Jan. 22—SCHERTZ — Strengthening the impact and success of public schools for our students and educators was the focus for attendees at the Board2Board Workshop held January 16 at the William Malish Administrative Building, hosted by the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District and SCUC ISD Education Foundation.
Local education foundations are independent non-profit charitable organizations governed by a volunteer board of directors. The sole purpose of education foundations is to benefit local public-school districts. Multiple education foundations and related organizations were represented at Board2Board, including Celeste Potter, Executive Director of the Education Foundation of Odessa.
According to Shawn Callaway, President of Foundation Innovation LLC, and a Board2Board presenter, “K12 Education Foundations have taken great strides as fundraising organizations, building on best practices from university and college development. Board2Board gives K12 education foundations an opportunity to learn from each other and keep current on philanthropic issues.” Local education foundations focus on enhancing community support and expanding resources to enrich teaching, inspire learning, and maximize opportunities for students and educators.
Education foundations provide a vehicle for donors to contribute a tax-deductible donation to benefit their local public-school districts. Education foundations also create an opportunity for community engagement and awareness that can help support and enhance the image of a school district and highlight its accomplishments.
Celeste Potter, Executive Director of Education Foundation of Odessa said, “Attendance at these workshops is invaluable as it gives myself and other foundation leaders an opportunity to learn from one another. We often share many of the same challenges and opportunities and I always walk away feeling confident and refreshed.”
This year’s workshops are a direct charitable activity of the Texas Education Foundation Network (TEFN), a program of the Texas Pioneer Foundation, created to support local education foundations in Texas by providing networking opportunities, sharing of best practices and providing training & resources needed for foundations to be successful. Board2Board is facilitated by Foundation Innovation, a full-service consulting firm dedicated to guiding education foundations and school districts to success.
The Education Foundation of Odessa is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit, tax-exempt, philanthropic organization of citizens who share a vision of enhancing education in ECISD.
The Education Foundation of Odessa provides a new and innovative source of funding to support the school district’s educational plan. The Foundation does not attempt to replace lost state funding, nor does it attempt to take the place of the district’s operating budget. When considering the level of funding required to educate students, the Foundation can expect only to provide funds for those projects and activities that go beyond the normal classroom experience. Such initiatives provide enrichment, research opportunities, teacher training, intervention and prevention strategies and extend the educational effort. Funding for the Grants Program and other Education Foundation supported projects stems from community support through donations.
The mission of the Education Foundation is to create opportunities for education in Ector County ISD. Their vision is that every student in ECISD will be school-ready, college-ready, work-ready…WORLD-READY!