FAMILY COMMITMENT HANDBOOK

2023/2024 SCHOOL YEAR

Calculating your Family Commitment

$4,000 per year minimum (PER FAMILY)

September 1 to August 31, Annually, No Roll Over

What could this look like?

$800 of raffle tickets sold

$400 donated with $400 corporate matching

$600 donated by friends/family on Giving Tuesday

$750 - 2 Golfers Registered for the Golf Tournament

$400 raised for the Calgary Marathon

$350 of merchandise donated

$700 through 28 hours of volunteering

Time Buy Out

and Attendence

Contact us about your Family Commitment

kgurski@foothillsacademy.org

Manager - Community and Alumni Engagement

Ask me questions about sponsorship opportunities for events, grants or partnerships or the overall policy and procedure for family commitment.

emardell@foothillsacademy.org

Fundraising and Communications Administrative Staff

Reach out to me if you have questions about your family commitment status and receipting

KathleenandEvonaareavailable,MondaytoFriday,year-roundto discussyourfamilycommitment.

Kathleenisalsoavailableatthetwogeneralmeetings(Septemberand June),manyFAPAmeetingsaswellasparent/teacherinterviewdays.

Evona Mardell

Kathleen Gurski

When to Find Kathleen and Evona

What is Family Commitment & Why do we have it?

What is Family Commitment:

Every family who joins the Foothills Academy becomes part of a larger community working together to support our organization, find understanding, build confidence and maximize potential. Since its beginning, no child in need has been turned away from Foothills Academy Society for financial reasons.

Our Family Commitment is needed:

To ensure low student-teacher ratios allowing for more individualized instruction and support

To support facility and program updates such as an outdoor classroom

To support our bursary program and ensure our programs are financially accessible to all

To maintain up-to-date technology in the classroom, supported by our full time AT Specialist

To support our full-time Assistive Technology specialist to support our students

To support our on-site mental health support, Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Therapy for our students

To provide a variety of field trips and other immersive, experiential and educational experiences without any additional cost to families

About your Family Commitment

There are 3 components to your Family Commitment:

Families must become members of the Foothills Academy Parents Association (FAPA)

This costs $32 for 2023/2024 and DOES NOT count towards your contribution to fundraising efforts.

2. Parents/Guardians must attend two General Meetings to hear from Foothills Academy Society Administration (September and June, annually.)

September includes: Updates and information from the Board of Governors, Execuitive Directors and FAPA

June includes: Updates and information from the Board of Governors and Execuitive Directors and is the AGM for FAPA

3. Families will contribute to Foothills Academy Society's fundraising efforts. a.

The target for each family is $4000/year and up

Reminder

This is a FAMILY COMMITMENT and is per family, not per student. Families with multiple children attending the school program will be aiming at approximately $4000/year and up.

It is important to note that FAPA and Foothills Academy Society are separate legal entities, and some activities with FAPA can be counted toward your family commitment (such as selling raffle tickets).

Foothills Academy Society & FAPA Working Together

While FAPA and Foothills Academy Society work together, it is important to note that these are separate legal entities and will remain so for legal and tax reasons.

Foothills Academy Society supports FAPA with items such; as social media posts about the FAPA Car Raffle and including information in our weekly e-news about FAPA meetings and volunteer opportunities.

In addition, money raised through the FAPA Car Raffle, Casino Shifts and other opportunities is eligible for your family commitment in financial contributions and through volunteer hours at $25/hour. FAPA also provides information to Foothills Academy Society about what contributions have been made to family commitment.

We are currently evaluating if there are changes to the value per dollar for Casino Volunteer Hours.

Volunteer hours that are eligible through FAPA for your family commitment are: 1. 2. 3.

Serving as an executive member (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer. etc.) for FAPA

Serving as a director for FAPA - there are a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 needed per year to create and maintain a quorum for voting at FAPA meetings. Directors must attend 90% or more of FAPA meetings in the year. Being involved with additional FAPA activities (raffle chair, casino chair, etc.)

Attending a FAPA meeting is not eligible for a volunteer hour unless you are in an executive or director position with FAPA.

How Money Raised with FAPA goes to Foothills Academy Society

FAPA funds are not donated directly to Foothills Academy Society, as the parents association needs to decide how and where to contribute to Foothills Academy Society (As per AGLC regulations).

The process works like this:

FAPA raises money - i.e., through the raffle or casino Foothills Academy Society Admin presents a list of options to which we would like the funds contributed.

FAPA deliberates and lets Foothills Academy Society Admin know their selection(s).

FAPA meetings are a key component of these discussions.

1.

2.

3.

What I have done for my Family Commitment?

Regular updates (EVERY TWO MONTHS) will be sent to each parent/guardian individually, with a total and subcategories for what we have received for your family. This is because families may have multiple households involved in their Family Commitment. All adults involved will be communicated with individually.

INFORMATION TO NOTE WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE EMAIL:

Some donations can take up to 3 months to arrive in our account from organizations such as United Way, Benevity, Birdies for Kids, Canada Helps and more.

Our system is new, and we will need feedback from families for outstanding donations or hours to ensure we can update their files correctly.

Your email will look like this:

"Dear YOUR NAME,

As of DATE, your Family Commitment total is currently $XXXX.XX. This total is made up of the combination of the following:

Buy-Out (Annual or Monthly): $XXXX.XX

Other Cash (Including SkipTheDepot): $XXXX.XX

Calgary Marathon: $XXXX.XX

Event Sponsor: $XXXX.XX

FAPA Raffle: $XXXX.XX

Volunteer Hours: $XXXX.XX

The upcoming opportunities for your to fulfill your family commitment are:

Fundraising event or opportunity

Volunteer opportunity

Possible other opportunities

Please reach out to fundraising@foothillsacademy.org if any of the information is above is incorrect so we can update our files, and click the opportunities above to sign up for our upcoming opportunities."

2.

3.

Financial Donations

Tax Receipt Available: YES - 100%

Value Counted to Family Commitment: 100%

Specifics

These donation options are ideal for Foothills Academy Society as they maximize our flexibility in using these dollars for the areas of highest need as they change. This can be done anytime between September 1 and August 31, including our Giving Tuesday campaign.

In addition, there are grant programs that will match donated dollars, which makes family commitment donations go further. All dollars donated qualify for your family commitment.

If others are donating on your child's behalf, have your child(rens) name(s) typed in the "connection to a current Foothills Academy Student" box The donation is made to have it counted towards your family commitment All donation forms will have a section asking if there is a connection to a current Foothills Academy Student (see below).

If a donation is made on your behalf, and the person does not put your child's name in this box, please email fundraising@foothillsacademy.org so that we can count the donation towards your family commitment.

Financial Donations

Employer Matching

Tax Receipt Available: VARIABLE

Value Counted to Family Commitment: 100%

Specifics

Many companies have donation programs and donation matching programs for their employees, which can range from:

1:1 matching - you donate $1000, and your company matched $1000 50% matching - you donate $1000, and your company matched $500

Your company allocates $100 for each employee to donate, and you donated your $100 to Foothills Academy Society.

Your employer will have information about these programs if they are available.

In all of the scenarios above, the TOTAL AMOUNT DONATED is counted towards your family commitment. In the three cases above, that would mean:

1:1 matching - you donate $1000, and your company matched $1000 - A total of $2000 counted towards your family commitment.

50% matching - you donate $1000, and your company matched $500 - A total of $1500 counted towards your family commitment.

Your company allocates $100 for each employee to donate; you donated your $100 to Foothills - A Total of $100 counted towards your family commitment.

Financial Donations

Employer Matching continued

There are many ways that your company may manage this donation through platforms and organizations such as:

NOTE: Sometimes, these donations can take up to 3 months to be deposited with Foothills Academy Society after your donation. Therefore, ENSURE YOU E-MAIL fundraising@foothillsacademy.org with all details of your donation with any company matching on the day you donate.

Including:

Your Name

Student Name(s)

Company Name

Amount Donated

Amount Matched Platform or Organization Used.

Grants & Corporate Partnerships

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value Counted to Family Commitment: Variable

Specifics: Foothills Academy Society writes grants to both granting organizations and corporations annually. Supporting these grant applications or a corporate partnership supports your family commitment. This can range from 10% to 50% of the value of the grant/partnership.

The value allotted to your family commitment is a percentage calculated on the total value given to Foothills Academy Society in relation to your involvement and support in the process

Example 1: You set a meeting with your organization about partnering with Foothills Academy Society, and you set a meeting with our Community Engagement Manager to prep for the meeting and support our cause. Foothills Academy is awarded a $20,000 one-year partnership 50% of the total is counted toward your family commitment for the year, at a total of $10,000 or;

Example 2: Our Community Engagement Manager contacted you about a grant we found from your employer. We list your name on the grant, and you speak to your employer about the incoming application. Foothills Academy is awarded a $20,000 one-year grant. 10% of the total is counted toward your family commitment, at a total of $2,000.

For multi-year grants or multi-year corporate partnerships, the funds will be counted annually for your family commitment

For example, your employer has a grant program that awards Foothills Academy Society $2,500 a year for three years. $2,500 will be counted toward your family commitment for those three years

Sponsorships and Events

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value Counted to Family Commitment: 100%

Specifics:

Foothills Academy Society hosts more events every year to connect with our network of families, alumni and community donors

These have included and will include:

The Gordon Hoffman Charity Golf Tournament - August every year

Fall Funtasia/40th Anniversary Gala - Returning in late 2024.

The Calgary Marathon After Party - end of May every year.

Calgary Stampede Breakfast - July every year, beginning in 2024.

Alumni Connecting Events - Launching in September of 2023

You, your company or your employer can be an event sponsor on a sliding scale of financial support from $500 - $25,000. If you bring in an event sponsor, their sponsorship amount will count toward your family commitment

For PAID TICKETED EVENTS such as the Gordon Hoffman Charity Golf Tournament, and Gala's, the cost of the tickets purchased is counted toward your family commitment Similarly to donation forms, event ticket forms also have a section asking if there is a connection to a current Foothills Academy Student. Have your child(ren's) name(s) typed in that box when a donation is made to have it counted towards your family commitment

If a donation is made on your behalf, and the person does not put your child's name in this box, please email fundraising@foothillsacademy.org so that we can count the donation towards your family commitment.

Calgary Marathon

Tax Receipt Available: Variable

Value to Foothills: 100% of Pledges, 0% of Registration Fees

Specifics:

The Calgary Marathon is held on the last Sunday of May annually, with a "virtual" option to run on your own time around the same time as the in-person race. There are numerous options to use this event to count for your family commitment.

Registering for the Calgary Marathon - No registration fees are counted toward your family commitment. We ask that you use our "Affiliate Registration Link," provided in all emails and information sent to families. This link will have Foothills Academy Society earn $5 from the Calgary Marathon, which helps us offset the cost of fees associated with donations received through the donation platform. The virtual option is perfect for families who are busy during the marathon, as pledges can still be collected. However, you can walk or run on your own schedule.

This means - it does not make a difference to your family commitment what distance you selected, and your race fees do not count toward your family commitment.

All pledges collected CAN count toward your family commitment. If your family creates a team, any and all pledges collected by any team members will count toward your family commitment.

We also host the annual Calgary Marathon Afterparty on the same day (last Sunday in May), from 11 AM - 4 PM.

You can be involved as a:

Volunteer Donor Sponsor

All of which can count toward your family commitment.

FAPA Raffle Ticket Sales

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value to Foothills: 100%

Specifics:

Organized by FAPA and typically running from July to November, the annual FAPA Raffle has prizes such as cars, cash and technology. FAPA organizes this event.

Tickets sold by your family count toward your family commitment. AGLC Regulations do not allow any tax receipts to be issued for raffle ticket sales.

Due to the timing of the raffle, all ticket sales are counted toward the next year's family commitment, as the draw is after September 1st.

Example 1:

Raffle Tickets are for Sale from July to November. Your family sells $100 of tickets in July, $500 of tickets in August and $200 of tickets in October. The total of $800 of tickets sold will be counted toward your family commitment starting in September, as the raffle date is November.

For any raffle tickets sold on behalf of your family where the person does not include your child's name, please email raffle@foothillsacademy.org so that we can count the raffle ticket sales towards your family commitment.

Donating Items

Not all item donations are accepted

Tax Receipt Available: Variable

Value to Foothills: 100%

Specifics:

Items may be donated to Foothills Academy Society to fulfill your family commitment. These items will be used for silent auctions for events such as our golf tournament, gala or alumni fundraiser.

For an item to be eligible to donate, it must be:

New or in new condition (i.e., a signed jersey that is mounted and framed may not be new, but if in new condition, would still be eligible), An item of good quality/value (ie, a gift certificate to a spa or piece from a reputable artist), and

Assessed and accepted by our fundraising team.

The process to donate your item is as follows:

Take pictures of your item - not applicable for tickets and gift cards

Click THIS LINK to fill out your item donation form. Fill out the form and upload photos of the item.

Then our staff will:

Review the form and photos, and assess the item's value

Reach out about the value assessment and coordinate a drop-off time.

Any items that have a value of over $1000 will be assessed professionally for tax purposes.

Please note: due to space constraints, not all items may be accepted, and large items may not be able for storage by Foothills Academy Society until as little as two weeks before an event.

Hourly Volunteering

*Not FAPA Up to $2000 per year

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value to Foothills: $25/hour

Specifics:

There are monthly opportunities to volunteer at Foothills Academy Society that will be sent out with your Family Commitment updates.

These can includes:

Volunteering for an event such as the Marathon After Party, Gala or Golf Tournament

Volunteering to support creating materials for community services programssuch as laminating and cutting items for our Read/Write program.

Supporting sports teams and/or extra curricular activities

As mentioned earlier we are currently reviewing the value of hours volunteers for casino shifts. Any updates made to that policy will be reflected on this page.

When your family commitment updates are sent out every 2 months we will also include any upcoming volunteer opportunities and the links to sign up.

Skip The Depot

Tax Receipt Available - YES

Value to Foothills - 100%

Specifics:

Skip the Depot is a service that comes to your home to pick up recycling, which can then be connected to your account, and the money collected will go to your Family Commitment.

Please note that this can take up to 6 weeks from your donation collected to be reflected on your family commitment update.

You can also refer others to donate through this same process If you are doing so, please let us know by email at fundraising@foothillsacademy.org with the person's first and last name, email and your student's name.

Create Your Own Opportunity

Tax Receipt Available - Variable

Value to Foothills - Variable

Specifics:

Families like to be creative with their ideas for fundraisers for their family commitments, from lemonade stands to adult easter egg hunts and group bike rides If you have an idea that you are working on to raise money for your family commitment, reach out to Kathleen Gurski, the manager of Community and Alumni engagement, to discuss and get support as needed.