FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How Is The Foundation Organized?
The Foundation is governed by an independent Board of Directors of community leaders and educators. The Board determines policies, provides leadership in fund-raising and grant-making, and ensures that gifts to the foundation are used in accordance with the donor's wishes. The Foundation has its own professional staff independent of the MMSD administration. The foundation is independent from the MMSD Board of Education but is endorsed by it.

What Has The Foundation Accomplished?
• The Foundation raised more than $8.7 million and has given back more than $1.28 million in grants to our schools. This is the largest pool of money available for grant applications from teachers and students.

• Established endowment funds for each of the 49 schools in the district and all schools have an endowment fund of at least $10,000. Forty-four schools have endowment balances of $20,000 or more. The Individual School Endowment Initiative is the first of its kind in the country. Through the generosity of John and Leslie Taylor and the Clay-Price Fund each school received a challenge grant of $5,000 to meet the endowment threshold.  Our next goal is to help every school reach an endowment balance of $50,000 and be linked with an Adopt-A-School partner.

• Developed Adopt-A-School program to build partnerships between the schools and community groups throughout Madison. Each relationship is unique to the school and partnering organization providing human, material and financial resources to enrich educational experiences for students.

• Provided pass through fund support for projects and programs that benefit Madison’s public schools such as the Memorial Art Department, LVM Dreams Big Playground Project, West High Ash Street Entrance renovation and the Randall School-Olive Jones Park project.   

How Can You Make A Difference for Madison's Kids?
We in Madison are fortunate to have one of the best school districts in the country. It is as simple, and as complex, as that.

Generations of Madisonians have enjoyed a quality of education that is at the heart of this incredible community. Our schools touch not only our children but people of all ages. They have an enormous effect on Madison's economic viability - the ability of businesses to attract quality employees, on our neighborhoods and where people choose to live, and providing an educated workforce.

But anyone who reads the newspapers knows that this quality of education is threatened. From sports to drama to music, the enhancements that make our schools great may not be available for our children, or for their children. The impact on the future of Madison is unimaginable.

The Foundation for Madison's Public Schools was incorporated in 2001 and has benefited every school in some way. The Foundation has developed a Board of Directors of community leaders and educators that is completely independent from the Board of Education but endorsed by it; raised more than $8.7 million; returned $1.28 million in grants to our schools, including unrestricted grants, for creative and innovative projects that are outside the core school budget; and developed projects, such as Principal for a Day and the Individual School Endowment Initiative, that foster partnerships and bring resources to our schools.

"We sit in the shade of trees planted by someone long ago"

Please make a gift that will "make a difference for Madison's kids" now and long into the future. Specific ways you can support the Foundation for Madison's Public Schools:

• Gifts and pledges to support the Unrestricted Fund that is used for the annual unrestricted grants program and the operations of the Foundation are most appreciated.

• The Foundation is building a General Endowment Fund that will provide funding for projects in our schools long into the future; all endowment funds are held at the Madison Community Foundation.

• Gift of any amount can be made to build the endowment funds that have been established for each of the 48 schools in the district and the field of interest funds.  A new field of interest fund can be established with a gift of $10,000.

• Gifts can also be made through a variety of planned giving vehicles, such as your will or listing the Foundation as the beneficiary of an insurance policy.