CFSD Foundation Strategic Plan 2007-2011

Mission Statement
The CFSD Foundation raises funds to develop our community’s investment in CFSD public schools in order to provide our students the best possible educational opportunities.

Vision Statement
Our vision is that CFSD schools will have the resources it needs through both public and private funding to provide world-class educational opportunities to our students. We seek the involvement of all District families, residents and businesses in giving of their time, talent and financial support to make this vision a reality.

Guiding Principles

  • The entire community benefits from public education
  • Our tax dollars alone provide insufficient funding for a great public school district
  • Supporting a great public school district requires participation from the entire community
  • A great public school education isn’t free

Core Values

Community - We seek to strengthen our community as a whole by ensuring that our children receive an excellent education. We support each other in our efforts to raise money for the Foundation.
Integrity - We act ethically and responsibly as good stewards of the gifts that have been entrusted in us. We are committed to openly sharing information about our decision making and holding ourselves and others accountable for doing what is in the best interest of all our children.
Success - We strive for success in everything we do, working to better ourselves, our children and the Catalina Foothills School District.

Goals

  1. Create a consistent and compelling fundraising message that is delivered through diverse strategies to a community-wide audience.
  2. Promote a culture of giving that provides annual, sustained support from all District residents.
  3. Increase volunteer participation and better utilize our volunteers’ strengths.
  4. Develop a process by which all stakeholders communicate to establish District-wide funding priorities that have a clear, lasting educational value for as many students as possible.

Background
In December of 2006, the CFSD Foundation embarked on a comprehensive planning process to develop a new five year strategic plan that would build upon the Strategic Plan created for 2000 - 2005. The Foundation sought input and feedback from parents, teachers, students, school and district administrators, school board members, FFO leadership and other community leaders through electronic surveys, a series of focus groups and individual interviews. The Foundation Board of Directors carefully considered this feedback, as well as information gathered from other successful public school foundations, to chart a course for the future of the CFSD Foundation.
This resulting document, our Strategic Plan for 2007 – 2011, describes how we perceive our mission and vision for the Foundation, and explains our goals and how we intend to accomplish them. These goals will hold us accountable as we meet the challenge to provide increasing financial support to the Catalina Foothills School District in the years to come.

Our History
The Catalina Foothills School District Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1983 to provide funding support to the Catalina Foothills School District #16. The establishment of the Foundation pre-dated all the school FFO’s (Friends & Family Organizations), and the existence of the High School. Until 1998, the Foundation funded teacher-initiated projects in classrooms, such as library books, math materials, telescopes, drama and fine arts equipment and much more. From 1998 to date, the FFO’s have concentrated on school-based needs and the Foundation has supported projects that have District-wide impact such as additional teaching positions to reduce class size and provide additional course offerings.

Focus Area: Communication

Goal
Create a consistent and compelling fundraising message that is delivered through diverse strategies to a community-wide audience.

Background
During the strategic planning process, the Foundation received considerable feedback that parents, donors and community leaders desire more information about the Foundation, what it has funded in the past and what it intends to accomplish in the future. The Foundation will spend more time “telling its story” and communicating the value and impact of the Foundation on the District and the educational opportunities afforded to its students.

Objectives

  • Increase awareness of the Foundation, its mission and funding goals
  • Increase commitment and participation in the Foundation as evidenced by the number of new and repeat donors annually

Strategies
Ongoing

  1. Include consistent Foundation communications in each school’s monthly newsletter
  2. Update Foundation’s website regularly to included information on past accomplishments, funding goals and future priorities
  3. Develop and leverage relationships with local community media to promote fundraising goals of Foundation and need for community-wide support
  4. Develop compelling story angles to pitch to the media
  5. Provide timely and personalized acknowledgement of all gifts
  6. Train all volunteers to speak effectively about the Foundation
  7. Capture names of event attendees, donors and silent auction purchasers

Short Term (1 ½ years)

  1. Build Communications committee to include sub-groups for Message Development, Media; Electronic Communications, Print Materials and Stewardship
  2. Develop a volunteer task force of communications professionals to develop fundraising message and create a general marketing plan
  3. Develop effective and compelling case for support based on need and funding impact
  4. Create Annual Report as the Foundation’s primary printed marketing piece
  5. Include fundraising message and call to action in the Districts mailer, “District Reports”
  6. Increase traffic to the Foundation’s website
  7. Develop Foundation talking points for every Foundation volunteer to learn
  8. Develop donor acknowledgement policies and procedures

Mid Term (1 ½ to 2 ½ years)

  1. Develop email distribution list and distribute twice annual electronic newsletter

Long Term (2 ½ to 4 years)

  1. Develop specific marketing and fundraising message and plan to target District residents who do not currently have children enrolled in CFSD public school
  2. Develop and leverage relationships with the local community media to promote fundraising goals of Foundation and need for community support
Focus Area: Fundraising

Goal
We will promote a culture of giving that provides increased annual, sustained support from all District residents.

Background
In recent years, the Foundation has contributed between $300,000 and $350,000 to the District, approximately 1.3% of the District’s annual operating budget. In order to reach its full potential, the CFSD Foundation has benchmarked itself with other public school foundations in communities with similar demographics who are currently raising $1M+ annually. The Foundation will integrate best practices from other successful public school foundations into its future fundraising strategies.

Objectives

  • Significantly increase the total funds raised through greater emphasis on the Annual Fund Campaign and increased participation from District Families, CFSD Alumni, non-parents and the business community
  • Better utilize special events as “friend-raisers”, as well as fundraisers, by increasing attendance annually and focusing event activities around sharing the Foundation’s message.
  • Grow the Foundation’s Endowment.

Strategies
Ongoing/Annually

  1. Create Annual Fund Campaign and Special Event Plans to include budget, volunteer needs, timeline, specific strategies and annual goal
  2. Build Annual Fund Campaign committee with specific position responsibilities (i.e. School Liaison for each school to communicate with FFO)
  3. Announce Campaign goal and fundraising priorities each fall
  4. Provide ongoing updates regarding progress towards goals and funding priorities achieved
  5. Include Foundation information and gift envelope in the “District Report” mailings
  6. Include information about the Foundation in Alumni newsletter or other communications.

Short Term (1 ½ years)

  1. Reduce the number of special events organized by the Foundation annually to focus on producing two major events annually (The Great Kick Off and Love Our Schools Gala)
  2. Include at least one family friendly, low-cost event with the purpose of involving many families
  3. Develop strategies at each event to promote the successes of the District, share the Foundation’s message and get people more engaged in the Foundation’s work
  4. Develop fundraising goals for each school (both total funds raised, and number or percentage of participating families. Create “friendly competition” to increase the number of families who participate
  5. Conduct personal solicitation of gifts from Leadership Circle donors and prospects
  6. Send twice annual mail solicitations to all families with children in District schools
  7. Develop prospect lists of major donors, local businesses and non-parent District residents to personally solicit
  8. Create a Board policy to designate a specific percentage of ALL contributions to the Endowment. Provide an option to “opt out” or give more to endowment.
  9. Work with Alumni Organization to coordinate an annual event to benefit the Foundation and keep alumni connected to the Foundation
  10. Recruit CFSD Alumni to the Foundation Board

Mid Term (1 ½ to 2 ½ years)

  1. Send twice annual mail solicitations to District parents, segmented by current, lapsed and non-donors
  2. Send direct mail solicitation to all households in District area, including non-parents
  3. Create a committee to work on business partnerships and solicitations
  4. Develop a comprehensive sponsorship benefits package for events and coordinate sponsorship solicitation
  5. Identify other opportunities for business sponsorship and recognition (i.e. annual achievement awards, annual report, email newsletters)
  6. Create specific materials (i.e. brochure, website content) to talk about purpose of the Endowment.

Long Term (2 ½ to 4 years)

  1. Create a task force of current non-parent donors to better understand motivations of this group for giving and develop effective strategies for solicitation.
  2. Establish a “legacy society” to promote and recognize planned giving to the Foundation

Focus Area: Volunteers

Goal
We will increase volunteer participation and better utilize our volunteers’ strengths.

Background
Volunteers are the backbone of the CFSD Foundation. As a nearly all-volunteer run organization, the time and talents of many volunteers are needed to perform a wide range of duties ranging from Board of Director participation, event planning, Campaign organization and solicitation, and other one-time or time-limited projects. Volunteers will be sought to fill specific responsibilities based on their skills and qualifications, as well as their interests.

Objectives

  • We will increase the number of volunteers involved in Foundation work
  • Volunteers will have an increased understanding of their roles and responsibilities
  • Volunteers will enjoy their work with and for the Foundation
  • We will have experienced, knowledgeable volunteers prepared to assume Foundation leadership positions.

Strategies
Ongoing/Annually

  1. Identify the number, types and expertise of volunteers needed for each specific area of responsibility
  2. Provide an annual volunteer orientation and ongoing volunteer training
  3. Create job descriptions for every volunteer position
  4. Promote the need for specific volunteer jobs in school newsletters and other communications strategies
  5. Conduct exit interviews with outgoing board members and other volunteers to get feedback about improving the volunteer experience
  6. Identify and recruit Board prospects with leadership potential

Short Term
(1 ½ years)

    1. Update volunteer training handbook
    2. Create job descriptions with clearly defined expectations for every volunteer position
    3. Assign new board members a mentor
    4. Launch focused volunteer recruitment campaign
    5. Implement President-Elect and Past-President positions on the Board to help with succession planning
    6. Establish a process for identifying, grooming, nominating and electing Board leadership

Mid Term
(1 ½ to 2 ½ years)

  1. Host an annual event for volunteer recognition

Focus Area: Grantmaking

Goal
We will develop a process by which all stakeholders communicate to establish District-wide funding priorities that have a clear, lasting educational value for as many students as possible.

Background
Feedback during the strategic planning process revealed that many people don’t understand how the Foundation determines its funding priorities, or are distrustful of that process. The Foundation seeks to work in close partnership with the School District to identify specific funding priorities that will have a broad appeal to donors, while maintaining its autonomy from the District.

Objectives

  • Increase support for funding priorities through greater education and understanding.

Strategies
Ongoing

  1. Highlight how the funding decision process works during the District’s budget presentations
  2. Train Foundation volunteers to speak about and answer questions regarding how and why the Foundation determines its funding goals and priorities

Short Term
(1 ½ years)

    1. Gather information from other public school Foundations in similar communities to determine best practices for funding process
    2. Develop materials to communicate and inform how the Foundation decides what to fund

Organizational Structure