NEW 200 Foundation seeks volunteers, donations from Wheaton community
After brainstorming alternative revenue sources for Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200, residents leaving the second to last Engage200 session were handed a bright yellow piece of paper.
Along with some facts and figures, the flyer read, "NEW 200 NEEDS YOUR HELP."
Established in 1992, the NEW 200 Foundation is a volunteer-run nonprofit group that works primarily to award grants directly to teachers for new technology or items needed to implement innovative teaching methods that otherwise would not have a funding source.
NEW 200 Fundraising Specialist Pamela Paulsen said the foundation was "doing great" for a while. But in recent years, funding has declined as volunteers left after their children grew out of the district.
The foundation has started monthly meetings to gather more support and eventually organize regular fundraisers. The next meeting is at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at the school services center, 130 W. Park Ave. in Wheaton.
"We need to start somewhere," Paulsen said. "We need community involvement to make a difference."
An increasing number of elementary and high school districts across the suburbs are either looking to start a foundation or take existing foundations to the next level, National School Foundation Association Executive Director Nina Menis said.
Their missions, she said, are separate from the parent teacher associations in a district that typically focus on the needs of specific schools. Teachers often come to foundations with grant requests and the board votes on whether to approve it.
"A foundation is really not all about the financial side," Menis said. "It's about building awareness, building partnerships in the community for your school districts and your schools."
Earlier this year, Paulsen attended a school foundation conference where she learned a common goal is to provide districts with money for technology and devices that otherwise would not be purchased because of budget constraints. She said successful foundations tend to have directories for alumni, which is something the NEW 200 Foundation hopes to establish.
"There's some that are struggling more than others," she said. "I was the only one there who felt like I was starting from scratch."
The NEW 200 Foundation's endowment fund balance is only $5,000. That pales in comparison to the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation's $300,000 endowment fund balance and the $500,000 endowment fund balance held by District 203's Naperville Education Foundation.
In the past year, NEW 200 has contributed $10,000 to the district, including the purchase of a robotics system to help middle school students learn about science, technology, engineering and math, and the presentation of $1,500 to Franklin Middle School for winning an entrepreneurship contest. The foundation also issues distinguished teacher awards and has helped purchase reading materials and iPods.
But again, the contributions are small compared to the $160,000 contributed to District 203 and the $210,000 contributed to District 204.
"I think there's a lot of pressure on school districts to compare and keep up with other districts to stay competitive," Paulsen said.
To learn more about NEW 200 or to get involved, visit www.new200.org.