Opening Items

Development Committee

OBJECTIVE 1: Raise $275K
KR 1.1: Follow up on outstanding grant applications (5/31/18)
KR 1.2: Find and apply for new grants (3/15/19) - Will discuss status today
KR 1.3: Steward existing donors (5/31/18)
KR 1.4: Cultivate new donors (Ongoing) - Will discuss today
KR 1.5: Develop our marketing & social media capacity (Ongoing) - Will discuss today
KR 1.6: Recruit 80 students for our founding class (7/1/19) - Will discuss today

OBJECTIVE 2: Raise the funds needed to build the permanent Living Campus
KR 2.1: Plan and execute a capital campaign (1/31/20) - Will discuss in FY 2019-20

We propose renaming the committee the Development & Recruitment Committee, as student recruitment is the #1 driver of our revenue.  The committee could focus on student recruitment from January - June and on development June - January.

We are awaiting Round 1 enrollment numbers from the district's OneApp team any day now.  We anticipate enrolling roughly 60 students in round 1.  Round 2 will begin at the end of April and go through the end of May.  Round 3 is a week in July.

What can this committee do to support enrollment over the next 3 months?  Below are some current opportunities to support.  We can also generate new ones:
- We are hosting a Student Social & Enrollment night on Fri 5/10 to do enrollment paperwork with families that we match with and welcome their students into the space.
- We are hosting a Project & Service Day on Sat 5/11 to undertake a variety of projects in the space including the building of our mobile classroom, the cleaning of Levy Drive (behind the school), and the clearing of access to the lake behind the school.
- We are hosting the first meetings of the Student & Family Councils on the evening of Fri 5/24. 

Refer to our Grant Tracker.

Approved:
- New Schools for New Orleans Instructional Quality Initiative Grant for $12K (requested $22K)

Denied:
- Selley
- Keller
- Baptist Community Ministries

Pending:
- YouthForce NOLA ($50K)
- Louisiana Department of Education Charter School Program Grant ($240K - $165K FY 19, $75K FY20)
- New Schools Venture Fund ($160K)

Our goal for FY19 was to raise $275K.

We raised:
- $116,500 in grants
- $102,866 in donations

TOTAL:
- $219,366

What went well?
What should we focus on improving for next FY?

Our full budget for FY20 expects:

- $150 in cash-on-hand carried over from FY19 (largely from remainders of the $165K CSP grant and $160K NSVF grant)

- $25K in private contributions
- $75K in grants (part 2 of the CSP grant)
TOTAL $100K in FY20 development

Given our current enrollment projections, we may only reach 75% of enrollment (hence 75% of revenue) leaving us with a potential $200k deficit.

Finally, we are now anticipating the build-out of a symphonic band program and the need for additional renovation/facilities funds, for roughly another $50K at least.

Hence, we suggest setting a target for FY20 development at $350K.

We are asking all Board committees including ourselves take 10 minutes to review the Potential Connections tab on our Grant Tracker to see if any Board Members might be able to broker potentially useful connections with prospective funders.