Newsletter - Volume 1, No. 1
John Schulz Memorial Endowment
Your Foundation Board established the Endowment in 2008. The Endowment is a long range project which will eventually provide a permanent source of funding to supplement classroom needs. The Endowment was started with an initial transfer of $2,000 from the BJHSF General Fund. Our plan is to add up to 20% of total yearly donations to the Endowment, plus any donations that are specifically directed by donors to the Endowment. In January, we added $1,576 from 2008 donations to bring the Endowment up to over $3,600. We are always looking for donations -- large or small -- to add to this important fund.
Was Schulz a great teacher? Don't look at him. Look at the kids.
Friends of Bidwell Donate Record Amount in 2008
The Foundation’s major fund raising last year was in conjunction with the “Annie B’s Annual Fund Drive”. This fund drive is sponsored by the North Valley Community Foundation, which is our parent organization.
NVCF maintains our accounts and provides the non-profit tax ID number required by the IRS. During the two months from August 15 to October 15, any donations we received were matched on a percentage basis by NVCF. This year, our 2008 Annie B Donations were augmented by 11% from NVCF.
Your Board is in awe of the generosity of our FOB donors. We can do nothing for the kids at Bidwell without our donors.
Our 2008 donations including Annie B donations and other donations which were received after October 15, totaled just under $6,000. We have already spent some of these funds in the classroom and we have transferred $1,576 to the Endowment and $284 to Board Operations. We expect to expend most of the remainder for classroom grants during 2009.
FOBs Pitch in for America
The economic crisis and President Obama’s call to action have put BJHSF efforts into greater focus. The President has asked us all to do something for our country by volunteering time, effort, funds or whatever we can do to help America grow stronger. One obvious aspect of society that needs support is education. We know that education can not succeed solely by placing thirty five kids and one teacher in a room and expect perfect results.
Schools and students need support from parents, businesses, community organizations, and individual community members. Support also comes in the form of tax money to build, maintain, and staff schools. An essential element of this financial support is to provide classrooms with essential supplies, materials, and equipment with which to carry out the educational programs mandated by the State.
This particular kind of support can be called the “classroom budget”. When District budgets shrink and they have to “cut back”, one of the first things to be reduced is the “classroom budget”. The District doesn’t have to fire anyone and these kinds of cuts don’t get any media coverage. Also, many teachers try to make up for these deficiencies out of their own pockets. Your Foundation has been able to fulfill many of these needs, from basic items like supplying paper school wide, to books, software, hardware, Bunsen Burners for science lab, and many others.
BJHSF efforts may seem insignificant when compared to the Big Picture of our nation’s problems and the solutions sought, but in reality, the Foundation and especially its Donors are doing just exactly what the President has asked all Americans to do. We are lending a hand to help others receive the education to which every American has a right. If you ask current Bidwell folks, they will tell you that your efforts have definitely not been insignificant.