Defining critical elements of successful Nebraska public school foundations

The study was undertaken with the intent of providing in-depth information on five successful Nebraska public school foundations. The foundations represented Nebraska school districts with student enrollments ranging from 352 to 27,986 students. A series of 15 questions was prepared so personnel from each of the five public school foundations could be asked about the same topics: selection of original incorporators, development of bylaws and articles of incorporation, preparation of I.R.S. application form, start-up costs, availability of skilled volunteers or use of paid staff, planned fundraising activities, fund distribution requirements, investment strategies, relationships or affiliations with community foundations, and five-year comparable projections. The following conclusions resulted from the interviews with personnel from each of the five foundations studied: (1) Elements critical for successful public school foundations included developing appropriate purpose statements, selecting active board members, employing paid staff, developing marketing materials, formulating investment strategies, forming working committees, and incorporating different levels of donor recognition. (2) Items that did not seem to be associated with successful public school foundations were size of school district, age of the public school foundation, and location of the foundation. (3) A major weakness with the total concept of the development of public school foundations in Nebraska was noted. That weakness was seen as a lack of direction and support for the concept at the state level. (4) Another weakness noted was the absence of annuity trust options for donors. Until school foundations offer annuity or other attractive options, growth in foundation assets may be limited. (5) On the whole, the foundations studied seemed to be successful; however, these organizations may not have been approaching their potential