Campaign FAQ

Our mission is to raise private funds for resources and programs that are not available to our students through the district's budget. Our ethos is to support promising new programs that spark our student’s education while preserving public dollars for the work of schools.

The Foundation works as a catalyst for emerging needs that are innovative and pioneering. Through state-of-the-art grants submitted by Fayetteville teachers, students experience extraordinary educational opportunities.

No. The Foundation is recognized under state and federal law as a 501(c)3 charitable, tax-exempt organization.

The board members represent many broad and diverse groups throughout the Fayetteville community. Members serve staggered three-year terms and their replacements are elected by board vote. Additionally, two members serve as ex-officio members: the president of the Fayetteville Board of Education and the superintendent of the Fayetteville Public Schools.

Annual operating costs are secured through unrestricted gifts from parents, alumni, Annual Fund members, and fundraising events. The Foundation does not receive any federal, state or local tax support to fund our programs.

As a small organization, low overhead costs allow for sustainability which in turn means that funds from the endowment go directly to teacher grants.

The Foundation is building on an already significant endowment with strong fiscal management. Investments are managed to produce a stable return. The Board of Directors carefully oversee all investments, expenses and the use of grant funds.

The Foundation is recognized under state and federal law as a 501(c)3 charitable, tax-exempt organization. As such, its financial records, such as our 990, are open to public review. Additionally, the financials are annually audited.

The Foundation is building on an already significant endowment with strong fiscal management. Investments are managed to produce a stable return- annualized at 7.62%.

Annual distribution for grants and scholarships is three to five percent (3-5%) of a 36-month rolling average of the endowment value. The Foundation’s endowment principal is never spent and remains intact, enabling the endowment to grow, maintain its "spending power" and provide a permanent stream of income over time.

Each fund in the endowment is monitored individually for growth, rate of return and distribution. Reports are distributed annually to the donor of each Fund in our endowment.

During the first chapter, the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation’s endowment grew from $750,000 to over $4 million dollars.

The endowment began with two goals in mind; first, to guarantee that teachers would be the sole beneficiary of support, engaging thousands of students in extraordinary programs in our Fayetteville Public Schools and second, to ensure a sustainable investment that would remain in perpetuity for generations of students.

Building on the momentum of the initial phase of the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation, we are now ready for the next phase. It has become evident that support is needed for more systemic, sustainable projects that can move the needle.

Once the campaign is complete, teachers will have two grant options:

• We will continue our signature grants. Grant awards will range from $500-$10,000. All the fund accounts in phase I will remain as they have been over the past 30 years.
• The Reach New Heights endowment will award grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 for “big” projects that are far-reaching and accelerate promising programs to improve student outcomes.

Funds will be in an established endowment. We will simply have two grant-making opportunities for our teachers.