| The study surveyed education foundations which serve public schools in America. The education foundations and the characteristics studied were identified by an exhaustive review of the literature. Those education foundations which were most successful in raising funds to support their school(s), in improving relations between the school(s) and the community, and in remaining in existence were surveyed.;Characteristics identified by this study which are most prominent in successful education foundations are listed below: (1) Most successful education foundations supported an entire school district. (2) Successful education foundations existed in cities that vary greatly in population (under 10,000 to 900,000). (3) Education foundations that did not employ staff were not as successful in fund raising as those education foundations which did employ staff. (4) Most successful education foundations began because schools were in need of funds. (5) Most successful education foundations allocated funds directly to teachers to be spent in classrooms. (6) The most successful fund raising efforts were those which raised funds from auctions and individual contributions. (7) The characteristics most important when considering foundation board members were time to work with the foundation, credibility in the community, and loyalty to the schools. (8) Individuals and corporations were the primary contributors of funds to education foundations. (9) The greatest benefits of education foundations to the school or school district, other than financial, were improving communications between the school and community, improving community attitudes about the school, and improving support in the community. (10) Successful education foundations have utilized newspapers most frequently for publicity. School publications were also widely used for publicity. (11) The problems most frequently experienced by successful education foundations were gaining commitment from foundation board members and fund raising. (12) Most successful education foundations favored a legal arrangement that separated them from the school district but maintained a working association.;Recommendations were made for further study and for those interested in establishing or improving education foundations, and conclusions of the study were presented.;A 19-item survey was mailed to 76 education foundations throughout the country. The surveys returned by 32 respondents provided data to be analyzed. The respondents provided specific information about their particular education foundations and the school(s) which their foundations served. Respondents also ranked items in order of importance to their foundations. |
