Dear Readers,
Toba Cohen-Dunning, CEFL, MSW, MPA
President, National School Foundation Association
Regardless of the size of your school foundation, annual growth and development is important. Grow your traditional programs and make sure they are solid, then investigate new ways to support your school district. The same is true for fundraising. If you do one event well, add a second fundraiser. Additionally, investigate additional avenues of support from the community to your district by developing new friends to the foundation, looking for grant opportunities, and reaching out to local family foundations. By being strategic in your programing and fundraising, the plans for your school foundation’s future are obtainable. The school foundation future is NOW.
Cindy Morris
President/Executive Director
Peoria Public Schools Foundation
With
more than 25 years’ experience in management, Cindy Morris has spent
her career building impactful community bridges in expanding and
innovative ways. After a career in the banking industry, Cindy shifted
her talents to the Non-Profit world, working with Peoria Public Schools
first as the Adopt -A – School coordinator, and then in the position of
President/Executive Director of the Peoria Public Schools Foundation.
In her decade-long role as Executive Director, Cindy has created and
increased fundraising for the Foundation, developed innovative
programing that directly works with students in the schools, and
reorganized the Foundation’s staff and board to create growth and
improve the Foundation’s efficiency and impact on the district.
On Monday, March 16th, 2020, like other schools in Southern California, Canyon Crest Academy, the #1 public school in San Diego (Niche Schools 2020), closed its doors to prevent the spread of Covid-19. What could the Canyon Crest Academy Foundation do to maintain, if not strengthen, the close community culture that parents have come to expect. The CCA Foundation is the on-site, non-profit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for students through financial, volunteer and community support.
“Our mission is to enrich the experience of every student, every day,” said Joanne Couvrette, Executive Director of the CCA Foundation. “Our new challenge was how to do that in a virtual environment. First step, set up a new communication portal for parents and students. Second step, listen. So we listened, and we heard their concerns and their needs, and we are helping where we can help.”
The CCA Foundation quickly stepped in and created Facebook groups for the parents of each graduating class beginning with the incoming 9th graders. Newer CCA parents could get input, advice and get to know their peers. Parents have been able to share information during this unusual time in their children’s lives. In fact, senior parents were able to collaborate on a congratulatory yard sign spearheaded by the CCA Foundation. The Facebook Page has become a destination for proud parents to post their kid’s photos and college acceptance announcements! They are able to navigate the various challenges of distance learning and safety issues.
To further expand community reach and highlight the accomplishments of CCA alumni, the Foundation set up the CCA Alumni Page “My CCA Story” which quickly grew to 250 members who were eager to reconnect and chat. Alumni quickly asked how they could help CCA students during the pandemic stay-at-home orders. A plan was hatched! Many Juniors and Seniors had planned to visit college campuses and/or attend admitted student days, especially during Spring Break, which never happened.
The Foundation scheduled 3 Zoom Meetings for CCA Juniors/Seniors that featured CCA Alumni who attend(ed) UC Schools, Private Schools, Public Schools, and Community Colleges. The Zoom sessions included a total of 300 student attendees and 50 alumni panelists! Among the colleges represented were USC, UCLA, Michigan State, University of Oregon, Harvard, SDSU and many more. Students discussed campus life, course selection, and the effect high school had on their college choice and subsequent adjustment. Email connections were made, and everyone agreed that future contact would be made - some IRL (in real life).
When it became clear that the main fundraising event of the year for Canyon Crest Academy had to be canceled, the Foundation re-imagined its FIRST ANNUAL VIRTUAL GALA, complete with an auction and live entertainment by two-time Grammy winner, Laurence Juber, who has played with three of the Beatles - Paul, George, and Ringo! The event featured a pre-recorded segment with student and teacher testimonials, original student artwork inspired by life during the COVID-19 crisis and much more. The one hour program raised over $82,000 thanks to incredible sponsors, parents, and community members!
It has become a tradition at Canyon Crest Academy for parents to drop their teens off on the first day of school and then be welcomed with a continental breakfast hosted by the CCA Foundation. On the first day of school, August 25, 2020, the tradition was upheld, albeit with some changes in order to keep the community safe and virus-free.
Vidya Werry, the CCA Foundation Board President, and CCA Foundation Executive Director, Joanne Couvrette, along with Foundation staff and other board members greeted parents in front of Starbucks in Carmel Valley at the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch. Coupons for free coffee, courtesy of Starbucks, were given to parents from behind plexiglass screens, and everyone was wearing masks. Foundation information was safely distributed, and parents who donated “a dollar-a-day for CCA” received a specially-designed CCA Foundation mask.
The Welcome Coffee was followed a few days later by a Zoom Meet & Greet, which was attended by almost 300 parents. There, parents were able to get their questions answered about Distance Learning, Athletics, Academics, and Foundation programs, both in school and out.
These are just some of the programs - there was a car parade for the Class of 2020, Take Out Tuesdays, a weekly fundraiser with participation from local retailers and restaurants - which have made it possible to continue to fulfill the Foundation’s mission to “enrich the experience of every student, every day.”
The Foundation raises the funds necessary to support the spending priorities determined by CCA’s principal and staff, mostly through parent contributions, and collaborates with students, parents, staff, and the local community to assist CCA with its volunteer needs. Every student at CCA benefits in some way from the generous donations made by CCA families and the community to the Foundation.