$574,170. That’s how much money the Carlmont Academic Foundation raised in the 2017–2018 school year. This year, they strive to do better.
The Carlmont Academic Foundation (CAF) is a non-profit organization run by Carlmont parents and community members to raise money for academics. This includes funding for smaller class sizes, AP classes, electives, and programs such as the Biotechnology Institute (BTI) and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).
While CAF is mainly run by parents, there is also a CAF Student Board that supports the foundation though marking and advertising. This includes thanking sponsors, taking photos to advertise the program, and making CAF’s fundraising relevant in the student community.
“The student board is really just a part of CAF that allows the parents to work through the students at school and makes the fundraising more directly involved with the student population,” said Max Jung, a senior and president of the CAF student board.
Many current student board members joined because of their parents’ involvement in the foundation and strive to help the school and provide the best possible future for themselves and others.
“I wanted to help with the fundraising for Carlmont because it is very beneficial for classrooms as well as academic programs,” said Parker English, a junior.
CAF raises money for these unique programs through fundraisers, business partnerships, and corporate donations.
The last fundraiser that CAF hosted was called Giving Tuesday, where over 70 Carlmont families donated.
“In our most recent fundraiser, over 70 Carlmont families and alumni donated a total of over $200,000 which funded nearly nine class sections at Carlmont,” Jung said.
This month, the CAF student board will participate in the Thank-a-thon, where club members call donors to acknowledge their donations and encourage them to continue to support Carlmont.
“The Thank-a-thon is when students on the CAF student board call our donors and thank them personally. This is very important to CAF because it’s a great way to spread awareness about what we do in CAF, and it is also a big revenue generator to help reach our goal this year,” said Alex English, a junior.
Additionally, the Thank-a-thon also shows donators who they are supporting through their donations.
“The Thank-a-thon is important because it is a way for the students who are being benefited by the donations to show their gratitude,” Jung said.
According to the Carlmont Academic Foundation’s Annual Report, 63 percent of the money raised goes towards having more variety in classes and smaller class sizes. Additionally, 14 percent is used to fund pay for teachers and 13 percent is used for college preparation resources. The rest of the money funds enrichment programs and technology used in various science and digital art classes.
All of these donations allow students to experiment with different types of classes to see what they would be interested in pursuing further.
“Parents should donate to CAF because it helps all students to learn and grow in the best environment possible and be able to participate in whatever classes they might want to take,” Parker English said.
If interested in donating, visit the CAF online donation form.