School Foundation Update

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Community Philanthropy Academy

• School Foundation Update
• March 21, 2006
• Jim Collogan
• National School Foundation Association

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School Foundation Defined
Education foundations are privately operated,
nonprofit organizations established to assist
public schools and who qualify as charitable
organizations, different from school districts,
public institutions or local governments (Clay,
Hughes, Seely Thayer, 1985). A public school
foundation is designed to augment, supplement,
or complement programs and activities currently
being provided by the district (McCormick, Baver
Ferguson, 2001).
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School Funding Economics

• Most economists agree, multiple funding sources
  must be sought to maintain the financial health
  of an organization.
• Subsidy Trap by A.C. Brooks
• Resource Dependency Theory by Jeffery Pfiffer

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School Foundations US Iowa

• California 550
• Texas - 250
• Oklahoma - 145
• Iowa - 150
• Illinois - 95
• Missouri - 135
• New Jersey - 67
• Virginia - 64
• Connecticut - 58
• Michigan 78
• Indiana - 75

Estimated total public school foundations in the
US today 5,500 7,000 based on a 28 state
survey. Spring 2005 NSFA
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History of Educational Philanthropy

• Private Colleges (Drake/Grinnell) grew
  tremendously in the 60s and 70s.
• Public Universities (ISU,UI) grew tremendously
  in the 70s and 80s.
• Community Colleges (Kirkwood, NIACC) grew
  tremendously in the 90s.
• School Foundations Growing in the 2000s
• Fueled by
• Rise of K-12 donor sources. (08-21-05 NY Times)
• Generational Wealth Transfer. (Schervish
  Edelman)

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School Foundation Performance

• Foundations w/o paid staff
• KPMG study 67,000, McCormick 100,000
• Foundations with paid staff
• Average amount raised yearly 460,000/ 1.3
  staff
• PEN foundations
• Average amount raised yearly 2,300,000/ 6
  staff

Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy The Urban
Institute Lampkin and Stern
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k-12 Foundation Accomplishments

1. Develop and improve community relations.
2. Offer opportunities for service and volunteerism.
3. Raise needed resources for the school or district.

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k-12 Foundation Weaknesses

• Lack of awareness in the community
• Under staffed
• Lack of a strategic plan
• Possess a weak vision or no vision
• Under-capitalized and under-funded
• Lack data base of potential donors
• NSFA Iowa SF survey Fall 2005

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NSFAs Mission and Vision

• Mission To promote the growth and development of
  school and district foundations in Iowa and
  across the US.
• Vision To see the development of regional and
  state school foundation organizations in all
  states. Develop a national presence for the NSFA,
  strong enough to influence recognition and
  funding for SFs at a national level.

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NSFA OFFERINGS

• NSBA Affiliation (National School Boards
  Association)
• Give2Schools (online giving technology for your
  website)
• NSFIP (National School Foundation Investment
  Program)
• Solid Foundations A quarterly newsletter
• Members only section of the NSFA website
• Discussion Board
• Conference Speakers
• Professional Service Resource
• Website temp-plates
• Grant Writing Assistance
• Reduced conference costs
• State organization for school foundations
• Online training webinars

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NSFA National Conference! Held in conjunction
with the National School Boards Association

• April 6 and 7, 2006, at Lakeside Center
  McCormick Place in Chicago. The first national
  gathering of K-12 school foundation directors,
  board members, researchers, school
  administrators, consultants, and resources.

Paul G. Schervish, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology,
Boston College Director, Center on Wealth and
Philanthropy
Leslie Koch Chief Executive Officer New York
Citys Fund for Public Schools
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Midwest Conference, Des Moines, Iowa

• September 29, 2005
• West Des Moines Marriott

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Iowa Foundation Accomplishments

• Student Scholarships Estimated 25 - 30 M
  endowed, one Iowa school with close to 13 M.
• Teacher mini-grants Thousands of dollars
  collected and awarded yearly.
• Fine arts and technology funding
• Athletic facilities. Several 1M programs.

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NSFAs Work with Iowas Schools

• Midwest Conference Des Moines
• Phone and e-mail resource
• On-line archive of guidelines and ideas
• AEA Superintendent Training
• On-site consulting and training
• Partnership with CVC Iowa
• IASB workshop
• On-line webinars