As you’ve seen and heard by now, this week kicks off our final push towards this year’s goal for the ANCS “Gather and Grow Fund”, looking to raise $20,000 in the month of May to keep us on track for our annual goal of $125,000. A letter I sent home to all families goes into more details about this week (and you can find that letter here), so I wanted to use my blog post this week to address two questions related to our fundraising efforts: Why do we fundraise? and How can families participate in our fundraising efforts?
Why do we fundraise? Simply put, state and local funding isn’t enough to cover the costs of running ANCS and offering the educational program we want for our students. This is in part because we haven’t historically had access to special state revenues for capital facilities improvements and because there’s a gap in how funding flows to charter schools as compared to school districts. To maintain the historic buildings at our campuses, to keep a low student-teacher ratio so students are known well to be supported in their learning, to create a farm-to-school program that teaches students about where their food comes from and offers healthy, delicious meals–all of this and more necessitates raising additional dollars each year, an average of roughly $400 per student. While we have been fortunate to receive some grants to make up this difference, we rely on our annual campaign and auction to help offset these costs as well. In fact, our board consistently includes fundraising revenue in our annual operating budget, evidence of our need for these funds.
How can families participate in our fundraising efforts? Although we have a specific monetary goal for our fundraising campaign, even more important than that is our goal of 100% participation in the campaign from our school community. Having everyone involved shows our collective commitment to our school and is also impressive to those from whom we seek grant funds. But participation can look different from household to household. Perhaps you can make a $400 per student contribution to the campaign, but really we encourage you to make a donation of any amount that meaningful for you and right for your circumstances. You can also get your extended family to give on your behalf or your business to make a matching donation. Volunteering for one of our campaign activities is also tremendously valuable.
I hope you will consider making a donation to our Gather and Grow Fund this week to have an impact on the educational experience of our students. If you have any questions about the campaign, feel free to contact our fund development coordinator, Stephanie Galer, at sgaler@atlncs.org. And thank you for your support!