By Aliza Alperin-Sheriff
Two months after the Hopewell Valley Education Foundation launched its 2014-2015 Power of 100 annual fund campaign, the effort is going strong.
The goal of the campaign is to have at least 100 families or individuals in the community donate $100 or more to the HVEF, a nonprofit grant-making organization that funds enrichment programs at every school in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
The Power of 100 campaign, which is now in its third year, was based on a similar program used by the Branchburg Education Foundation, said Kevin Kuchinski, a member of the HVEF board of directors.
The campaign was launched during the 2012-2013 school year in order to fund the iPad pilot project to purchase one classroom set of iPads for each school in the district. The campaign was a success, and brought in more than $20,000.
The HVEF tries to publicize the campaign in numerous ways including sending out a direct mail piece, including information in the weekly email blasts sent out by each school’s PTO, posting signs outside the schools and putting up banners over the street in Pennington and Hopewell Borough.
“We really try and touch Hopewell Valley residents in multiple ways. You often have to reach or touch a person more than once to get them from awareness and consideration to taking the impetus to write that check,” Kuchinski said.
This year’s Power of 100 campaign will focus on raising funds to support the district’s initiative to increase the quality of student-centered instruction. Student-centered instruction is a method of teaching that tries to have students be more engaged with their learning materials and encourages them to ask questions and solve problems. On a practical level, the funds will probably go into curriculum development and teacher training workshops that will bolster the student-centered instruction initiative.
The HVEF was founded in 1993. At the time, its purpose was to raise money to support science education. Over the years its scope expanded and the HVEF now supports programs in all academic areas including the practical and performing arts.
“Essentially, we raise money in order to give money back to the district to fund programs that otherwise wouldn’t be covered in the budget,” said Denise Nichols, president of the board of directors.
The HVEF maintains a strong working relationship with the school district and follows its lead about what to prioritize. For example, explained Kuchinski, the HVEF decided to fund the iPad pilot program after the district voiced a desire to better integrate technology into the curriculum.
Additionally, the HVEF had received several grant requests that expressed a desire to bring iPads into classrooms at multiple levels for multiple reasons, like augmenting science education at the high school level or aiding reading at the elementary school level.
“We have such a wonderful relationship with the district,” said Nichols. “Not every education foundation is as blessed as we are with that. They are so, so supportive of us and what we do.”
The board of directors has 16 members that represent different aspects of the community. Many, like Kuchinski and Nichols, have children currently enrolled in the district or who have graduated from the district.
However, other board members are business leaders in the community or work at area colleges. Those board members also have a vested interest in maintaining excellent public schools, which is something that impacts property values and therefore everyone living in the Hopewell Valley.
In order to decide where to use their funds, the HVEF holds focus groups twice a year where the board members meet as a committee to discuss and vote on grants that have been submitted by teachers in the district.
“We want to fund innovative proposals that impact the largest number of students,” Nichols said.
The HVEF funds between 20 and 30 projects a year. Nichols said that, as long as the teachers applying for grants meet the outlined criteria, the HVEF does its best to approve all grant requests, although sometimes they have to say no because a project costs too much or the HVEF fails to secure outside funding to support it. She estimated that around 90 percent of grant requests are approved.
In addition to the Power of 100, the HVEF has other annual fundraising events including the Book Lovers’ Luncheon, which brings a famous author to come and speak and supports the district’s Author in Residence program, and the E2 Gala and Celebration, which features an auction and recognizes the district’s Teachers of the Year.
Other ongoing fundraising efforts of HVEF are the Take a Seat campaign, where people can give donations in order to personalize the plaques on the seats in the performing Arts Center at Hopewell Valley Central High School, and the Teacher Recognition Program, where parents can send donations in the name of a teacher.
“Teachers are so appreciative of that kind of gift,” Nichols said.
The HVEF also raises money by creating partnerships with corporations and local businesses. Sometimes corporations will fund one specific grant and sometimes they make general funding donations.
Some projects that the HVEF has contributed to in recent years include a mosaic mural to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bear Tavern Elementary School, launching a Practical Arts Learning Lab (a model studio apartment that helps special education students learn how to complete day to day tasks) at Central High School and partnering with Central High School’s Global Service Learning Initiative to bring Kenyan Ambassador Jean Kamau to speak at the school.
One of the HVEF’s biggest accomplishments was when it raised $40,000 to bring Project Lead the Way, a pre-engineering program, to Timberlane Middle School in 2011-2012. Originally, the HVEF committed to funding $20,000, but after courting corporate donors, they managed to secure the funds to cover the entire starting cost of the program.
Summing up the importance of the HVEF, Kuchinski said, “Strong schools mean a strong community. As the district continues to get stretched from a budget standpoint, we are able to enrich the educational experience of children in the schools.”
