| In The News |
Dragon Times (March 2007 issue)
CCEF Demystified
We’ve all heard of the Choice for Children Education Foundation (CCEF). (No, it's not the company that
provides hot lunches to our children.) You might actually know CCEF as the organization responsible for
coordinates exciting LVCS events such as the annual Golf Tournament and the Gala, which are so important
financially (not to mention socially) to LVCS —mind you neither one of those is a small feat!!
As it happens, CCEF’s primary function is to provide LVCS with the funds necessary to provide our children
with the best possible education available—not the best education available to the district—the best education
available, period. That means every contribution counts and it’s the CCEF’s job to make sure those
contributions keep flowing in on a consistent basis.
Read on as we put some direct questions to the CCEF board and they provide straight answers.
What is CCEF?
The Choice For Children Education Foundation (CCEF) is a non-profit foundation dedicated to raising the
essential funds necessary to provide the programs and learning environment the children of LVCS have been
promised and deserve. As stipulated by its by-laws, funds raised by CCEF benefit the Livermore Valley Charter
School (LVCS) directly.
What does that mean, exactly?
It means that LVCS has a foundation backing it whose sole purpose is to fund its operating budget. LVCS
depends greatlyt on CCEF to narrow the financial gap left by the state.
Who are they, exactly? Are they parents, teachers, or business people?
Currently, all voting board members are parents but community members are definitely welcomed. CCEF
Board Members include Ron Boeder, chairman; Karl Scheibner, president; Maria Mancini, vice president;
Marianne Hamilton, chief financial officer (CFO) and Tim Meier, secretary. LVCS Principal Tina Morris also
sits on the board as a non-voting member advising on the school's financial needs.
What does a CCEF's 501(c)(3) desingation mean?
This means CCEF is a non-profit organization and that all donations to CCEF are tax deductible.
How is CCEF different from PTO? Both organizations run fundraisers, don’t they?
CCEF raises funds specifically to support LVCS’s operating budget. (i.e. teacher’s salaries, books, science lab
equipment, computers etc.). Setting the budget and prioritizing the spending is left to the LVCS senior staff, not
CCEF. CCEF is on track to raise the $500,000 it has pledged to fund the school's goals and vision, and increase
of 400% from last year's pledge.
PTO benefits our school community and spirit, and brings teachers and parents together. PTO members vote
on how to best spend any monies collected through its fundraising activities. CCEF members do not vote on
how to spend money. That is directed by the LVCS senior staff.
Why are we asked to participate in more fundraisers when we contributed during the $1,000
annual drive? Doesn’t that cover it?
CCEF strives to fill the funding gap left by inadequate state and local funding.
California public schools are sorely under-funded when compared to the national average, and Livermore is
further under-funded when compared to the other public schools in the area. In addition, LVCS does not have
access to Measure D or Measure L funds, leaving a substantial financial difference between Livermore District
Schools and LVCS.
The $1,000 per student is the monetary difference between what a school district school receives and what
LVCS receives, without even counting our construction needs. If everyone were able to participated at the
$1000 per student level, we would be able to narrow the funding gap. However, with 66% of families donating
to last year’s Annual Fundraising Drive and not necessarily at the $1000 per student level, we fall short of that
goal. Moving forward, we encourage everyone to participate in our Annual Fundraising Drive at some level, as
this is by far the most important fundraiser of the year.
Where does the money that the CCEF collects go, specifically? Books? Salaries? Equipment?
Monies raised by CCEF go directly to LVCS's core expense -- its operating budget. This includes books,
salaries, equipment, as well as expenses such as the PG&E bill.
How can I get involved?
CCEF is always looking for a few good people! In particular, we are in need of some extra volunteers at our
Sunday bingo games, and we are now accepting applications for Board of Director positions.
Please contact us at ccef@ccefonline.org or call (925)201-3422 if you would like to contribute as a Board
Member, get involved with our Corporate Committee, join the Golf or Gala teams or help with Bingo. We would
love to hear from you!
We’ve all heard of the Choice for Children Education Foundation (CCEF). (No, it's not the company that
provides hot lunches to our children.) You might actually know CCEF as the organization responsible for
coordinates exciting LVCS events such as the annual Golf Tournament and the Gala, which are so important
financially (not to mention socially) to LVCS —mind you neither one of those is a small feat!!
As it happens, CCEF’s primary function is to provide LVCS with the funds necessary to provide our children
with the best possible education available—not the best education available to the district—the best education
available, period. That means every contribution counts and it’s the CCEF’s job to make sure those
contributions keep flowing in on a consistent basis.
Read on as we put some direct questions to the CCEF board and they provide straight answers.
What is CCEF?
The Choice For Children Education Foundation (CCEF) is a non-profit foundation dedicated to raising the
essential funds necessary to provide the programs and learning environment the children of LVCS have been
promised and deserve. As stipulated by its by-laws, funds raised by CCEF benefit the Livermore Valley Charter
School (LVCS) directly.
What does that mean, exactly?
It means that LVCS has a foundation backing it whose sole purpose is to fund its operating budget. LVCS
depends greatlyt on CCEF to narrow the financial gap left by the state.
Who are they, exactly? Are they parents, teachers, or business people?
Currently, all voting board members are parents but community members are definitely welcomed. CCEF
Board Members include Ron Boeder, chairman; Karl Scheibner, president; Maria Mancini, vice president;
Marianne Hamilton, chief financial officer (CFO) and Tim Meier, secretary. LVCS Principal Tina Morris also
sits on the board as a non-voting member advising on the school's financial needs.
What does a CCEF's 501(c)(3) desingation mean?
This means CCEF is a non-profit organization and that all donations to CCEF are tax deductible.
How is CCEF different from PTO? Both organizations run fundraisers, don’t they?
CCEF raises funds specifically to support LVCS’s operating budget. (i.e. teacher’s salaries, books, science lab
equipment, computers etc.). Setting the budget and prioritizing the spending is left to the LVCS senior staff, not
CCEF. CCEF is on track to raise the $500,000 it has pledged to fund the school's goals and vision, and increase
of 400% from last year's pledge.
PTO benefits our school community and spirit, and brings teachers and parents together. PTO members vote
on how to best spend any monies collected through its fundraising activities. CCEF members do not vote on
how to spend money. That is directed by the LVCS senior staff.
Why are we asked to participate in more fundraisers when we contributed during the $1,000
annual drive? Doesn’t that cover it?
CCEF strives to fill the funding gap left by inadequate state and local funding.
California public schools are sorely under-funded when compared to the national average, and Livermore is
further under-funded when compared to the other public schools in the area. In addition, LVCS does not have
access to Measure D or Measure L funds, leaving a substantial financial difference between Livermore District
Schools and LVCS.
The $1,000 per student is the monetary difference between what a school district school receives and what
LVCS receives, without even counting our construction needs. If everyone were able to participated at the
$1000 per student level, we would be able to narrow the funding gap. However, with 66% of families donating
to last year’s Annual Fundraising Drive and not necessarily at the $1000 per student level, we fall short of that
goal. Moving forward, we encourage everyone to participate in our Annual Fundraising Drive at some level, as
this is by far the most important fundraiser of the year.
Where does the money that the CCEF collects go, specifically? Books? Salaries? Equipment?
Monies raised by CCEF go directly to LVCS's core expense -- its operating budget. This includes books,
salaries, equipment, as well as expenses such as the PG&E bill.
How can I get involved?
CCEF is always looking for a few good people! In particular, we are in need of some extra volunteers at our
Sunday bingo games, and we are now accepting applications for Board of Director positions.
Please contact us at ccef@ccefonline.org or call (925)201-3422 if you would like to contribute as a Board
Member, get involved with our Corporate Committee, join the Golf or Gala teams or help with Bingo. We would
love to hear from you!
