The College Success Foundation plans to close its Spokane regional office this summer. 

Shannon Demant, executive director of College Success Foundation-Spokane, says in a letter that the pending closure, expected to be effective July 9, is due to proposed cuts in Washington state's budget. 

Demant says the decision to eliminate services in the region came as a surprise to the Spokane Regional Advisory Board and to herself. 

"As you can imagine, this closure marks a devastating loss for thousands of low-income students and families across Eastern Washington who have relied on CSF's guidance, mentorship, and college-access support," she says in the letter. 

The news of the pending closure comes just one month after College Success Foundation's Empowering Youth Spokane fundraising event, at which the national organization's Bellevue, Washington-based President and CEO James Dorsey spoke. The organization raised nearly $135,000 at that event, held at the Spokane Convention Center.

Demant says neither she nor the Spokane advisory board had any insights into the possibility of the closure at the time of the event, adding, "We are working to bring all of the dollars through sponsorships and personal giving back to Spokane for use, in our region and with students, as it was intended by so many." 

College Success Foundation employs 17 people in Spokane. Its offices are located in the Magnuson Building on the Spokane Falls Community College campus, at 2917 W. Whistalks Way, and its pre-college advisers and college coaches have worked inside five high schools, three middle schools, three universities, and two community colleges in the Spokane area.