Facilitron’s Post

Adriana Williams shares key actionable takeaways from the #IDPE2024 conference for School Management Plus: ⭐ Revisit why you fundraise - it’s about nurturing dreams, sparking curiosity, and shaping character. ⭐ Manage expectations - transparency matters, as does setting realistic goals. ⭐ Use your resources wisely - spread thin, we achieve less. ⭐ Demonstrate impact - numbers alone won’t sway hearts. What were your key takeaways from this year's IDPE annual conference? #schoolsdevelopment #fundraising #IDPEcommunity

While the U.S. has some state-of-the-art schools that ‘raise the ceiling’ for school design, they remain the exception, not the rule. The fact is the majority of our schools underperform, failing to meet the needs of students and staff. It’s time ALL students, regardless of their geographic location or economic status, have access to school facilities that bolster their learning and wellbeing. It’s time to raise the floor. So we've launched a new multi-year campaign with the support of Sourcewell and Perkins&Will to fundamentally change how the public, private, and non-profit industries collaborate to support schools, with a moonshot goal to move America’s public school facilities from a D to a B+ grade within one generation. Learn more https://bit.ly/3R1hjAm

Country Bank President and CEO, Mary C. McGovern, MBA is pleased to announce that it has donated its 191 Sykes Street location in Palmer to Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School. The property, valued at $500,000, will be a valuable asset for the school and a significant contribution to the local community, enhancing the educational landscape and fostering growth. This act of generosity directly impacts the lives of the residents, making them an integral part of this initiative. Country Bank consolidated its Palmer locations in 2022 and sought a meaningful purpose for the property. Through a collaborative effort with Pathfinder Regional Vocational Techical High School and Country Bank, the decision was made to donate the building to the high school to support its expansion initiatives. "We are thrilled to contribute to the growth and development of Pathfinder Tech," said Mary McGovern, President and CEO of Country Bank. "By donating this property, we aim to support the educational opportunities available to the students and our local communities." Superintendent Eric Duda echoed this sentiment, stating, "This donation is a transformative moment for Pathfinder Tech and our community. Country Bank’s generous support not only aids in expanding our programs but also invests in the future of our students and the skilled workforce of tomorrow." The newly donated property will facilitate Pathfinder Tech’s expansion of adult evening education programs and provide additional office space. It will host classes, making education more accessible to adult learners in the community. Country Bank’s ATM will remain at this location to continue serving customers in Thorndike and Three Rivers sections of Palmer. Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School is renowned for its commitment to high-quality career and technical education. Duda noted, "This new space will enable us to offer more specialized programs aligned with industry needs, benefiting both our students and community members seeking valuable adult education opportunities." He added, "This is the first time in its more than 50 year history that Pathfinder Tech has expanded its capacity through a property acquisition, a crucial step in addressing the demand for skilled workers." The collaboration between Country Bank and Pathfinder Tech underscores the importance of community partnerships in fostering educational and economic growth. By repurposing the property, both organizations are investing in the future of education and community development. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on September 13, 2024 to celebrate the property transfer and the partnership’s success. The event was attended by local dignitaries, including Senator Jacob Oliveira, State Representatives Todd Smola and Aaron Saunders, and other key figures, who expressed their support for local businesses working with educational institutions. #mabankersgivingback

We live in a world today where schools and organizations are expected to do more with less. That pressure builds over time and the path can become foggy and confusing for administrators, coaches and teachers. With this gap, school communities NEED to fundraise effectively and seamlessly... This gap is why our founder and CEO Dennis Levene created this business with a permanent and impactful solution, and NOT a way to fill temporary cracks like most of the industry is doing. Check out the article below to see why transparency + moving away from traditional fee-based systems is the future of impact in your school communities... https://lnkd.in/gVUcbA3n

From $500 to $50,000: How This Student Leader Grew His College Club Meet Chisom Okafor, the 2018/19 President of the Black Students Union (BSU) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Here’s what you’ll learn from him: - How he became a student leader - How he raised $50k for his club - The challenges he faced - His advice for current and aspiring student leaders Check the comments for the full article link. Who are you, and how did you become a student leader? I’m Chisom Okafor, a Product Manager from Nigeria. Coming to the States for college was my first time here. I needed to adapt quickly and I was fortunate to find my community in BSU and the National Society of Black Engineers. I wanted to help others find their community, too so I joined BSU’s board as secretary in my sophomore year, then Vice President, and finally President in my senior year. What impact did you have on your organization? At WPI, the Black and African population was less than 2%. Initially, our club's budget was under $500 a year. By my sophomore year, we organized more events, including a fashion show with a $3,200 budget, winning the Diversity Program of the Year award. As Vice President, we increased the budget to $30k, and as President, we raised it to $50k. Our fashion show became the biggest event on campus, even attracting students from neighboring schools. How were you able to raise $50k for your club? Raising $50k was challenging. Initially, I thought we could get all the funding from the Student Government Association (SGA), but we had to get more creative. We organized bake sales, flash mobs, donation drives, partnered with restaurants, reached out to alumni, and we gradually started to see the checks come in. After two months, we raised $34k and secured the remaining $16k from the SGA. What was the biggest factor in your success? - Hyperfocus on serving our members with valuable year-round events. - Clear goals and early planning, starting in the summer and breaking down our vision into actionable steps. - Empowering my team and community, giving everyone a voice, which boosted collaboration. What struggles did you face as a leader? Balancing leadership with other priorities was challenging, but the experiences were unmatched. Raising funds and managing member engagement was tough, but having a clear vision and a supportive team made it possible. What advice do you have for current and aspiring student leaders? Just try it and see if it’s for you. Some of my favorite college memories are from planning events with my board. Leveraging my leadership experience helped me secure a full-time job before graduation. Create the club your freshman self wished for and put your heart into it. This is when your light begins to shine, and you make a lasting impact. Tag your favorite club or student leader in the comments to get them featured. Follow Zation for more content. Visit our website to join our waitlist and be notified of our special drop this summer.

At a recent conference, someone asked me if I got any “blowback” from my quotes in the Inside Philanthropy two-part series, “What Is Going on in Education Philanthropy?” It was an interesting question. It made me wonder if there’s feedback, it certainly hasn’t been shared with me directly. After all, I was simply commenting on what I see from my perch at NewSchools. As a raiser and grantor of funds, we sit in a “middle position” at NewSchools. It has given us an amazing field-wide view of the changing dynamics and trends in education philanthropy and it helps us to empathize with our grantees. We understand what’s hard for them as they seek growth capital because we experience it ourselves. And this time in education IS different. It feels like we’re at the beginning of a new cycle in education. From the mental health and learning loss impacts experienced by students, to the raging culture wars playing out in school boards, to chronic absenteeism and teacher shortages in critical subject areas, and the impending fiscal cliffs facing districts across the country, we are experiencing turbulent times in education. Donors are grappling with this shifting landscape and questioning the impact of their dollars in education. This combined with economic uncertainty has meant that funders have been rethinking their approach to philanthropy. We are in a moment where education budgets are decreasing, focus areas are narrowing and it’s harder for new grantees to get funding. The tightening we’ve seen in other sectors has finally come to education. But, this is a time when we need investment in education more than ever. Education fuels progress. In classrooms across America, we are training future climate scientists, we are teaching young people how to work across lines of difference, and how to harness the power of emergent technologies for good. We need more investment, not less, to make sure that today’s students are prepared for the future that’s already here. And we need to make sure that our most promising leaders with powerful innovations get the funding they need to meet the scale of the problem. This will require deeper investments from existing donors and attracting new ones to join the fight.  What are your reactions to the article? What are you seeing in education philanthropy? Read it here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gRQv7E_t Cc: Alex Johnston, Ruth Richerson, Sharhonda Bossier, Sydney Morris, Jen Holleran

Thanks for your leadership and candor, Frances Messano. I wonder where the need for "more, not less" philanthropy and more patient capital vs demands for short-term ROI leave us, concretely? I wonder when it is time to take head on the culture wars and politicization of education, rather than tiptoeing around it? If ever a system redesign were needed, it is here. And while philanthropy can't do it alone, it can shift headwinds and seed pilots to show what's possible with new school models, new approaches to defining teaching (and credentialing), and new ways to provide choice (beyond "charters") that are informed by existing great schools. I believe there is actually much common ground between political left and right in the ed space, but that both sides need to kill some darlings. As a person of the political left, I will offer that I think the Democrats are leading from behind here, and their antipathy to real reform/revolution is ultimately about winning elections. It would be great if philanthropy and ed leaders could have an open conversation about these blockers. It's hard to imagine scaled ed reform without some semblance of a true marketplace of school models, family choice, and a new crop of education entrepreneurs leading new kinds of learning models. Who is blocking the pathway here? #philanthropy #dualtransformation #edinnovation #politicization

Very helpful post from Frances Messano of NSVF, and I appreciate her candor and callouts of what's going on in philanthropy, esp. given her wide view perch as a grantor and grantee. Thanks to Ivan Cestero for sharing and flagging, some of my thoughts (esp. for education, edtech & other social impact founders/leaders): 1) 🔎 Transparency: This kind of transparency is critical. 2) 🔁 Cycles: Funders go through cycles, strategic shifts of what's in vogue - just as the education sector goes through waves (in the US, A Nation At Risk, NCLB, CC, Covid edtech boom and now overwhelm of number of tools, SoR, the looming ESSER cliff, to name a few...which can be tailwinds to catalyze growth and magnify impact when used properly). 3) 🗺 Navigating the terrain: There will always be different pockets of money that exist, and it's about navigating the terrain with the help of transparency and guides to know who might be worthwhile partners/funders. 4) 💰 Unlocking resources for your idea: use funding as a springboard to build/grow when a) it aligns with the direction you're going anyway and b) isn't more effort than it's worth. From Foundations, to Government and R&D funding to VC to competitions to PE/growth equity; Some notes on Foundations: - Some are pushing reading/ELA SoR (Overdeck has funded research for both high dosage literacy tutoring orgs Springboard Collaborative and OnYourMark). - Kauffman has been in and out of things, but funding Real World (and career connected) Learning in Kansas City. - Other funders, some of which I'm aware of their broad mandate, some not as much Stand Together and Vela (choice/micro in K12, stand together also does economic mobility and future of work), Walton, Siegel, Schmidt, Jacobs, Broad, MSDF (Dell), Charter School Growth Fund, New Schools Venture Fund, Reid Hasting's Edu Fund, and other major edu national and local philanthropies. - We have an interesting lens on Gates focus on math and R&D/efficacy of major solutions from our vantage point supporting R&D at Leanlab Education. 5) 🎧 Never forget to focus on the most important thing: serving users At the end of the day, as I said in last week's post (https://lnkd.in/eGAMH3uA, shut out the noise and continue relentlessly: - getting close to problem/users facing the problem, - solving problems for them and iterating on the solution with users day-in, and day-out, - figure out a business model or exchange of value that can sustain you and your work/team/org. 6) 📣 Decision makers: Finally, those who are privileged enough to be in the rooms where these things get decided (and thanks again to Frances): - influence how strategic decisions and priorities get decided and communicated and - invite more diverse voices and perspectives to have a seat at the table and lead.

Check out our latest article - Leveraging Alumni Networks to Prepare High School Seniors for Early Action - 360Alumni Tips Alumni networks are often underutilized resources that high school seniors can tap as they prepare for the college decision-making process. Alumni management systems are key to easily facilitating communication between students and their school’s alumni networks.: https://lnkd.in/ehVpd226 #highereducation #alumniengagement #alumninetwork #onlinecommunities #nonprofit

What better way to help validate a high school students college choice than to connect them with an alumni who they have something in common with (location, field of study, sport, etc.). Providing an easy way to make these associations is a natural byproduct of an effective alumni engagement program. #alumniengagement