CCEF
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California Consortium of Education Foundations
NEWSLETTER
Volume 1
Number 1
March 2003
In This Issue
CCEF Survey of California LEFs
LEF Brings Community Resources to Students
Endowment Funds for Public Schools (Part One)
The Variety of Local Education Foundations
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We hope that members of the LEF community will contribute to this newsletter. If you have written, or would like to write, an article that would be of interest please contact CCEF.
Previous Newsletters
CCEF
PO Box 19290
Stanford, CA 94309
650.324.1653 voice
650.326.7751 fax
Executive Director
Susan Sweeney
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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME
by Caroline Boitano, President,
CCEF Board of Directors
2003 is beginning with a bright new start for CCEF. If you are reading this, you know that we are reinstituting the newsletter to keep members better informed about what CCEF is planning, and better connected to other local education foundations around the state. I hope you are reading this newsletter in an electronic format, because that will make it easier for you to get to the web site, http://www.cceflink.org. This site should be added to your list of favorites. It gives you information about our programs, in addition to articles, news and information relevant to public education foundations. Please be sure to give us your feedback about the features you use, and what you would like to see us add to the web site to make it an even more effective tool.
Right now is a very important time for local education foundations. Many of you have told us how the budget actions in your districts are making the work of local education foundations more vital than ever. We want our programs and outreach to touch on the areas you think are critical for your organization. We are now planning programs that focus on fund development, marketing, governance and program development.
This year our annual meeting in the fall will be in the San Francisco Bay area. The program committee is already begun to plan and we need to hear from you about what you think will be of the greatest value for your foundation. What programs do you want? You will receive a “Save the Date” reminder within the next month. Please mark your calendars and plan to bring a group from your foundation.
If there is a theme to this letter, it is “Please give us your thoughts!”
And we will be asking for more information from you in our annual survey which will be sent out soon. This survey is designed to give us the most up to date information about your programs, your goals and your needs. This year you will be able to fill this out on line, or using pen and paper, whichever is easiest for you. But for us to represent the education foundations throughout the state, we need to know as much about you as possible. Please take the time to complete the survey and get it back to CCEF.
CCEF Board of Directors
Caroline Boitano
Consultant
Joan H. Fauvre
Pasadena Educational Foundation
Gerald Howard
Interstate Commercial Mortgage Services
Morgan Odell, DPA
Santa Ana Education Foundation
Sally A. Outis
Albany Education Foundation
Wayne Padover, Ph.D.
The California AfterSchool Partnership
Michael Pinto, Ph.D.
Laguna Beach Ed Endowment & Capital Fund
Frank J. Quevedo
Southern California Edison
Charla Rolland, Ed.D.
Stanford University
Lawrence Schwab, Esq.
Bialson, Berger & Schwab
Emanuel Scrofani, Ed.D.
California School Boards Association
Carol Sigelman
KeyLink Consultancy, Inc.
Lois Swanson
St. Helena Schools Foundation Endowment Trust
Kathy Owyang Turner
San Francisco Education Fund
Susan Wittenberg
The West Contra Costa Public Education Foundation
CCEF Advisory Board
Steven T. Kuykendall
Congressman
Steven T. Kuykendall & Associates
Mary Leslie
Consultant
Gladys Thatcher
CCEF Founder
Ronald T. Vera, Esq.
Law Offices of Gutierrez & Vera
Robert Wood, Esq.
Lafayette Arts & Science Foundation
Newsletter Editor/Designer
Robin Gladstone webmaster@cceflink.org
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CCEF SURVEY OF CALIFORNIA LEFs (TOP)
This year CCEF will be sending a survey to all identified education foundations in California to gather data on the growth and activities of California’s LEF movement. Sponsored by the Wells Fargo Foundation the directory project is the most comprehensive to date and will focus on gathering data on all LEFs. We hope you will help by completing your survey and by making sure other LEFs in your area are aware of the survey project. A paper copy of the survey will be sent to you or you may complete the survey online at http://www.cceflink.org/dirsurvey.asp
While local education foundations are as different as the communities they serve, all are committed to enriching the lives of California’s children and their families.
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IN MEMORIUM, JIM HOWARD (TOP)
by CCEF Board Members
Jim Howard was all about creating “solutions.” As one of the founders of the Julian Education Foundation, Jim became involved with CCEF in the early 90s. Under his leadership the Julian Education Foundation was awarded a CCEF Apple Award and recognized for a project to grow student entrepreneurs and involve them in the foundation.
During Jim's ten years on the CCEF board, he was instrumental in working with LEF leaders in building their capacity to reach out to both diverse communities and individual donors. With a doctorate in psychology, Jim always encouraged LEF colleagues to think about how they could evaluate the good works they were doing. He was the lead author of “Private Funds for California’s Public Schools” included in Fundraising for Private Institutions. Describing the work of CCEF, this article initiated CCEF's efforts to evaluate data on how local education foundations raise funds and the types of programs they support. Always concerned with being responsive to the needs of local community leaders, Jim Howard encouraged CCEF to gather information through surveys and discussions with LEFs, a practice that has greatly influenced CCEF's success.
A nonprofit consultant, Jim Howard was a popular workshop presenter. Anyone who attended one of his presentations will remember his illusory friend "Mrs. Got Rocks," one of his favorite examples of a prospective donor. Regardless of how busy his life became, Jim always found time to work with local education foundation leaders trying to make a difference in their community. Jim was a teacher and mentor as well as a life long learner. This fall Jim added the coveted title of CFRE, certified fund-raising executive, to his long list of credentials.
Jim Howard had a way of making you feel you were part of his family whether you were meeting for the first time or were a long time colleague. If the occasion included eating all the better! Jim enjoyed cooking, good food, and the special sharing that came with sitting around a table. Jim valued people, and he used his talents to build bridges among people, uniting them in efforts to make a difference. It might be helping groups raise funds for educational endeavors or writing articles about African-American culture or social psychology, or graciously sharing his point of view. At his memorial service in Julian, the entire community was represented in addition to family and friends who traveled from around the country. The members of this standing-room-only crowd, time and again returned to common themes, Jim’s commitment to Marie and his family, his ability to make you feel respected and valued, his enthusiasm for life, and most of all his ability to weave his values throughout his professional and volunteer activities. Jim had a gift of making people feel connected and valued. He loved bringing people together and was a major force in CCEF developing regional gatherings for education foundations and other nonprofit leaders in San Diego.
Ever the self-effacing gentleman, Jim was fond of introducing himself as, "the guy from Julian." He was immensely proud of his tiny hometown and its accomplishments. The recent plan to build a new library in Julian was a source of great pride and real joy to Jim.
The CCEF board and California's education foundations will miss Jim's joy and wise counsel. We are privileged to have called him " friend."
Jim Howard
1940 - 2002
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2002 CONFERENCE REPORT (TOP)
by Susan Sweeney, CCEF Executive Director
“Collaborating for Our Kids’ Success” was the theme of the 2002 California Consortium of Educational Foundations conference. Local education foundation (LEF) leaders from all over California plus attendees from other states met at the Bahia Resort Hotel in San Diego on October 17 and 18, 2002 for two days of intensive skill building and networking. The two-day conference was sponsored by Washington Mutual, Bank of America and Hewlett Packard.
On Thursday, October 17, CCEF hosted four skill-building workshops. Over 50 people attended the CCEF biannual workshop, “Starting an Education Foundation,” an intensive one-day event designed to provide the legal, financial, political, and governance information needed to jump start a foundation. Three in-depth workshops were also offered for established foundation leaders focusing on strategic board development, developing annual support and major gifts programs and a session on sharing successful classroom grant programs.
On Friday, following a brief welcome from CCEF President, Caroline Boitano, the morning keynote speaker, Carla Sanger, President and CEO of LA’s BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow) was introduced. Ms. Sanger described how, in Los Angeles, a partnership between the city government, school district and the private sector resulted in a vibrant and extensive after school enrichment program that includes more than 18,000 elementary school children at 104 sites.
The afternoon keynote, Brad Strong, Legislative Director for EdVoice, the grassroots, political action group for California’s public schools, provided a statewide policy update for local education foundation leaders. Before and after the two keynote speakers, there were a dozen different sessions designed to appeal to leaders of both new and established foundations. They covered a range of topics including establishing an endowment fund, working together with PTAs, communicating across cultures, creating an after-school program, and developing your board. CCEF Advisory Board member Ronald Vera, offered guidelines for LEF advocacy and lobbying activities. His remarks were taken from a forthcoming CCEF white paper “Education Foundations and Lobbying,” funded by California Casualty Group.
The 2002 Apple Award was presented to the Huntington Beach Education Foundation for its collaboration with the Huntington Beach Art Center in producing “Open Doors” and educating community members who were not connected with schools. Congratulations Huntington Beach!
Additional sponsors of 2002 conference were Mission Federal Credit Union, BAE Systems Mission Solutions, Inc., and Tchotchke’s, thank you. Plans for the fall 2003 Annual Conference in San Jose are already underway. Do you have a workshop idea or know a fantastic speaker? LEF leaders are encouraged to share their foundation’s experiences and successes at the annual conference. Please consider being a workshop presenter! Contact CCEF.
The Bahia Belle, a turn of the century Mississippi style sternwheeler was the HQ for the conference.
Lunch and keynote session in the Bahia Bell
Ron Vera talking to Craig Falkenhagen, President of the Las Lomitas Education Foundation
Caroline Boitano leading a session on fundraising
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EDUCATION FOUNDATION BRINGS COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO STUDENTS (TOP)
by Morgan Odell, DPA, CCEF Board Member
Students at La Cañada High gladly stay after school, some to explore certain occupations, others to learn more about a subject of personal interest. The student's mentors for this are all community volunteers, experts in their fields, who typically meet with 10-15 students once a week, through the semester or whole school year. Mentors, who include some of the school's teachers on their own time, seek to involve students in projects that require them to apply academic knowledge, utilize problem solving skills and work in teams.
"Institutes for the 21st Century", as the program is known, was launched 10 plus years ago by a visionary superintendent, Jim Davis, who wanted to expand the school's "four walls" by linking students with community mentors. Former La Cañada principal, James Stratton, enlisted the school's teachers and with them signed up the first mentors. Somewhat later, funding from the La Cañada-Flintridge Educational Foundation allowed the employment of a program coordinator, Emma Sanchez, who greatly expanded the program. So today, with the involvement of the Foundation, the community is providing significant support for the school, utilizing both financial and human resources.
Each semester the program offers some 15 different institutes, in career fields such as advertising, architecture, banking, design, journalism and law and in subject fields including astronomy, disaster management, meteorology and rain forest ecology. The program also provides internships. Student interns are now serving at newspapers, pet clinics, in the local offices of three state legislators, at a bank, the YMCA and a horse ranch.
Student Greg Morillo in the Banking and Finance Institute, mentored by Wells Fargo vice president Liz Vail, says he likes the "one on one relationship with the mentor, the real life financial scenarios she provides and the ability to ask questions of an expert in the field."
Intern Tricia Thompson assists disabled children in the Therapy With Horses Institute where she says, "kids love being with and riding the horses." With the Flintridge-La Cañada Trails Council, Tricia also helps maintain local trails where she "likes working with adults with various backgrounds for a common cause."
School principal Mike Leininger and current Institutes coordinator Linda Morton cite the value for students of "interacting with professionals in the community" and "gaining firsthand knowledge about a particular area of interest." Leininger says "we are fortunate to have a community willing to provide these opportunities" and Morton adds that the mentors "are extremely devoted to the enrichment of our students."
The La Cañada-Flintridge Education Foundation serves the students of the La Cañada Unified School District. The community is at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. Contact Linda Morton for more information at lmorton@lcusd.net. The foundation’s web site is at http://www.lcfef.org
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ENDOWMENT FUNDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PART ONE) (TOP)
by Michael Pinto, Ph.D. CCEF Board member
Everyone wants an endowment fund: The volunteer who is tired of the annual struggle to raise money would like nothing better than to have a pot of assets spinning off income. The professional could relax a little, knowing the annual campaign was about adding to a nest egg rather than having to build it from the ground up every year. And the community could take pride in an asset base which continued to grow year in and year out reflective of a successful and supportive group of diverse people who care about public education. This is absent market corrections, of course.
Endowment funds have a certain sizzle and panache', an excitement that goes beyond the normal fundraising campaign, a psychology all their own. An endowment fund is quite unlike the annual campaign with its events, goals, budgets, exhaustion and elation, rapid turnover of volunteers, and continuous need for reinvention and creativity. The endowment fund must be steady; conservative in its risk-management of assets, careful of change, attractive in a way that is different from the event oriented annual campaign.
In other words, establishing an endowment fund is much more than just creating another event, establishing another committee, and setting another goal. We establish educational foundations to raise money for our children's schools. Someone has an idea for a fundraiser, we recruit other parents and neighbors, organize and run an event, and hopefully make a profit. Then another idea is developed, more money raised, and an educational foundation is born.
Endowment funds, unlike the ad hoc nature of an informal association evolving into an educational foundation, require a formal structure and proven track record in order to attract the large gift or planned bequest. Endowment funds, therefore, distinguish themselves from annual event driven campaigns in many ways, some of which are as follows: They
1) provide a structure for the preservation and accumulation of capital
2) provide for the long-range planning and funding of special projects
3) are attractive to large contributors outside a capital campaign
4) provide a structure for Planned Giving gifts such as CRTs, gift annuities, lead trusts and the myriad other tax planning charitable strategies.
5) focus on large gift solicitations and orderly, long-range planning of fund development.
6) provide a basis of financial support for multi-year school projects.
Reflected in the list above is the underlying goal of conservatorship over fundraising. This is a characteristic of endowment funds that reflects not only organizational goals but also the kind of volunteer and staff professional attracted to the endeavor.
To put it simply, annual event-driven educational foundations are different from endowment funds. The former tends to be focused on events (the action and energy of the annual fundraising frenzy), the latter on long-range solicitations, fund management, and conservative accumulation of assets (the green eyeshade types). To have both organizations working side by side in support of the public schools affords a comprehensive program that can cater to a broad spectrum of contributors.
(The second part of this article will appear in next months CCEFLINK)
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THE VARIETY OF LOCAL EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS (LEFs) (TOP)
by Wayne Padover, CCEF Board of Directors and Susan Sweeney, CCEF Executive Director
California’s education foundation movement began almost twenty years ago. There are now over 400 education foundations with new ones established each month. All have three things in common:
1) They are legal nonprofit entities 501(c)(3)s
2) They support public education
3) They serve to link schools with the broader community.
However, here the similarity ends. Like the 1,000 school districts that comprise California, local education foundations differ in size, students served, resources, programs, internal structure and their relationship with the school district.
While the majority of local education foundations represent a single school district, there are vast differences among these foundations based on their location, size of student body and community, as well as the organizational purpose. Large urban education foundations like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland serve many children and encompass hundreds of schools spanning pre-kindergarten through high school. Many rural and suburban education foundations serve “small school districts” (under 2,501 enrollments) with one to four schools, a small student and community population, and a specific grade range.
In recent years, there has been real growth in the number of local education foundations established to serve a specific school. The mission of these site-based foundations differs depending on whether they are established to serve the needs of a high school or an elementary school. Like Torrey Pines High School Foundation in San Diego, a site-based foundation at the high school level is often established to coordinate already existing fund-raising activities as well as engage the broader community. At the elementary level, a site-based foundation often has many of the characteristics of a PTA but with a broader reach into the community. Still other foundations include other combinations of schools within a larger district. EdUCate, the University City Foundation for Public Schools, in San Diego serves one high school, one middle school, and their three feeder elementary schools.
To make this even more complicated, there are foundations in California, whose activities span beyond a single district. The Lewis Center for Educational Research which grew out of the Apple Valley Science and Technology Center in San Bernardino County, provides technology training to students and teachers throughout the state. Finally, there are districts such as Cupertino and San Ramon, both in Northern California, who not only have district wide foundations but also site based foundations within the district. Coordination and communication is essential to provide a richer educational experience for all children of their community.
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Wayne Padover, CCEF Board Vice President, and Joan Fauvre, Executive Director of the Pasadena Education Foundation and CCEF Board Member, presented a workshop on education foundations at the recent California School Boards Association (CSBA) Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Susan Sweeney, CCEF Executive Director, will be presenting a workshop on Starting an Education Foundation at the Small School Districts Association Annual Meeting in Sacramento, March 29, 2003.
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Local Education Foundation leaders from San Diego City Schools will hold a Networking and Sharing Brown Bag on Thursday, March 6 for local education foundations or groups considering starting a foundation to benefit San Diego City Schools. This CCEF Regional Meeting is being hosted by the Community Relations Department of the San Diego City Schools. Discussion topics will include: services that CCEF provides, fundraising, relationship of foundations to PTA's, etc. Contact the CCEF Office for details.
CCEF
PO Box 19290
Stanford, CA 94309
650.324.1653 voice
650.326.7751 fax
A big thank you to Washington Mutual, Inc.
for sponsoring this newsletter.
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