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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-08-10 WAF Min WESTLAKE ACADEMY FOUNDATION Board Meeting October 8, 2010 Attending: Leah Rennhack, Casey Paulson, Deborah Ziegler, Cathy Lee,Rob Scott, Charlotte Ryan, Bill Greenwood, George Ledak, Karen Osborne,Jack Risenhoover,Mayor Laura Wheat and Shelly Myers. I. L. Rennhack called the meeting to order at 8:32 AM. II. Motion to approve Minutes of September 12, 2010 by R. Scott, second by B. Greenwood. Amended Minutes approved. III. Financial Report • D. Ziegler reported$117,095 in undesignated funds,putting the WAF in a solid position. • The Investment Committee was asked to research brokerage firms for the endowment funds. The committee will bring forward recommendations for Board consideration. • Motion to approve Financials by C. Ryan, second by C. Lee. Financials approved as submitted. IV. Blacksmith Annual Fund • Campaign stands at $162,000 (27% of $600,000 goal) with $1,950 average gift per student represented in the giving; parent participation rate is 16%. • K. Cox and D. Ziegler met with J. Schmitz, PYP Principal, to discuss ways the faculty can support the BAF. J. Schmitz will ask the faculty to write letters of support. • Weekly Constant Contact e-blasts will continue listing donor names by giving level. Teacher quotes will also be included. V. Westlake Baja • R. Scott reported that Baja raised $127,310 in gross revenue. With Vaquero expenses projected at $37,000, the event is expected to net approximately $90,000 for Fund100. Sponsorship greens fees may reduce the final net,but we will work to ask members to underwrite rounds. • If the WAF can help raise approximately $100,000/year in this great partnership with the school and Vaquero Club,we need to continue to hold it. • In looking at 2011, R. Scott agreed to again chair the Baja and C. Paulson suggested September 26, 2011 as a tentative event date. Additional debriefing comments included making the VIP party earlier in the month and securing a host to underwrite it. • Thank you to Karen Osborne for donating her staff member's time to design the Baja posters. VI. Program&Allocations Committee • After researching grant applications used by other Educational Foundations, the committee drafted Fund100 and general grant applications. Rod Harding, MYP Principal, drafted a Professional Development application for staff to use when applying for the Academy's training funds. • Benchmarked grant award was up to $2,500. C. Paulson commented that we also need to determine how funded teachers will report back to the Board. • Once finalized, we will ask to present the granting process to the Town Council. The WAF will also host a grant writing seminar for the faculty to provide direction and answer any questions. • B. Greenwood commented that a Board's purpose is to provide oversight, guidelines and rules, while avoiding being too specific as to be too difficult for management to follow. • After much discussion, R. Scott and C. Lee volunteered to meet with school leadership to determine timing and resource needs from Fund100,namely: • Funds needed for recruiting and retention activities • Fund needed for professional development • Dollar amount anticipated per teacher per year • We need to put teacher feedback and thank-you's for Fund100 grants on the website and in Constant Contact blasts. Must also work to arrange check presentations from corporate sponsors to teachers to see impact of investment. An additional suggestion for school leadership was to put a "Teacher's Corner"in the parent Communique. • C. Lee presented a Fund100 application entitled "Educating for Today and Tomorrow" in Washington, D.C. with a request of$1,630. D. Ziegler moved to approve the grant, second by B. Greenwood. Motion passed unanimously. An acceptance letter will be sent with instructions on how to report back. • L. Rennhack thanked the committee for their in-depth and detailed work. VII. Nominating Committee • April Gallagher's application was reviewed and presented for Board service. C. Lee moved to approve the nomination of A. Gallagher, second by K. Osborne. Motion passed unanimously. VIII. President's Report • If anyone is interested in serving as a Foundation officer,please send nominations to S. Myers. IX. Executive Director's Report • The Marketing Committee will hold regular brainstorming and strategy calls to promote the impact of WAF fundraising efforts. An example of a trend story might be on the amount of private dollars that help fund our school. • We are working with VGS marketing firm on the Sir Ken Robinson presentation and discussing how to leverage the public relations impact of our $20,000 grant. R. Scott asked if we could arrange a private reception with Robinson as a value to our larger donors. • B. Greenwood and C. Lee encouraged the WAF to build rapport and relationship with Deloitte leadership. • The school's first Homecoming event will be October 15; alumni were invited to attend. X. Other Business • C. Ryan is working on a spreadsheet of viable corporate and private foundations. She will connect with school leadership to secure relevant statistics, programs, etc. B. Greenwood remarked that how well we comply with the grant guidelines and areas of interest will influence our success. • The TEA has a staff person to assist schools in accessing state and federal grants. S. Myers and C. Ryan will research. • R. Scott thanked Mayor Wheat for attending the meeting. She shared that three Academy families have volunteered to open their homes for informational meetings with secondary-boundary parents. The Wheats will also host a new-family reception on October 13. X. Next Meeting: November 12,2010—8:30 AM in the Arts & Sciences conference room. XI. R. Scott moved to adjourn the Board meeting at 10:32 AM. Second by D. Ziegler. Motion carried.