The IVEF Boardroom Buzz

Welcome to the IVEF Boardroom Buzz, your monthly board-related updates for the Indian Valley Education Foundation. There is a LOT of new information in this edition so please take the time to review it all. Each newsletter is designed to serve you with fast facts and great news. Please take the time to catch yourself up on what is happening in the IVEF. There might be a quiz at the next board meeting!

The MISSION of the Indian Valley Education Foundation is to enrich and expand the educational experiences of every child in the Souderton Area School District by leveraging the resources within our community.

The VISION of the Indian Valley Education Foundation is to be instrumental in advancing access to transformative opportunities that empower every child.

NEWS:

• Cornucopia of Family FUN on November 10th is canceled due to a scheduling conflict with a playoff football game. Stay tuned for details on a potential February/March event.
  

ACTION ITEMS Check your calendar!

• We are seeking a Volunteer skilled in Social Media and Content writing. Please follow this link for the position description and post to your LinkedIn profiles and any other Social Media accounts you are active on. (There is also an attachment below if you prefer!)

• Please continue to share our Boon Supply/Great Western Reserve sale on your social media outlets. Let us know if you would like brochures to share with friends and family. We have a few extra!
• Shakespeare Day: Friday, October 13, 2023, at 1 p.m. in the SAHS Auditorium: Professionally trained actors will perform an 80-minute production of Romeo and Juliet for approximately 500 students (and a few excited English teachers). Seats will be available for faculty, staff, and visiting dignitaries in the three mezzanine sections at the back of the auditorium and in the balcony. (IVEF Funded event!)
  
• Leaders On Board: Starting Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 5:30 p.m.-6:45 p.m. A 6-week virtual nonprofit board training program.
• SAHS Mock Interviews: Thursday, October 19, 2023, Block 1 (8:15 - 9:35), Block 2 (9:45 - 11:05), Block 3 (11:15 - 12:40). If available, please email Michael Darcy, Business Department Coordinator at mdarcy@soudertonsd.org.
• SIGN UP for HSA Presentations: One of our focuses this year is to connect with our school communities; we need your help! Please use this Sign-Up Genius to sign up for a day and time that you can visit one of our schools to share about the work of IVEF. Thank You!

Please review the committee assignments below and familiarize yourself with the Purpose Statements. These statements are subject to refinement when we meet to ensure that each board member is clear on the goals and objectives of the committee and their role in helping to bring it to fruition! Just so you know, if you are serving on the Community Growth & Development and the Connections committees, you will not be expected to attend both meetings regularly. We will discuss this at the next Connections Committee meeting on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

Purpose Statement: Empowering the IVEF's mission and programs through strategic financial planning collaboration with the Executive Team and focusing efforts on strategic fundraising through EITC, donor relations, corporate partnerships, planned giving, and memorial donations. Additionally, oversee the development of an endowment fund, investment management, and regular review of all relevant governance policies.

Board members:

• Bob Solomon LEAD

• Oliver Gingrich

• Mike Taylor

• Kim Dommel

• Maureen Yothers

• Briana Doña

• Tamara Ferlick

• Karla Myers

Purpose Statement: To collaborate and engage with various stakeholders to enhance the impact and relevance of IVEF's initiatives and programs. This includes the development of stakeholder advisory groups (faculty, students) and relationship development with alumni and the community. We strive to identify community resources that enhance all children's educational experiences.

Board members:

• Sue Mandia: LEAD

• Randy Floyd (Community: Law Enforcement/Rotary)

• Marc Scotti (Community/Alumni)

• Bryan Fagan (Students/Faculty)

• Theresa Hunsicker (Faculty/HSA)

• Kim Dommel (HSA)

• Tamara Ferlick (Administration)

• Karla Myers (Rotary~Interact)

• Matt Haines (SAHS Club Advisors)

Purpose Statement: Build awareness, foster support, and nurture community relationships on behalf of IVEF. We collaborate closely with IVEF Committees and IVEF staff to ensure unified messaging for maximum outreach and impact. Our focus areas include branding, social media, digital marketing across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, email campaign support, and website content management.

Board members:

• Stacy Bucher

Staff:

• RuthE Potter
• Meg Dick

This year, we are hosting two major events, and each board member has been asked to commit to helping plan and being a part of at least one of them. The events committees will meet regularly as needed leading up to the event. The events committees for this year are:

SASD Alumni and Friends Golf Outing Committee

• Tamara Ferlick

• Mike Taylor

• Katie Kennedy Reilly

• Frank Gallagher

• Sue Mandia

• Marc Scotti

• Randy Floyd

• Maureen Yothers

To encourage more teachers to apply for the grants the IVEF offers each year, we have revamped our Innovation Grant Program to simply The IVEF Grant Program, which will officially open later this month for faculty and staff. Through an application process, educators may apply for classroom, building, service learning, and student grants.

In addition, IVEF board directors adopted a new funding formula, which allows us to allocate a specific dollar amount per building based on enrollment and the free and reduced lunch population. Any unused funding can be rolled over for one school calendar year.

Grants funded for the 2023-2024 school year to date:

• Outdoor Classroom Fence Project: Samantha Zimmerman, EMC: $2,167.00. The vision for this grant has been in process for many years and has finally come to fruition. Samantha Zimmerman is working closely with Eagle Scout, Luca Barnabei, on making this outdoor learning space a reality for the students at EMC Elementary School.

• 2023 SAHS Shakespeare Day: Stacey Aronow, SAHS: $1450.00 in support of Souderton Area High School’s Shakespeare Day on Friday, October 13. There will be a performance and post-play discussion. Between 2013 and 2017, Dr. Aronow oversaw five different PA Shakespeare Festival performances at the high school and hopes to revive the event. 2016 SAHS Alumna Mackenzie Moyer will be Juliet in this year's performance of Romeo and Juliet. Mackenzie remembers how meaningful the experience was for her at Souderton, and given that she is now starring as Juliet in this year’s production, she wants to give back to her high school community.

Our Boon Supply/Great Western Reserve sale will run through October 20th. So far, we have grossed just over $2,000 and have raised about $875.

Emails were sent to the entire SASD community, and brochures were sent home with all of our elementary students last week to promote the sale. Thanks to a connection brought to us by Bryan Fagan, SAHS students in Ms. Ozeni's Life Skills class prepared and packaged the brochures and parent letters for us. We are so appreciative of their assistance in preparing for this fundraiser. We look forward to working with Ms. Ozeni's class again this winter to help stuff, address, and mail our New Year's Cards!

• We are excited to welcome Peter Becker residents for a tour and presentation of the Greenhouse on November 1.
• We will begin visits to each Home & School to discuss the IVEF's work. We will also present at Parent Participation meetings at Indian Crest and Indian Valley. Andrew Hudak, former IVEF board president, is presenting at Indian Valley. Please see the link for the Sign-up Genius above.
• You are invited to join some fellow board members at the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce Connect for a Cause on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at Branch Creek Taphouse in Souderton. Proceeds to Benefit the Montgomery Theater. Great networking opportunity!
• Tastings of the Indian Valley Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at Franconia Heritage Banquet & Conference Center. We have two tickets remaining! First come, first serve!
• MARKETING MATERIALS ARE COMPLETE! We will be getting these printed in the next week or so, but please download the PDF's below and save to your IVEF materials for easy access.

• October 2, 2023-October 20, 2023: Boon Supply Sale
• October 17, 2023: Community Growth and Development Committee meeting at 8:30 AM at District Office
  
• October 19, 2023: Connections Committee meeting at 8:30 AM at District Office
• November 28, 2023: November Board Meeting at 8:30 AM at District Office
• June 17, 2023: SASD Alumni and Friends Golf Outing at The Indian Valley Country Club