Reynoldsburg Education Foundation to work with Columbus Foundation to meet goals
The Reynoldsburg Education Foundation entered into a partnership with The Columbus Foundation on Feb. 18 that it says will help the organization achieve its goals.
“The REF’s partnership with The Columbus Foundation is the next step in the nonprofit’s journey toward establishing a viable organization that will support students and staff through independent funding, offering a sustainable and long-lasting source of fiscal support through grants and scholarships that uplift Reynoldsburg students and staff,” the REF stated in a news release.
The Reynoldsburg Education Foundation is not affiliated with Reynoldsburg City Schools.
Debbie Dunlap, foundation chair and president of the Reynoldsburg Board of Education, said the Reynoldsburg Education Foundation is a nonprofit that works in tandem with the school district that helps to raise funds for initiatives throughout the district that state and local dollars do not reach.
According to the REF website, the organization was founded in late 2019 to “empower Reynoldsburg City Schools students and educators by enhancing and enriching educational opportunities through charitable donations, community engagement and support that develops and nurtures the whole child.”
To date, the foundation has awarded $3,000 in grants to teachers to help fund education initiatives in classrooms, according to foundation treasurer Jon Harmacek.
Dunlap said one of the projects funded through those grants was a vegetable garden at Summit Road Elementary, where students harvested vegetables and used some to make salads.
“Certain things that maybe the state or school district doesn’t cover, that’s where we step in,” Harmacek said.
“We pick up where state and local funding leaves off,” Dunlap said.
The partnership with The Columbus Foundation will provide additional funding for the Reynoldsburg Education Foundation as well as guidance on how to successfully operate.
Other support The Columbus Foundation will provide include investment management, charitable gift acceptance, planned giving counsel, and strategy and policy development, according to Steven Moore, chief of staff of The Columbus Foundation.
“We pleased to assist the Reynoldsburg Education Foundation with our endowment services to help them grow in vision and in capacity as they continue to support the students, parents, teachers, and staff in the Reynoldsburg City Schools,” Moore said.
The connection will make sure “we’re investing our money responsibly and getting the returns that we need,” Harmacek said.
The Columbus Foundation also will help secure funds for the Reynoldsburg Education Foundation through its signature Big Give fundraising event and from people who would like to donate to the REF through The Columbus Foundation, he said.
“So it opens us up to a wider array of donors as well,” Harmacek said.
“We’re trying to close the gap between state funding and what the school district really needs financially.
“To that end, the partnership with The Columbus Foundation will help us take that to the next step, take that further to help raise more funds and also get a return on our investment with the foundation to have more funds available for the school systems,” he said.
Harmacek said the Reynoldsburg Education Foundation has invested an undisclosed sum with The Columbus Foundation.
Harmacek said the REF’s goal is to raise $20,000 this year.
Other fundraising initiatives include an annual gala held in the fall and partnering with the Mid-Ohio Market at HEART in Reynoldsburg to host the Mulligan Golf Classic tournament in the summer at Cumberland Trail Golf Club in Pataskala.
For information on the Columbus Foundation, go to columbusfoundation.org.
@ThisWeekSteve
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