Washington students should not miss out on life-changing education and career opportunities simply because financial aid systems are difficult to navigate alone.
The Financial Aid Summit is a statewide gathering designed to bring together the people, organizations, and systems working to change that.
Together, we will share what we are learning, identify barriers students and families are facing, spotlight strategies that are making a difference, and strengthen collaboration across Washington State. Beyond increasing FAFSA and WASFA completion rates, this summit is focused on building a stronger, more connected financial aid support ecosystem that improves outcomes for students long-term.
This is not a death by powerpoint gathering. It is a collaborative working session designed to help us:
Learn from one another
Identify gaps and opportunities
Explore ways to measure impact beyond completion numbers
Strengthen regional and statewide coordination
Expand access to postsecondary opportunities for students across Washington
If you are part of the financial aid completion ecosystem, your voice belongs in this conversation.
Whether you support students directly, shape systems behind the scenes, analyze data, advocate for policy, engage families, or fund this work, your perspective matters.
Join Us
📅 May 19, 2026
🕦 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM
💻 Virtual Event
🎓 Clock hours available for Session 1, Financial Aid training
Resources
Can’t attend the full summit? Join when you can. We welcome participation for any portion of the event.
If you cannot attend but would still like your voice included in the discussion, please complete our survey so we can incorporate your insights into statewide conversations and future solutions.
Following the summit, this page will serve as a shared resource hub featuring findings, tools, highlights, and collaborative next steps from across the state.
Questions? Contact Ashley DeLatour at adelatour@futuresnw.org
EVENT DEtails
Financial Aid Summit 2026 Agenda & Collaborative Design
The Financial Aid Summit is designed to bring together people who influence student access from every angle: students, families, schools, higher education, nonprofits, philanthropy, tribal communities, policymakers, data teams, and employers.
Rather than gathering everyone into one conversation all day, the summit intentionally moves through four stages of collaboration:
Start with affinity groups to surface expertise, barriers, and lived experience within sectors
Reconnect as a statewide community to learn from one another and identify emerging opportunities
Shift into regional collaboration to turn ideas into local action and implementation
Close with collective visioning to strengthen long-term coordination and shared responsibility
This structure is designed to help participants move from:
“What is happening in my area of work?” → “What are we learning statewide?” → “What can we build together locally?” → “How do we sustain this together?”
Welcome & Opening Remarks
11:30 AM – 11:50 AM
The summit opens with welcome remarks, a land acknowledgment, and an overview of the day’s collaborative design and digital participation tools.
Special remarks from Bob Ferguson will connect the work of financial aid access and postsecondary opportunity to broader statewide priorities and Executive Order initiatives.
Purpose
To ground participants in a shared mission:
Ensuring Washington students can access the education, training, and career pathways available to them.
Session 1: Affinity Group Breakouts
11:55 AM – 12:55 PM
Participants begin in smaller groups organized by shared expertise, roles, or lived experience. These conversations are designed to create space for honest discussion within sectors before moving into larger cross-sector collaboration.
Each group will discuss:
What is working well
Current barriers and gaps
Emerging needs across Washington
Opportunities for partnership and improvement
Strategies that could be replicated statewide
Breakout Rooms include
Financial Aid Training & Volunteer Development
College Access Nonprofits
K-12 Schools & Districts
Tribal Education Leaders
Higher Education & Apprenticeship Partners
Students & Student-Led Organizations
Parent & Family Organizations
Funders & Philanthropy
Policy & Advocacy Organizations
Data & Research Teams
Educational Service Districts
Mentorship Organizations
Community & Business Partners
Government & Legislative Leaders
Purpose
This session recognizes that different sectors hold different pieces of the puzzle. By beginning in affinity spaces, participants can surface specialized knowledge, identify challenges unique to their communities, and build a stronger foundation for later cross-sector collaboration.
Session 2: Statewide Updates & Spotlighted Innovations
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Participants reconvene as a full statewide community to hear major updates, emerging initiatives, and promising practices from across Washington.
This session will feature:
Statewide systems updates
Data insights and trends
Executive Order workgroup developments
Technology and navigation innovations
Regional challenge grant updates
Save Student Aid advocacy efforts
Community-based success stories
Spotlight work from organizations and regions seeing strong outcomes
Purpose
After beginning in specialized groups, this session broadens the lens. Participants can identify patterns across regions and sectors, discover new ideas, and better understand how local efforts connect to larger statewide systems.
This portion of the summit is designed to strengthen shared understanding and reduce duplication by helping organizations learn from one another in real time.
Session 3: Regional Collaboration Labs
2:05 PM – 2:40 PM
Participants move into regional breakout groups organized by Educational Service District (ESD) regions.
These conversations focus on implementation and action planning:
What ideas from earlier sessions could work in our region?
Where are the biggest gaps in support?
What partnerships need strengthening?
What tools, communication systems, or strategies should we share?
How can we coordinate efforts more effectively this year?
Participants will also collaborate on shared regional planning documents and resource mapping.
Regional Breakout Groups
ESD 101
ESD 105
ESD 112
ESD 113
ESD 114
ESD 121
ESD 123
ESD 171
ESD 189
Purpose
This session shifts from learning to implementation.
By organizing regionally, participants can apply statewide insights to local realities and identify practical next steps that fit the needs of their own students, communities, and systems.
Session 4: Moving Forward Together
2:45 PM – 3:20 PM
The summit concludes with a collaborative discussion focused on sustaining momentum beyond a single event.
Topics may include:
Expanding shared data and transparency
Coordinating statewide communication
Testing common strategies across regions
Building long-term infrastructure for collaboration
Strengthening support for students and families
Identifying sustainable funding opportunities
Continuing cross-sector partnership throughout the year
Purpose
This final session is designed to move beyond isolated initiatives and toward a more connected statewide ecosystem of support.
The goal is not simply to share ideas for one day, but to strengthen long-term relationships, shared accountability, and coordinated action that improve outcomes for Washington students over time.
Closing Reflection
3:20 PM – 3:30 PM
Participants will close the summit with reflections, key takeaways, and next steps for continuing collaboration across regions and sectors.
Want to help us spread the word? Here is a link to a sample email invitation, and we recommend attaching the agenda and promo as well.