Jeff L introduced Scott and Andy as new members of the Development Committee and future board members. Reviewed purpose and goals of the Development Committee, confirming we are responsible for overseeing all fundraising for the school.

Reviewed financials, reporting as of 2/2026 that the school is showing $11k in fundraising revenue. Jeff needs to verify this number, as there may be some miscoded revenue due to Business Mgmt vendor switch on 1/1.

Scott and Andy had positive feedback from their experience at Bingo, as this was their first HVM event.

Jenny confirmed that final numbers were not yet available from the event. Jeff roughly estimated that the event generated $18k-$20k in revenue ($6k in auction, $4k in tickets, $5500 in sponsorships). There was at least $6500 in expenses, likely more, but the hope is that the Foundation will be able to pass on $10k to HVM from the event.

We discussed ways to improve the day-of event management - asking the DJ to push the auction items, removing the Buy Now option from auction items, and reducing the cost of the event were key points.

Hannah, Scott and Andy also discussed scenarios where the event could be free to HVM families if enough big-ticket sponsorships were acquired.

The HVM store went live on Friday for staff, and live for everyone on Monday. So far, after a couple of days, the sale has returned $450, with a goal of $2k to $3k. Tai pointed out that response might be slow, given that many families just purchased Lion King Jr t-shirts, and this time of year is particularly busy with a lot of asks for families.

The group discussed the ongoing Strategic Planning activities, with Jeff L and Hannah introducing that one of the 4 pillars of the strategic plan is development. We highlighted that our initial benchmarks are to increase fundraising to $25k (from $20k) next year, with $15k and $20k increases the following two years.

The group began a discussion as to how to achieve that. Andy asked about the school's "pitch deck," and asked if we had a ready-to-go messaging that committee members could present out to corporate sponsors. Jenny confirmed that we have a one-pager, which would be shared with new members so that they could review and assess. Scott asked questions about our sponsor database, and Hannah and Tai described the our current state (a database is being built, but is in the early stages of being populated). Scott stressed that we needed to functional list so that we could track targets, conversations, and know where to reach out to. Andy suggested utilizing Linked In to ID personal connections to Haverhill businesses that could be capitalized on. Both Scott and Andy agreed that HVM presents extremely well, and bringing in sponsors for tours/hosting events would be a boon. Jenny mentioned the relationship with the Haverhill Chamber, and the potential of hosting chamber events in the coming year at the school.

Hannah introduced the plan to have Montessori Development professional Star Snead attend the May committee meeting to help give our group some focus and direction in terms of development in the Montesssori space.

After Jeff highlighted concerns about the misconceptions re. public charters vs private charters as an impediment to fundraising, Andy asked what the public perception of Montessori is. Hannah expounded on Montessori's history as a private, elite institution with a reputation for being less-than-rigorous academically, but also pointed out the rarity of a true public Montessori makes us special.

Group closed with discussion re. next steps. The pitch deck, sponsor database, and alumni database would be shared to all members, and each member would come to the May meeting with suggestions on what corporate sponsorship we should plan to approach in FY26/27.