I. CHESTER COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT PROPOSAL SUMMARY SHEET One page only. This page will be shared electronically with Grant Committee Members & Fund Advisors. Note: If Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia s Common Grant Application is used, the CCCF s Summary Sheet MUST accompany application. To obtain an electronic version of this application, visit www.chescocf.org Date: Contact Information: Organization Name: Kennett Education Foundation Contact Name: Ashley Harris Address: PO Box 849, Kennett Square, PA 19348 Contact Title:Grant Writer/Board Member ContactE-mail:ashleyharris99@verizon.net Phone: 610.444.2821 Fax: N/A Website: www.kennetteducationfoundation.org Year Incorporated: 2001 Has your nonprofit ever applied to the Community Foundation? Yes _X_ No Not Sure Has your nonprofit ever received funding from the Community Foundation? Yes No_X_ Not Sure Donor Advised Fund(s) Fund for Chester County Don t know/not sure Field/s of Interest: Arts, Culture & Humanities Environment/Animal Welfare _X Education Health Human Services Religion Organization Information: Geographic Area Served (If not all of Chester County, specify primary Chester County regions served): Kennett Consolidated School District, Kennett Square, PA Describe Population Served and Annual Number of People Served: The Kennett Consolidated School District serves 4,204 students (6/14) Mission: The Kennett Education Foundation (KEF) is a community-based, non-profit foundation, committed to supporting and enriching the educational experience in the Kennett Consolidated School District by providing Education Grants to educators and students and Scholarships to graduating seniors. We invest in the academic success of our children, which is an investment that strengthens our community. KEF stimulates innovation in education, invests in programs that improve the academic progress of students, encourages family involvement and recognizes the outstanding achievements of educators. Proposal Summary: Educational Grants for educators and students in the Kennett Consolidated School District. The monies from the Chester County Community Foundation would be used to fund our Educational Grants: Promising, Proven and SMART. The current budget for this project is $38,000. If Capacity Building Proposal: Mission, Vision & Strategy Governance & Leadership Strategic Relationships Fundraising & Development Operations Other: Annual Budget $142,300 0 # of Full-Time Equivalent Paid Staff Rev. 06/2013
81 % of budget for program expenses 20 # of Board Volunteers 4 % of budget for administrative expenses >50 # of Active Non-Board Volunteers 15% of budget for fundraising expenses >500 # of Volunteer Hours 100 % total Top 3-5 funding sources: Spring Dinner Monster Mash Weekend (race and ball) EITC KCSD Payroll Deduction Community Grants Grant Amount Requested from CCCF: $7,000 Kennett Education Foundation Supporting Documentation 1. Organization History: In 2001 a number of Kennett Square residents, high school alumni and friends of education founded the Kennett Education Foundation (KEF). Since inception, the KEF has partnered with the Kennett Consolidated School District (KCSD) to provide a community-based foundation devoted to improving education in the Kennett community. We have no paid staff and very low operating costs, enabling us to direct our resources toward the students and staff of KCSD. As funding from these sources is very limited and difficult to obtain in the current economic situation, we continue to search for new avenues of funding for this purpose. Mission and Goals: Enhance the K-12 educational experience by funding and awarding innovative grants for teachers and their projects in the classroom that are not funded by the school district due to budget restrains Fund and Award grants to our youth whom develop great ideas that will benefit our school district and students Assist worthy students in pursing their college dreams by awarding scholarships to graduating seniors who are recommended by the Kennett High School s Scholarship Committee Encourage and provide support for the educational process through fundraisers, grants, annual planned giving and memorial gifts Promote creativity and imagination for our teachers and students Increase family, community and business involvement Key Achievements and Distinctiveness: KEF has an educational grant program that has been so successful it has increased its funding from $20,000 to $38,000 and broadened our scope to help fund worthy educational programs. This summer we awarded over $20,000 in Proven Practices Grants to 10 deserving teachers that encompassed all three elementary schools, the middle and high school. KEF awarded over $24,000 in scholarships to this year s 2014 graduating class. A $10,000 super grant was awarded to staff at the high school and middle school. Their collaboration on this project, Bridge Building in Reading for the 21st Century, will fund a startup initiative that provides a platform that meets students' technological levels and preferences while nurturing a love of reading. Funds will be used to purchase electronic readers and electronic books which will encourage and engage students in reading and provide consistency in resources between the two schools "bridging" and building higher learning.
Beginning in 2013 KEF has committed more than $70,000 to the KCSD for the implementation of the Science Technology, Engineering and Math Program (STEM) through Project Lead the Way (PLTW). Over 100 students and families in the district support our annual Monster Mash 5k and Masquerade Ball. 2. Funding Request and Description: KEF is requesting funding to support our Grant Programs. KEF provides Educational Grants including Promising, Proven and SMART Program, which are open to all students and staff of KCSD. This program was established to stimulate innovative ideas for the learning process. Traditionally, innovative ideas and program pilots are often difficult to fund through standard school financing routes. The KEF s Educational Grants Program (formerly Innovative Grants Program) brings new resources to Kennett Consolidated School District. Fresh new ideas and program pilots, when tied to the educational goals of the school district, are often key catalysts for student improvement. Promising Grants, originally named KEF Innovative Grants, is still the base of our grants, which are given to educators. This program is for innovative ideas, also described as first time, best practice, unique and pilot. Programs being funded are academically based, including music, art language or non-academic extended learning programs. With these grants, we also fund specialty equipment or technology needed to implement the grant, such as microscopes, globes, electronic applications, computer software and projects that provide an avenue to explore, develop and refine ideas for improving the education of our students. Proven Practices Grants have been added to the KEF Educational Grants Program. These grants are given to an educator that previously had a Promising Grant. The innovative idea was found to be exceptional and proven to be of value to others in the district. We will fund the Proven Practices Grant for up to 3 years, $5000/year. SMART Grants are grants awarded to KCSD students. SMART stands for Students and Mentors Applying Resources Together. This program, established in 2011, provides an avenue for KCSD students to explore, develop and refine ideas for improving the education for students in our district. Since the inception of our Grants Program, we have been successful in awarding over 130 grants over $170,000 in contributions to KCSD educators. Our grants program awards $100-$2,000 to each new approved Promising or SMART grant and up to $5,000 for 3 years for a Proven Practices Grant. Grants are awarded to educators and students year round and applications can be submitted at any time of the year, by completing a form or online through our website, www.kennetteducationfoundation.org Examples of Proven Practice Grant awards in 2013 include Robotics Club supply support and Art Display Boards, Kennett High School, Writing Library for New Garden Elementary, Califone Headsets for Bancroft Elementary, Hatching Chicken Eggs Project and Outdoor Classroom Development for Greenwood Elementary, Teacher Resource Library for Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center. In 2014 we provided grants for online reading subscriptions, assistance with preparation of a multicultural/diversity conference, ISM Film license, Life Skills pre-vocation kits, Demon Fit equipment, stability balls, string instruments and purchasing of the digital component for Connected Math Program at the middle school level. These grants affect the three elementary schools, middle and high school. Recent SMART Grant include Buddy Bench Signs for all four elementary schools in the district. These signs designate a location on the playground where any student in need of a playmate at recess or a friend to talk to can sit on the Buddy Bench. Another student who sees a student on the Buddy Bench can invite the seated student to play or sit and talk.
Specific Needs To Be Addressed: As with any program our biggest obstacle is budget. Each year KEF receives grant requests that exceed our budget. We have been able to fund partial grants, which allows for implementation of the idea, but on a smaller scale. Funding from the Chester County Community Foundation for our Educational Grants Programs will allow us to continue to support and grow our students in new and innovative ways. The organizational impact if our initiative is undertaken would allow KEF to award grants to more recipients and help enhance the lives of our students and staff. We are investing in our future by helping more kids. We measure our success by the number and type of grants that have been requested. A bonus is when one of the grants we have funded is put into every day practice and expanded to the other Kennett schools and becomes funded by the district (a Proven Grant). KEF currently has an online application process for all our grants. We award Proven Practices in July of each year and Promising and SMART grants are accepted throughout the year. As we are an all volunteer board we meet monthly as a board and as a committee when a grant is requested to evaluate the worthiness and cost effectiveness of the request. It is important to fund our request as school districts struggle with budget constraints and teachers are looking for new ways to stimulate the learning the environment, they are continually looking to outside sources for funding of their ideas. KEF is a willing partner who has a vested interest in the success of our students and staff as we partner with the district to ensure our students and staff have the greatest opportunities afforded to them. 3. Our impact and results are demonstrated in the fact that our grant recipients encompass each school in the district and are varied in their curriculum reach. Our recipients provide reports and details on the success of their grant implementation as well as many have participated in our spring dinner with a live report by helping with our audio and visual portion of the event or providing a glimpse of the robot that our grant helped them develop. All of our accomplishments are publicized locally through articles in local newspapers, newsletters, our website and e-newsletters.
Kennett Education Foundation Supporting Documentation Attachments 1. Copy of 50(c) (3) federal tax-exempt letter (attachment) 2. List of Board of Directors (below) 3. Most recent financial statement (attachment) 4. Itemized operating budget with actual results for prior fiscal year and current year to date (attachment) 6. Our nonprofit does not currently have a strategic plan as we are working on creating one. We work in tandem with the school district goals and strategic plan and the state currently does not require the school district to have a plan on file at this time. 2. KEF Board of Directors 2014 KEF Board of Directors and Affiliations 2014 Rudolph Karkosak, Ed. D. President KCSD Superintendent 1999-2010 Dave Schaen 1st Vice President KCSD Parent Michael Finnegan 2nd Vice President KCSD School Board Member, KCSD Parent Sueann Hall Treasurer KCSD Parent Karen Buchanan Secretary KCSD Parent Karl Bennett KCSD Alumni, Past KEF President Kori J. Brown KHS Teacher, KEA Vice President, Ex-officio Barbara DeCarlo 40 year Educator, Retired KCSD Elementary Principal Vicki Gehrt, Ed. D. -Superintendent New Castle Vocational Technical District, Assistant Superintendent KCSD 2007-2011 Alison Biloon- KCSD Parent Ashley Harris KCSD Parent Toni Jaros KCSD Parent Michael Kelly KHS Teacher, KEA President, Ex-Officio Bud Pierce Ex-Officio, Original KEF Board Member Janis Reynolds KCSD School Board Member, Past KEF President, KCSD Parent Deborah Sears KCSD Parent David Spence KCSD Parent Elizabeth Stinson Past KEF President, KCSD Parent Barry Tomasetti, Ed.D. Ex-Officio Current KCSD Superintendent, KCSD Parent Sue Zern KCSD Parent