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Everything You Always Wanted
to Know
about the Groton Dunstable
Education Foundation
(and asked - thank you!)
This
series of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’
- and answers! - is intended to provide our communities with information about
the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation, Inc. (GDEF). If your question
isn't answered here, please do not hesitate to contact Kerri Figueroa, President
of GDEF, at:
kfigueroa@gdefinc.org.
Please click here if
you would like to view or print our PDF brochure containing this information.
What is the Groton
Dunstable Education Foundation and why was it formed?
The Groton
Dunstable Education Foundation is a community-oriented organization focused on
providing our children and educators that ‘added boost’ toward excellence in
public education. We accomplish this through the granting of funds toward
innovative programs for our public schools, with the goal of inspiring our
students and educators to strive for the creativity and applied learning
necessary to achieve more than they could have solely utilizing public funds.
The
Foundation was formed as the result of literally years of discussions within the
communities of Groton and Dunstable. These conversations and communications
would touch on the lack of a non-profit group focused on public school
education. In January 2003, a group of highly motivated community members set
forth on the path to making a non-profit education-oriented foundation a
reality. Months of legal, organizational planning and goal setting followed,
and our Articles of Organization and 501(c)(3) application paperwork were filed
in July 2003. We received our 501(c)(3) determination letter in September
2003 and are
formally recognized as an official non-profit organization and able to
accept donations as such.
Who makes up the management team of the Groton Dunstable
Education Foundation and what are their backgrounds?
The Groton
Dunstable Education Foundation is led by an all-volunteer Board of Directors
consisting of individuals representing the communities of Groton and Dunstable.
A list of Directors currently serving as well as information on how to contact
each of them can be found on the Contacting GDEF page of our website at
www.gdefinc.org. In addition, we have over 100 volunteers involved in special
events and the day-to-day operation of the Foundation - please contact us at
info@gdefinc.org
to find out how you can help, too!
I’ve
heard/read that the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation was not formed to make
up for state cuts to our schools’ operating budgets. Why is this?
There are two reasons why the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation will not
make up for state cuts – or local shortfalls ‑ impacting our schools’ operating
budgets. The first is philosophical, the second is pragmatic. Philosophically,
we believe that public education is the responsibility of the public ‑ of the
people of the towns of Groton and Dunstable ‑ just as public health and public
safety are. We have formed the Foundation with the understanding that, even in
the best of economic times, there is always more that we want to achieve
relative to the education of our children. There will always be inspiring
programs that ‘just don’t make the cut,’ or creative ideas that are never
proposed because they probably won’t or can’t be considered due to budget (or
other) reasons – yet that would benefit a broad segment of our student
population. These are the types of ideas that we are interested in potentially
funding.
As
stated above, the second reason is pragmatic. As many in our communities
know all too well, we depend on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to fund a
percentage of our public school operating budget. Over the past several
years, budget cuts have amounted to millions of dollars. We cannot possibly
raise enough money to cover these amounts. In addition, the concept of
depending on a private organization for the operating budget of our public
schools is not sound fiscal policy.
Who benefits from
the existence of the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation?
The
students, educators, and ultimately the communities of Groton and Dunstable
benefit from the existence of the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation. The
students and educators benefit directly through new, innovative programs and
materials made possible by Foundation grants. The communities of Groton and
Dunstable ultimately benefit through a school system that is not only considered
to be in the top tier of our state’s and country’s schools, but is also
considered to be innovative and to benefit from broad public and private
community support. A strong school system is identified in community benchmarks
with other factors such as low crime rate, high property values, and access to
work (e.g., companies locate in areas that provide access to excellent schools
to attract high-caliber talent, which positively affects other local businesses
including retail and construction).
Who can apply for Groton
Dunstable Education Foundation support?
Anyone
interested in supporting the enrichment of education in the public schools in
our communities may apply, subject to the guidelines established by the
Foundation. Full information on the grant process and requirements, including
grant applications, is available on the Grants page of our website at
www.gdefinc.org. We encourage a partnership between educators and other
community members, including parents, students, and senior citizens, in
proposing innovative and creative programs. In granting application requests,
priority will be placed on programs that have a direct impact on students,
present opportunities to broad groups of students, and ensure curriculum
continuity through all grade levels.
How are
applications evaluated?
All
Groton Dunstable Education Grant Applications must be received by a
published deadline. Copies of all applications are given to each Director as
well as to each member of the Grants Review Committee. This Committee,
comprised of community members with diverse backgrounds and areas of
expertise, is chaired by the GDEF Director of Grant Disbursement. It is the
responsibility of the Grants Review Committee to evaluate each Application
on its individual merits, the current funding available, and the mission,
goals and objectives of the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation. The
evaluations and recommendations of the Committee are presented by the
Chairperson of the Committee to the Foundation’s full Board of Directors,
who vote on the approval of applications by a majority vote. For information
on the exciting grants already awarded, click on the
Grants star
on our website at
www.gdefinc.org!
Is the
Groton Dunstable Education Foundation a part of the Groton Dunstable Regional
School District?
No. The
Groton Dunstable Education Foundation is an all volunteer, private
foundation with no organizational ties to the Groton Dunstable Regional
School District. Our ties are in mission only, and are related to bettering
public education within our communities. Our by-laws clearly address
conflicts of interest, including limiting officer positions and membership
on the Board of Directors to individuals not employed by the District as
well as precluding anyone with any influence over any aspect of the Groton
Dunstable School District Operating Budget or either the Groton or Dunstable
town budgets from sitting on the Board or becoming an Officer.
Where does the money for
the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation come from?
GDEF raises
funds through private and corporate donations, and through fundraising events.
Our first events were our
Antique Preview Party, Silent and Live Auction, and Dance
fundraisers, held in 2003 and 2004. Our
Dinner, Drama & Dessert!
event in April 2005 featured dinner at the Stonehedge Inn, a play
at the High School's Black Box Theater and gourmet dessert. An
Afternoon of Magic, presented in conjunction with the Groton
Dunstable Alliance for Youth (GDAY) in November 2005, included a pizza lunch and
the amazing magic of Scott Jameson. In March 2006, our
Bet Your Lucky Stars!,
featured dinner and dancing to the blues music of Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood,
silent & live auctions, and the launch of our Bet Your Lucky Stars! Money
Raffle. Our latest event was Illusions: A Night of Light & Magic on
October 20, 2006. Planning for future events is also underway. Details can
be found on our website at
www.gdefinc.org.
On-going fundraising programs include our
Teaching Stars program, which allows
individuals to contribute to the Foundation in the name of an outstanding
teacher or other educator (e.g., principal, administrator, staff member). The
honoree receives a personal letter from the Foundation notifying and
congratulating him or her on the designation. We can also accept vehicle
donations - cars, trucks, boats and more. Information on the Teaching
Stars program and vehicle donations can be found on our website at
www.gdefinc.org. In addition, our
Business Partners for Education (BPE) program,
engages local businesses in supporting our mission.
We
launched our first Annual Giving Campaign in 2005, giving us a chance to
introduce the Foundation to the community-at-large and providing an update on
our grant disbursement and ongoing activities, as well as giving those who wish
to contribute toward the achievement of the Foundation’s goals and objectives an
opportunity to do so. Subsequent campaigns have improved on the success of that
first one in providing funds for GDEF grants.
Future plans include the ability to accept bequests and targeted gifts.
How much
of the money contributed to the Foundation actually goes to the students and/or
schools?
The
Groton Dunstable Education Foundation is an all-volunteer organization.
There are neither salaries to pay nor building costs to bear. Every single
volunteer is contributing his or her time out of a belief in our mission,
goals, and objectives. We are committed to disbursing all profits directly
to our children and schools through our grants process. Expenses incurred
include the costs associated with events (e.g., food items, utensils, and
other items which have not been donated), as well as General and
Administrative expenses (e.g., insurance). We actively manage our costs in
order to maximize our ability to directly and positively impact our public
schools.
What is the ratio of funds
that will be given to Groton students/schools vs. Dunstable students/schools?
There is no set ratio applied to the allocation of GDEF funds. This question
seems to stem from the tax appropriation/allocation policies incumbent upon
our towns due to our regionalized school district status. Because we are a
private, non-profit organization, we are not held to any such policies. We
are interested in contributing to the excellence of public school education
within our communities. Being part of a regionalized school district, both
towns benefit – neither more nor less than the other.
Will a
set percentage of funds be allocated to each school within the district?
No.
Each Grant Application will be evaluated on its own merits, regardless of
school.
How can I become involved?
There are
many ways you can become involved in the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation.
In addition to contributing to the Foundation,
thus keeping up with upcoming events and planning, you can volunteer! You can
volunteer on a number of levels, from contributing your time to a specific,
upcoming event to serving on a standing committee such as Fundraising, Grants
Review, and Communications. We have already had tremendous response from
within our communities - THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! We are extremely grateful to our
contributors, and to the more than one hundred volunteers involved in our fundraising
efforts. To become involved - whether as a volunteer or as a donor -
please email us at
info@gdefinc.org, or
click here for a volunteer form!
How can
I get up-to-date information on the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation?
As you have already discovered, most of questions you might have are answered on
our website here at
www.gdefinc.org! On the website you will find updates on events as
well as general information on the Foundation, including information on our
Teaching Stars,
vehicle donation,
and
Business Partners for Education programs, recent press releases and articles about the Foundation, grant
information and applications, and more! Our newsletter,
GDEFNews,
with information on events, programs, grants, volunteer and donation
opportunities and more, is also available on our website - click on the
Newsletters
star on our homepage for current and past issues! The website is updated
frequently with the latest on what's happening at GDEF, so visit often!
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