
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
- Create a consistent and compelling fundraising message
that is delivered through diverse strategies to a community-wide
audience.
- Promote a culture of giving that provides annual, sustained
support from all District residents.
- Increase volunteer participation and better utilize
our volunteers’ strengths.
- 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
- Include consistent Foundation communications in each
school’s monthly newsletter
- Update Foundation’s website regularly to included
information on past accomplishments, funding goals and
future priorities
- Develop and leverage relationships with local community
media to promote fundraising goals of Foundation and
need for community-wide support
- Develop compelling story angles to pitch to the media
- Provide timely and personalized acknowledgement of
all gifts
- Train all volunteers to speak effectively about the
Foundation
- Capture names of event attendees, donors and silent
auction purchasers
Short Term (1 ½ years)
- Build Communications committee to include sub-groups
for Message Development, Media; Electronic Communications,
Print Materials and Stewardship
- Develop a volunteer task force of communications professionals
to develop fundraising message and create a general
marketing plan
- Develop effective and compelling case for support
based on need and funding impact
- Create Annual Report as the Foundation’s primary
printed marketing piece
- Include fundraising message and call to action in
the Districts mailer, “District Reports”
- Increase traffic to the Foundation’s website
- Develop Foundation talking points for every Foundation
volunteer to learn
- Develop donor acknowledgement policies and procedures
Mid Term (1 ½ to 2 ½ years)
- Develop email distribution list and distribute twice
annual electronic newsletter
Long Term (2 ½ to 4 years)
- Develop specific marketing and fundraising message
and plan to target District residents who do not currently
have children enrolled in CFSD public school
- 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
- Create Annual Fund Campaign and Special Event Plans
to include budget, volunteer needs, timeline, specific
strategies and annual goal
- Build Annual Fund Campaign committee with specific
position responsibilities (i.e. School Liaison for each
school to communicate with FFO)
- Announce Campaign goal and fundraising priorities
each fall
- Provide ongoing updates regarding progress towards
goals and funding priorities achieved
- Include Foundation information and gift envelope in
the “District Report” mailings
- Include information about the Foundation in Alumni
newsletter or other communications.
Short Term (1 ½ years)
- 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)
- Include at least one family friendly, low-cost event
with the purpose of involving many families
- 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
- 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
- Conduct personal solicitation of gifts from Leadership
Circle donors and prospects
- Send twice annual mail solicitations to all families
with children in District schools
- Develop prospect lists of major donors, local businesses
and non-parent District residents to personally solicit
- 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.
- Work with Alumni Organization to coordinate an annual
event to benefit the Foundation and keep alumni connected
to the Foundation
- Recruit CFSD Alumni to the Foundation Board
Mid Term (1 ½ to 2 ½ years)
- Send twice annual mail solicitations to District parents,
segmented by current, lapsed and non-donors
- Send direct mail solicitation to all households in
District area, including non-parents
- Create a committee to work on business partnerships
and solicitations
- Develop a comprehensive sponsorship benefits package
for events and coordinate sponsorship solicitation
- Identify other opportunities for business sponsorship
and recognition (i.e. annual achievement awards, annual
report, email newsletters)
- Create specific materials (i.e. brochure, website
content) to talk about purpose of the Endowment.
Long Term (2 ½ to 4 years)
- Create a task force of current non-parent donors to
better understand motivations of this group for giving
and develop effective strategies for solicitation.
- 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
- Identify the number, types and expertise of volunteers
needed for each specific area of responsibility
- Provide an annual volunteer orientation and ongoing
volunteer training
- Create job descriptions for every volunteer position
- Promote the need for specific volunteer jobs in school
newsletters and other communications strategies
- Conduct exit interviews with outgoing board members
and other volunteers to get feedback about improving
the volunteer experience
- Identify and recruit Board prospects with leadership
potential
Short Term
(1 ½ years)
- Update volunteer training handbook
- Create job descriptions with clearly defined expectations
for every volunteer position
- Assign new board members a mentor
- Launch focused volunteer recruitment campaign
- Implement President-Elect and Past-President positions
on the Board to help with succession planning
- Establish a process for identifying, grooming, nominating
and electing Board leadership
Mid Term
(1 ½ to 2 ½ years)
- 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
- Highlight how the funding decision process works during
the District’s budget presentations
- 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)
- Gather information from other public
school Foundations in similar communities to determine
best practices for funding process
- Develop materials to communicate
and inform how the Foundation decides what to fund
Organizational Structure

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