Foundations support for schools growing

Public education facilities helped by nonprofit groups

Nonprofit foundations supporting local public schools are increasingly paying for student scholarships and alternative learning programs in the four largest cities in Benton and Washington counties, foundation officials say.

The Fayetteville Public Education Foundation formed in 1992, said Jack Butt, founder and donor of the group. Since then, the foundation has blazed the path for more financial help for schools, he said.

Upcoming events

• The Fayetteville Public Education Foundation will have its 15th Annual Celebration of Excellence at 6:30 p.m. April 27 at the Arkansas Air and Military Museum at Drake Field in Fayetteville. More than 300 educators, donors and guests will celebrate grant awards and scholarship recipients.

• The Rogers Public Education Foundation will pay tribute to a former student, principal and two teachers during the annual Wall of Distinction Banquet fundraiser April 9 at the Embassy Suites.

• The Bentonville Public Schools Foundation will have its annual Gold Rush 5-K run and fun run at 6 p.m. May 1. Online registration ends April 27. For more information, visit goldrush5k.com.

Source: Staff Report

Donating

Check out foundations’ websites and learn how to donate to local education.

• Bentonville Public Schools Foundation — bentonvilleschoolfo…

• Fayetteville Public Education Foundation — fayedfoundation.org

• Rogers Public Education Foundation — http://rogersschool…

• Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation — http://spsef.org

Source: Staff report

"We're the first one to have (a foundation) in Northwest Arkansas, now they have sprung up all over the place," said Alan Wilbourn, Fayetteville schools spokesman.

Springdale started its organization four years ago, said Chris Stecklein, executive director and founder of the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation. The school district has found the foundation instrumental, Jim Rollins, Springdale superintendent wrote in an email.

"The Springdale Education Foundation, through its activities and focus on community leaders, have helped keep alive the spirit of quality education in Springdale," Rollins wrote. "Their efforts, support and constant encouragement have helped all of us who serve in the Springdale School District on a daily basis keep our focus on what really matters and that is the learning of our students and their academic achievement."

Nationally, more and more business owners and residents want foundations to support and strengthen public education, said Nina M. Menis, executive director of the National School Foundation Association.

"I think there is really a strong interest in prekindergarten through 12th-grade education," Menis said. "There is more need for young people today to graduate from high school. A lot of folks are looking for how to support that."

The Arkansas Department of Education doesn't track nonprofit foundations tied to public school districts because foundations are not state entities, said Gayle Morris, department spokeswoman. Foundations are growing in rural, suburban and urban areas, Menis said.

People want to be active and involved in their schools, Menis said. They want to make a difference, she said.

More and more, donors want to give money to local educational institutions to build a better economy and way of life in Northwest Arkansas, foundation directors said. Foundations draw community members together and make them stronger, Menis said. It's good for the community and the school to support the local foundation, she said.

In Northwest Arkansas, investing in children is the smartest thing to do, directors said.

"There is no better investment than you putting your support behind kids," Stecklein said. "These are the kids who are going to be the leaders of our community."

Innovative projects

The Fayetteville foundation, like all Northwest Arkansas foundations linked to school districts, means to improve public school education via grants teachers apply for, said Cambre Horne-Brooks, executive director of the Fayetteville foundation. If a teacher can think of it, the foundation might fund it, she and others said.

"We are looking for something new and innovative," said Mike Mumma, board president of Bentonville's Foundation. "Something that teachers come up with that will help students learn in a different way."

Some foundations, including Springdale and Fayetteville, also give students access to scholarships, directors said. The Bentonville foundation funds scholarships, recognition for teachers and students, teacher grants and classroom technology, Mumma said.

Foundation money fills in the gap between what public schools can afford and alternative, creative programs and technology, school officials said. The money is supposed to be icing on the cake, Wilbourn said. The Fayetteville foundation's grants are on top of the schools roughly $120 million budget, he said.

"Our goal is to fund innovative projects," she said. "We would support a project that you wouldn't normally find in a public school system."

In a poverty stricken state like Arkansas, foundations that support public schools makes a difference, but does not fund operational costs, Butt said. By paying for programs and scholarships, Fayetteville's foundation makes a huge impact on student learning, Horne-Brooks said.

The Fayetteville foundation has a $3.5 million endowment that supports 35 to 40 projects annually, Horne-Brooks said. It awarded $184,000 in teacher grants and $16,000 in scholarships for seniors this year. About $463,000 was distributed to Fayetteville schools through the foundation this school year, according to a foundation brochure.

"There is not any part of education that isn't eligible to be funded by the foundation," Butt said.

Every student who graduates Fayetteville has been touched by about eight grants, Butt said. Students may see new books, chemistry material, math manipulatives, software, field trips -- anything that makes education more engaging and efficient.

A $6,000 grant this year bought 25 computerized sewing machines, five serger machines and supplies for new drama classes at the Fayetteville High School next school year, said Warren Rosenaur, drama teacher. The courses will be in costume design, makeup and technical theater. The department also will be able to add a full-time teacher, he said.

"(The grant) is going to make a huge difference," Rosenaur said.

The grant will help get students "hooked" on drama, which teaches everything from writing to mathematics, Rosenaur said.

The foundation's grants also have paid for tablets for a digital learning hub, teleconferencing equipment for a communications course and a terrarium to let students to experience a hands-on ecosystem with a bearded lizard, Horne-Brooks said. Grants have paid for outdoor gardens, eBooks, robotics equipment and new band music.

In Bentonville, the foundation supports the school district's technology campaign with $100,000 a year -- enough to buy technology for five classrooms, Mumma said. At the same time, families can offer scholarships to students, and the foundation has given teachers grants for items, including a 3-D printer, a Holocaust survivor speaker and peer tutoring, he said.

The Rogers foundation has paid for a technology center at Rogers Heritage High School and a mentoring program, Jackson said.

Since 2012, 75 Springdale graduates have been awarded more than $90,000 in foundation scholarships, according to the group's website. A Springdale foundation grant last year paid for a swing so disabled students can swing like other students at the playground, Stecklein said.

"That makes a difference in a kid's life," he said. "We are putting a project out there that otherwise would not happen."

The donors

About 75 people dressed in high heels or suits and ties gathered inside the newly built lobby at Fayetteville High School on a recent rainy afternoon to see the unveiling of a monument recognizing foundation donors. The Fayetteville foundation has successfully increased opportunities for schoolchildren because residents have embraced the idea of donating, Butt said.

"Without these contributors -- names on this wall -- we'd have no purpose, and we would not be able to award these grants," said Nancy Bittle, foundation board president.

Names etched onto opaque panels mounted to the wall include Frank Broyles, Janet Ousterhout and Jane and Dave Gearhart. About 115 names are engraved on the thick panels. People posed in front of the wall while friends snapped photos with iPhones.

Thousands of people will walk by and see these names daily, Bittle said.

"I think it's amazing to see the dedication of alumni and parents and concerned individuals who want to invest in education," Horne-Brooks said.

Teachers also are getting more excited and applying more and more for grants, Jackson said. In Rogers, 269 teachers applied for grants this year, up from 168 the year before, she said.

Fayetteville teachers submit about 100 applications yearly, Butt said.

Jackson said she hopes to fundraise more and pay for more grants.

Nationally, more people are already donating. Charitable donations toward education have swung upward since the economy began improving, according to the Giving USA 2014: The Annual Report on Philanthropy report.

The report is the seminal publication on sources and uses of U.S. charitable giving and is a collaborative effort of Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of The Giving Institute, and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, according to the report's website.

Education giving grew 37 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars 2009 to 2013, according to the report. Overall giving grew by 12 percent over the same time period.

The Rogers foundation gave $40,000 in grants to teachers in 2013. Last year, the foundation awarded $120,000, Jackson said. The foundation only awards grants.

The Springdale foundation, which heavily focuses on scholarships, was able to go from awarding $20,000 four years ago to an anticipated $50,000 next school year, Stecklein said. Thanks to Fayetteville donors, the foundation was able to give $463,000 to the school district in the past year, Horne-Brooks said.

After the ceremony recognizing donors, Ted Wade stood with his wife, Kathy, and 12-year-old son, Tanner, in front of the monument. The Wades started donating to the Fayetteville foundation when their son started school, they said. They wanted to see innovative courses, programs and tools in the schools to help students learn.

"Education is important," Ted Wade said. "It benefits all the kids -- not just ours."

NW News on 03/30/2015

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