D65 never fundraised. They didn't even try They never have a plan in place for anything. They have proven to be horrid at financial decisions and money management. Don't blame ETHS because they have strategic planning and solid money management.
D65 never fundraised. They didn't even try They never have a plan in place for anything. They have proven to be horrid at financial decisions and money management. Don't blame ETHS because they have strategic planning and solid money management.
I have a lot to say about PEP and Foundation65. Neither are really crushing it with donations but the private donor model to a K-8 school is very different than a high school, which has a lot more affinity-type things like football teams and arts and such. D65 did have a pretty decent fundraising operation (in aggregate) when the individual PTAs existed but that era is over. I will still argue that the PEP approach is pretty inefficient and they should've kept individual PTAs but implemented something like a luxury tax to subsidize the less wealthy PTAs. Instead they just smashed the whole thing and broke all the incentives because they didn't want the wealthier PTAs to claim any wins.
It's funny - I totally get that desire, in a way that's kind of what I was trying to hit with this post. There's definitely an element of class resentment between the wealthy and everyone else right now. As a not rich person who can't afford a house in Evanston, I completely understand the desire to say "take your money and shove it" ... but I guess we can see what that did for PEP. Maybe the PEP founders felt better about themselves (they sure seemed like it in the NPR interview), but it created a net poorer district for all kids.
Maybe this can lead to a conversation about the tradeoffs between taking the money and not shooting ourselves in the foot?
I also think part of the disgust comes from watching Northwestern's fundraising apparatus, which to observers seems totally feckless. They'd name a building after Hitler if he gave enough money.
As with most of the equity efforts that fail, the people who suffer the most are the kids.
If we could go back to individual PTA models with a 60/40 or 70/30 model to go towards the struggling schools, everyone would benefit. Plus, we would see a sense of community building back in our schools again like pre-Covid days.
Do you have a link to their NPR interview by chance? I haven't heard it. Thanks.
D65 never fundraised. They didn't even try They never have a plan in place for anything. They have proven to be horrid at financial decisions and money management. Don't blame ETHS because they have strategic planning and solid money management.
And PEP is actually raising less money for D65 than previous fundraising efforts.
I have a lot to say about PEP and Foundation65. Neither are really crushing it with donations but the private donor model to a K-8 school is very different than a high school, which has a lot more affinity-type things like football teams and arts and such. D65 did have a pretty decent fundraising operation (in aggregate) when the individual PTAs existed but that era is over. I will still argue that the PEP approach is pretty inefficient and they should've kept individual PTAs but implemented something like a luxury tax to subsidize the less wealthy PTAs. Instead they just smashed the whole thing and broke all the incentives because they didn't want the wealthier PTAs to claim any wins.
I completely agree.
It's funny - I totally get that desire, in a way that's kind of what I was trying to hit with this post. There's definitely an element of class resentment between the wealthy and everyone else right now. As a not rich person who can't afford a house in Evanston, I completely understand the desire to say "take your money and shove it" ... but I guess we can see what that did for PEP. Maybe the PEP founders felt better about themselves (they sure seemed like it in the NPR interview), but it created a net poorer district for all kids.
Maybe this can lead to a conversation about the tradeoffs between taking the money and not shooting ourselves in the foot?
I also think part of the disgust comes from watching Northwestern's fundraising apparatus, which to observers seems totally feckless. They'd name a building after Hitler if he gave enough money.
As with most of the equity efforts that fail, the people who suffer the most are the kids.
If we could go back to individual PTA models with a 60/40 or 70/30 model to go towards the struggling schools, everyone would benefit. Plus, we would see a sense of community building back in our schools again like pre-Covid days.
Do you have a link to their NPR interview by chance? I haven't heard it. Thanks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TgRJLA3ZtM