Mokena School
District 159
Educational
Foundation
Mokena District 159 Educational Foundation
Establishment of Special Donation Fund
March 25, 2010
In accordance with the motion pertaining to the possibility of funding Schedule B Activities for the 2010/11 school year, passed by the Mokena School District 159 Board of Education (Board of Ed) on March 22, 2010, the Mokena School District 159 Educational Foundation (MEF) in conjunction with the Mokena PTA, Inc. (PTA), the Mokena School District 159 Athletic Boosters (Athletic Boosters) and the Mokena Music Boosters, Inc. (Music Boosters) (herein after referred to as “the organization”) is forming a Special Donation Fund.
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of the Special Donation Fund is to facilitate the collection of monetary donations from individuals and groups within the community, specifically to be utilized, in accordance with the motion mentioned above, to reinstate Schedule B Activities for the 2010/2011 school year. This Special Donation Fund is intended to be a one-time, short-term vehicle to facilitate the collection and distribution of these funds.
Special Account:
MEF has established a separate, interest bearing account, with Old Plank Trail Community Bank, Mokena Branch, Account # 3020002796.
Committee:
The Board of Directors of MEF has established a committee to administer the Special Account and to actively participate in marketing and fundraising for this Special Donation Fund. The committee consists of individuals from each of the organizations as follows:
Bob Garcia – Treasurer, MEF
Karen Bussean – President, Music Boosters
Carol Garcia – President, PTA
Pete Connolly – President, Athletic Boosters
Additional participants from the organizations, the schools and the community can be active in the effort, as directed by the committee, however for purposes of this Special Donation Fund the committee members listed above retain management and control of the effort and the Special Donation Fund.
Donors:
Donors to this Special Donation Fund may be any individual, group, corporations or other legal entity. The committee reserves the right to decline donations, at its sole discretion, if the committee feels that the individual or entity offering the donation maintains guiding principles which conflict with those of any of the organizations or the
Donations:
Only donations specified by the Donors as being for the Special Donation Fund can be deposited into the Special Donation Fund account.
Interest Income:
Any interest income generated in the Special Donation Fund account is the property of MEF and may be withdrawn at any time from the account for the benefit of MEF and utilized in accordance with its charter. The reason that the interest will remain the property of MEF is to off-set expenses that the Foundation may incur directly due to fundraising activities and events for this Special Donation Fund. MEF may ultimately decide to keep the interest in the Special Donation Fund or use the interest to cover these kinds of expenses.
Distribution:
Funds directed to the Special Donation Fund, with the exception of interest income as specified above, can only be distributed:
1. To
2. As a refund back to each individual donor in an amount not to exceed each individual donors contribution(s) to the Special Donation Fund. Refunds will only be issued for each donation of $100 or more to the Special Donation Fund.
a. Once all funds are distributed in accordance with items 1 and 2 above any remaining balance in the Special Donation Fund will be divided equally among the groups comprising the organization and distributed to them for their usage in their general activities as outlined in their charter. In the event that any of the groups comprising the organization are no longer in existence then the remaining balance will be divided by the number of remaining groups and distributed accordingly.
3. As seed money to be utilized in fund raising activities as may be identified by the committee subject to a maximum of 20% of the amount expected to be raised with the specific fund raising activity.
Why would there be a refund:
The Special Donation Fund will only be refunded back to each individual donor as outlined above if the established aggregate amount as set forth in the Board of Ed Motion is not achieved within the timeframe established by the Board of Ed or if the Board of Ed does not accept the donation because other parameters of their motion, outside of the control of the organization, are not met.
Changes in the motion:
If the Board of Ed modifies the original motion, either once or multiple times, in such a way as to effect the reinstatement of Schedule B Activities at a lower dollar amount than the original aggregate goal specified or if the required due date of the funds is modified or extended beyond what was originally specified then funds in the Special Donation Fund can still be utilized to meet the revised aggregate amount. If the total donations do not meet the revised aggregate amount then the details regarding refunding amounts back to individual donors will follow the process described above in section two under Distribution.
If donations exceed the requested amount:
If the total amount of donations into this Special Donation Fund, combined with any funding from any other sources accepted by the Board of Ed, exceed the specified aggregate amount outlined in the Board of Ed Motion then the excess contributions in this Special Donation Fund will be split equally and distributed to the member groups of the organization as described above and consistent with this document. Those distributed funds will become the property of each individual organization when distributed and available for use by each group as it sees fit in accordance with its charter.
Transparency Requirement:
In order for the Special Donation Fund to be distributed to the District as outlined above the Board of Ed and/or the administration must provide the committee with detailed accounting of how the funds will be applied by the district once received. The detailed accounting will include, but not be limited to, copies of invoices or other detailed records of obligations of the District which together equal or exceed the aggregate dollar amount specified to reinstate Schedule B Activities. The District must then also specifically itemize the receipt of these funds from this Special Donation Fund on its financial statements provided such itemization does not conflict with any accounting or tax rules or principals. This information may be made public by the committee at its discretion.
Collaboration:
Where not specifically barred by state rule or law the Board of Ed and/or administration of the District will participate with and support this Special Donation Fund. The committee and the administration will meet and work together to identify realistic and sincere opportunities to identify efficiencies in the Schedule B Activities and consider viable alternatives which would not endanger participants, degrade the quality of the program(s) in question nor disparage the District, the administration, the organization, its members or the committee in any way.
Making a Donation:
There are a number of ways to make a donation to this Special Donation Fund.
Using the link below you can donate directly to this fund via Pay-Pal.
You can also write a check, payable to Mokena Educational Foundation, and either drop it off at the District Office during normal business hours or mail the check to the following address:
Mokena Educational Foundation
c/o Mokena Organizational Leaders
P.O. Box 426
Mokena, IL 60448
Please make sure to write: "Special Donation Fund" in the memo section of your check.
Don't forget that many corporations and business offer matching grant opportunities for their employees. Be sure to check with your employer and find out if your donation to the Special Donation Fund is eligible for matching.
The organizational leaders will be setting up a variety of fund raising activities throughout the remainder of 2010. Please keep any eye out for opportunities to have fun in the community and provide support to this Fund at the same time.
Frequently Asked Question:
We have received several questions from people regarding why we have not specifically included full day kindergarten in our fund raising efforts. There are certainly many of us within the community who feel strongly about full-day kindergarten and its value to students. At this point the main reason that these organizations have not specifically included reinstatement of full-day kindergarten in our efforts is two fold. First, based on feedback from the board of ed the dollar amount attached to full-day kindergarten is approximately $350,000. That is in addition to the $250,000 we are shooting for on the Schedule B activities. We are undertaking a significant effort to try and reach $250,000 and wanted to gage interest and support in the community before trying to push beyond that amount. The second reason is the timing and logistical difficulties associated with trying to accomplish the $350,000 in a very, very short time frame. In speaking with Mrs. Perry and others within the district it was suggested that unless we could raise substantially all of the $350,000 by June 1, 2010 the district would not be able to realistically address scheduling, staffing and transportation for full-day kindergarten in the fall of 2010.
What we as a group have said thus far is that it is our intention to not stop fund raising if/when we reach the $250,000 level. At the same time we want to be open and honest with the community about what we believe can be accomplished based on the business factors that the district has to address. We would love nothing more than to go to the district in early June and tell them that we've reach $300,000 and we are plowing forward to get up to $600,000. We believe this would be positively viewed by the community and the district. At the same time however, we don't want to make promises that we cannot keep.
Together we can accomplish this goal...Thank you for your support!