represents that response—organized, informed, and student-led.
We’re honored to support the Alliance for a Just Society in this work and excited to see what Washington’s student advocates will achieve next.
Because when students speak, we should all be listening—and when they lead, it’s our job to follow.
