1) What is the scope of an educational foundation’s responsibility?
The scope of a foundation’s responsibility is to support the efforts of the school district, not to replace them. A foundation does not subsidize the regular school budget but rather funds special projects that are consistent with the goals and policies of the Board of Education.
2) Do other districts have a foundation?
Over 46 percent of public school districts in the United States have an education foundation. In the Greater Cincinnati area, most other “excellent” rated school districts have foundations including Mariemont, Madeira, Mason, Wyoming, Sycamore and Indian Hill.
3) How will the funds raised by the Foundation be used?
The Foundation’s funds will be used to support programs and projects that will enhance the overall excellence and mission of our schools. The funds raised will fall into three categories:
- Annual funds may be set aside for a specific purpose, such as to fund a scholarship each year or buy materials for a science lab.
- Capital projects will fund a single large project, such as investing in computer equipment.
- Endowment funds will be safely invested and grow over time. The earnings from the endowment will then be used to provide grants for a variety of programs and activities that will enhance the overall excellence of the schools.
4) What kind of projects will the Foundation support?
Projects could include scholarships, capital projects (such as laboratory or special media equipment), or grants for special programs or activities (such as facilities improvement or renovation, funding travel for school-related academic or extra-curricular activities, teacher professional development, bringing in special speakers, or funding special events).
5) How does the Foundation relate to other groups raising funds for student programs, e.g., Athletic Boosters?
The Foundation complements rather than competes with fundraising efforts of parents’ groups dedicated to supporting school-specific annual activities, e.g., band, athletics, theatre, etc.
The Foundation will stay in close contact with the other FHSD organizations so that the work of the Foundation and the other FHSD organizations will be complementary--not competitive. There will also be opportunities for the Foundation to work jointly with other FHSD organizations on specific projects.
The Foundation may also be able to help some organizations in their fundraising efforts, particularly those not set up in a way to allow contributions to them to be tax deductible. Those organizations could use the Foundation as the donee for their qualified charitable fundraising activities. All donations received by the Foundation for the benefit of an organization would be contributed to the designated organization so long as the purpose of the donation meets IRS guidelines for charitable giving. As long as IRS guidelines are satisfied, the contributions will be tax deductible.
6) If I make a donation, can I direct it to a specific group, school or project?
Yes, funds may be restricted for use by a specific group such as Band or Theater or a specific school such as Maddux, Mercer or Nagel. Additionally, funds can be designated for use on a specific project that the Foundation has announced or for which the Foundation has already begun fund raising efforts.
7) Who will decide what projects the Foundation will support?
The FHFE’S Board of Directors ultimately will decide which programs and projects will be supported.
The FHFE has a Project Planning Committee that will evaluate potential projects and make a recommendation to the full Board of Directors.
The Board and its Project Planning Committee will work closely with the School District administration to understand the District’s mission, key goals and needs on an on-going basis.
8) Can an individual request funding for a specific project and, if so, what is the process?
Yes. You may propose a specific project for funding. If a project is proposed, the Project Planning Committee will evaluate it against other pending and proposed projects and make a recommendation to the Board of the Foundation. The Board of the Foundation will decide whether the Foundation will fund the project.
Please keep in mind that, particularly in the early years of the Foundation, funding for projects is likely to be limited and the Foundation likely will receive many proposals for excellent projects that the Foundation simply cannot fund.
9) I don’t have children in the Forest Hills schools, so how do the Foundation’s efforts benefit me?
Public schools touch the lives of all of us. The children in our schools today will become our employees, our neighbors and our leaders of tomorrow. The economic vitality and quality of life in a community are directly linked to the quality of the education system.
10) How will the Foundation make sure that it allocates its support fairly between schools in the Anderson and Turpin portions of the District?
The members of the Board of the Foundation live in both the Anderson and Turpin High School portions of the District. It also has alumni of both high schools. The Board believes it is important to allocate its funding fairly among all of the schools within the District, including the elementary, middle and both high schools.
11) Has the FHFE adopted an investment policy statement?
The FHFE Board has approved a comprehensive Investment Policy Statement that will reflect the current status and philosophy of the Board, but will be dynamic in nature. These policies will be reviewed and revised as necessary to ensure they adequately reflect any changes to the FHFE, the FHSD, the Fund or the capital markets.
12) What are the investment objectives of the FHFE?
The investment objectives are: To provide for long-term growth of principal while avoiding excessive risk, achieve a return of 5% plus inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index), provide sufficient liquidity to meet the special needs of the FHSD, and earn competitive returns relative to the capital market measures.
13) Will there be any follow-up accounting/reporting to show how my donation has been used for a specific project or school?
Yes. The Foundation anticipates publishing an annual report which will provide information on how much money was raised by the Foundation, how much was used to fund projects, and how much was used for expenses.
14) What are the Foundation’s fund raising goals?
The Foundation has not yet set fund raising goals, but anticipates setting two goals, one for on-going funding needs and one for the endowment.
15) What percentage of your funds do you expect to spend on marketing/awareness/fundraising?
The Foundation expects to spend as little as possible by using volunteers and sponsors as much as possible. A good target when the Foundation is fully up and running may be no more than 10%, but the Board is still looking at the experience of other school foundations.
16) How do you plan to make people aware of the Foundation?
The Foundation plans to have a series of small meetings with school, parent and community leaders. Additionally the Foundation is supporting the development of Alumni associations to reach out to our Turpin and Anderson High School Alumni. The Foundation will sponsor several events within the next 12 to 18 months that are school and community related to begin to publicize the Foundation’s message.
17) Are my donations tax deductible?
Yes, donations are tax deductible as allowed by law. FHFE is an IRS qualified charitable organization in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
