Foundations aid cash-poor schools
February 28, 2005

Nonprofit groups now help to pay for books, class supplies and construction, too

By Michael Dabney

Fund raising in schools is moving beyond bake sales and car washes.

A crisis in public funding, both in Indiana and across the nation, has left parents and school administrators looking to the private fund-raising power of a growing number of nonprofit education foundations to fill the gaps.

And while such foundations once bankrolled student scholarships, field trips and new band uniforms, they now foot the bills for books and supplies inside classrooms, some after-school activities and even some construction projects.

"There is more interest now than I have ever seen in education foundations," said Christie Love, president of the Indiana Association of Public Education Foundations, which has about 46 members.

"We do things the school district can't afford to do," said Kimberly Maxwell, president of the Martinsville Education Foundation, which held its annual phone-a-thon Sunday evening.

Martinsville Schools Superintendent Ron Furniss added, "It's a little bit of icing on the cake."

In other districts, however, foundation help is more than just icing.

"We are seeing things that used to be covered by the school budget, but the dollars just aren't there," said Elaine Raszkowski, executive director of the Pike Township Educational Foundation, which had its annual fund-raising dinner and auction Saturday night.

Pike's foundation raises about $100,000 a year, Raszkowski said.

In 2003, the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation raised more than $300,000, mostly from corporate donors, to fund everything from dictionaries and other books for elementary school students to computer software, Executive Director Karen Showalter said.

"There is enough money in the budget for pay for the adopted textbooks. But it takes more books than that to help children learn to read," Showalter said.

The Plainfield High School Legacy Foundation announced one of Central Indiana's most ambitious goals last week.

The newly organized foundation set a goal of $2 million, with initial plans to erect a bell tower and plaza on the site of the district's planned $102 million high school, which will open in January 2008.

The aim of the foundation is to help the district with "things (that are) beyond the normal budgetary process," Chairman Jim Humphrey said. And it will start by reaching out to a donor base that includes more than 6,000 Plainfield graduates in the Indianapolis area and to local businesses.

"We hope to have the money raised by the middle of 2006," Humphrey said.

The foundation also is considering covering the cost of installing artificial turf -- instead of a grass surface -- at the new football field, which could run as much as $600,000.

The turf, if approved, probably won't have to be paid for by taxpayers, said Bill Cox, a foundation member.

Indiana is not the only state in a funding drought, said Denise Cardinal, a spokeswoman for the National Education Association.

"What's happening is school districts are having a hard time coming up with extra money," she said.

There are about 5,000 school foundations in America, which corresponds to about one in every three districts, said Howie Schaffer, media outreach manager of the Public Education Network, which represents about 90 foundations in low-income districts.

Ten years ago, there were half as many, he said.

"We are seeing a groundswell of local groups, and all of these people are scrambling to meet the resource gap," Schaffer said.

Carmel Clay's education foundation just added another $20,000 to its coffers, said executive director Bruce Reynolds, thanks to a phone-a-thon held at the high school Thursday night. Approximately 100 students made calls to homeowners throughout Clay Township and Carmel asking for help.

In all, the foundation will award about $90,000 in scholarships to high school students headed to college and another $35,000 to classroom teachers for special projects.

"What we're providing in a lot of cases are the extras," Reynolds said. "The things that are over and above. Basically, we take money in and give money out."

Star reporter Lisa Renze-Rhodes contributed to this report.

Call Star reporter Michael Dabney at (317) 444-2814.