Fundraising Stories
School foundations not just about raising money
By: Jim Collogan, NSFA Project Director
A school or district foundation can complement the efforts of your school board in securing resources to support the education of the children of your community. Their utility goes far beyond raising money, though. Foundations can:
Attract caring adults. School foundation boards offer another set of adults organized around the mission of supporting the education of the community’s children. The average K-12 foundation board size is around 12, and the average board has 3.5 committees made up of another five to six people each. Donor numbers run into the millions. This amounts to a lot of caring adults available and working for the good of the lives of a school or a school district’s children.
Increase volunteerism. Each school foundation has an average of more than 115 volunteers in any given year of operation. They offer an opportunity for community members and retired staff volunteer involvement in the school’s activities. Because volunteers learn what the foundation is doing and its effects on students, volunteers are much more likely to leave a gift to an organization he or she cares about!
Be a breeding ground for future school board members. Members of the Californian Consortium of Education Foundations have reported that the foundation board is a great resource from which future board of education members can be recruited.
Improve community relations. Many K-12 foundation sponsored activities work to bring parents, alumni and community members back into the district’s schools. Banquets, plays, dinner dances, silent auctions and similar foundation activities effectively
reunite numerous individuals with one of their communities’ greatest assets: their schools. Foundations can serve as a marketing arm for the district, faithfully providing social events, activities and of effectively communicating the successes of the district. The education public relations workers try to figure out how to reconnect the schools with alumni and the childless members of the community; K-12 school foundations do just that!
Promote higher student achievement. Foundations can raise awareness of school and district’s needs and support innovative teaching programs. By subsidizing teacher education, providing instructional supplies and equipment, as well as providing an extra funding resource for schools, foundations can enhance educational opportunities for all children.
Grow new programs. Consider how after-school, Saturday or summer school programs or scholarships might open new possibilities for a child or high school graduate. What would happen if a foundation sponsored parent training sessions designed for parents to tutor their children? The results are limited only by the imagination and effort of a foundation board of directors and volunteers.
Foundations can provide opportunities for the community to express its support for the school. Sometimes you don’t even have to ask for support, you simply offer others the opportunity to get involved.
