Paige Teusink reported that the 2021/2022 school year fundraising closed at $199,261, exceeding the goal for the year by a large margin and is the highest year in since it began being tracked. She also reported that the participation rate of parents/guardians was 62%. 

The kick off to the 2022/2023 year has started out very strong due to supply donations from parents/guardians. The participation rate is already at 31%, of which 25% is related to supply donations.

Ms. Teusink shared the planning for the 2022-2023 year, some notable dates to be aware of are:

• Donor reception for donors $1,000 and up, sponsors and the chairs of the Wonderball event will be in September 
• Grandparents and Special Friends day will be November 4
• Giving Tuesday will be November 29

Wonderball is tentatively scheduled for April 22. The committee recommends beginning planning on recruitment for Wonderball chairs. Paige Teusink will put something in the Courier asking for volunteers to reach out to Barrett Krise with interest in getting involved. Ms. Krise will also follow up with the PTCA presidents to see if they have any recommendations of potential chairs. Committee members will reach out to their networks to see who may be interested in chairing the event.

Ms. Teusink also shared the responsibilities that the Fund Development committee has with regards to Wonderball (see packet).

Paige Teusink shared the Sponsorship levels for the year, which mostly reflect what has been done in prior years. The one major exception is around the benefits for Wonderball and the desire to more fully reflect the values of inclusion and DEI, by eliminating the VIP opportunities for sponsors.

Ms. Teusink and Chuck Meadows have been in conversations with Aarons around a potential sponsorship tied to Hispanic Heritage Month. They are continuing to work with Aarons to structure the gift and will have updates on that soon.

The 2022/2023 school year is the 20th "first day of school" for the Neighborhood Charter School and the committee is working closely with the administration to design a campaign to celebrate that achievement. Chuck Meadows shared some of the celebrations with the committee, including the 20th Anniversary Mural and unveiling event, a potential "farm dinner" at the Elementary Campus highlighting the farm and the nutrition team, special projects to enhance the school and facilities around the 20th year. 

The committee will work with Ms. Teusink to design a giving campaign that highlights this special milestone. 

Action Items:

• Chuck Meadows will draft some key facts and highlights about the school on this 20th anniversary to share with the committee
• Pouya Dianat, Jenna Civitello and Barrett Krise will work on updating the Gather and Grow language to reflect the milestone
• Paige Teusink will pull and share the list of donors at $1,000 and above for a special personal appeal
• Ms. Teusink will share the list of sustaining donors as well for a special personal appeal
  • Ms. Civitello recommended the committee work on developing a "script" for fundraising calls

The recommendation is that the launch take place no later than September, ideally to coincide with the mural unveiling if the timing works