Family Commitment Handbook by foothillsacademyyyc

FAMILY COMMITMENT HANDBOOK

Key Information to Know about your Family Commitment

It is what comes THROUGH you, not just what you do. Anything that comes to Foothills because of your efforts counts for your family commitment.

If friends or family members donate money or items, win auction items or do any other item outlined in this handbook - please let us know so we can link it to your family commitment.

Our database is based on Parent Names If you have people donating on your families behalf, please use the PARENT NAME.

We are collaborative

At Foothills we understand that things can change. If you are finding challenges in meeting your family commitment for any reason, please communicate with us so we can ensure we document this information and find a solution that works for your family.

There are a lot of options, however if you have the ability and flexibility - cash and financial donations are the best option for Foothills.

Reception staff (Gina and Rachel) DO NOT HAVE access to family commitment information and cannot answer questions about family commitment.

$4,000 per year minimum (PER FAMILY) September 1 to August 31, Annually.

You can mix and match any of the options below to get to the $4000 mark. We do not have any minimums or maximums for any category.

Who to Contact

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 due to inability to pay.

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 2024/25 and DOES NOT count towards your family commitment.

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

September includes updates and information from the Board of Governors, Executive Directors and FAPA

June includes updates and information from the Board of Governors and Executive Directors and is the AGM for FAPA Families will contribute to Foothills Academy Society's fundraising efforts.

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 aim 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 informs Foothills Academy Society about what contributions have been made to family commitment.

Volunteer hours that are eligible through FAPA for your family commitment are:

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

Serving as a director for FAPA - a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 are 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.

2. Being involved with additional FAPA activities (raffle chair, casino chair, etc.)

3. Being on a FAPA committee

Attending a FAPA meeting is not eligible for a volunteer hours unless you are in an executive or director position with FAPA, or a member of a FAPA committee. All FAPA hours are reviewed by the FAPA president and Foothills staff to assess their eligibility, and must be approved the the FAPA president.

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 1. Foothills Academy Society Admin presents a list of options to which we would like the funds contributed.

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

FAPA meetings are a key component of these discussions.

Updating Families

Foothills staff send out emails - every two months - to each parent/guardian individually with your Year to Date total.

You can expect to get these emails:

Mid-November (Sept 1 - Oct 31)

Mid-January (Sept 1 - Dec 31)

Mid-March (Sept 1 - Feb 28)

Mid-May (Sept 1 - April 30)

Mid-July (Sept 1 - June 30)

Mid-August (Sept 1 - August)

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.

Your email will include subcategories like: Cash Donations

Merchandise Donations

Auction Purchases

Event Tickets

Event Sponsorships

FAPA Raffle Ticket Sales

Financial Donations

Tax Receipt Available: YES - 100%

Value Counted to Family Commitment: 100%

Details

All cash donations qualify for your family commitment. If others are donating on your family’s behalf, have your name(s) typed in the "connection to a current Foothills Academy family" 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 family (see below).

If a donation is made on your behalf, and the person does not put A PARENT NAME in this box, please email bgare@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% (Less fees deducted by employer or donation platform (i.e., Canada Helps)

Details

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 matches $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 matches $1000A total of $2000 counted towards your family commitment.

50% matching - you donate $1000, and your company matches $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

Financial Donations Other Matching Programs

There are other opportunities to have your family commitment donations matched - such as Birdies for Kids. With these programs, the matched donations DO NOT COUNT toward your family commitment.

This is because public matching programs are applied for, managed and supported by Foothills Academy Society.

Grants & Corporate Partnerships

Tax Receipt Available: No

Value Counted to Family Commitment: Variable

Details:

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 connected to your involvement and support in the process. The more involvement, the more counted towards your family commitment.

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

Events - Sponsorship

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value Counted to Family Commitment: 100%

Details:

Events for 2025 will include:

45th Anniversary Gala - November 9th, 2024

The Calgary Marathon After Party - May 25th, 2025

The Gordon Hoffman Charity Golf Tournament - Summer 2025

You, your company or your employer can be an event sponsor on a sliding scale of financial support from $100 - $25,000. If you can connect us to an event sponsor, their sponsorship amount will count toward your family commitment.

To ensure this is connected to your family commitment, ensure a PARENT NAME is listed on the registration, or email our office and let Brianna know so she can connect this sponsorship to your family commitment.

Events - Tickets

Updated September 2024

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value Counted to Family Commitment: 50%

Details:

This has been updated due to event overhead costs. For example, our 2024 Golf Tournament had a ticket price of $400 per golfer; of that, $340 covered event costs to the golf course.

Specifics:

Events for 2025 include:

45th Anniversary Gala - November 9th, 2024

The Gordon Hoffman Charity Golf Tournament - Summer 2025

Calgary Marathon

Tax Receipt Available: Variable

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

Details:

All pledges you collect count toward your family commitment.

Those who pledge money to your Calgary Marathon campaign will receive a tax receipt immediately from the online donation platform. You can collect pledges starting NOW and run or walk any distance, either on the day of the event or on your own time with the VIRTUAL option.

What is a virtual option?

The virtual option is a flexible way to participate. It can be done anytime without being onsite on race day. It’s great to have an ongoing goal.

Why start now?

This is an ongoing event, and we receive a report with updated totals every two weeks.

We also host the annual Calgary Marathon Afterparty on the same day, Sunday May 25th, from 11 AM - 4 PM.

As listed in other sections, volunteer hours and event sponsorship all count to your family commitment. You can be involved as a: Volunteer Sponsor

FAPA Raffle Ticket Sales

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value to Foothills: 100%

Details:

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.

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

Donating Items - Auction

Not all item donations are accepted

Tax Receipt Available: Variable

Value to Foothills: 100%

Details:

Items may be donated to Foothills Academy Society to fulfill your family commitment.

There is no deadline to donate items, they can be donated any time.

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 (i.e., 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: Click THIS LINK to fill out your item donation form.

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.

Please Note: Any items that have a value of over $1000 will be assessed professionally for CRA and auditor compliance.

Donating Items - School Program

Not all item donations are accepted

Tax Receipt Available: Variable

Value to Foothills: 100%

Details:

Items may be donated to Foothills Academy Society to fulfill your family commitment. These items may be requested for school programs - i.e., play costumes, classroom art supplies (i.e., paper rolls), etc.

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

Requested by email from a Foothills Academy Society Vice Principal or E-News.

Delivered to the school in time for the project.

The process to donate your item is as follows:

Review the email from Foothills Academy Society requesting items. RESPOND to the Foothills Academy Society staff confirming what you donate and when.

Deliver the item(s) in alignment with the timeline from Foothills Academy Society.

Then our staff will:

Provide a value of the items via email to you. Record the donation on your family commitment.

Any items that have a value of over $1000 will be assessed professionally for CRA and auditor compliance.

Please note: not

Hourly Volunteering

All Opportunities (Updated September 2024)

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value to Foothills: $25/hour

Details:

All volunteers must:

Be over 16

Be independent in their volunteering

Submit and pass a vulnerable sector screening with CPS.

There are four main ways to volunteer:

Recurring FAS committees

Recurring FAPA committees (see the FAPA page of this handbook)

Day of event options

One-day opportunities at Foothills Academy Society

We update volunteer options here.

Please note: We do our best to place volunteers in the most appropriate opportunity where their skills are best suited. That may mean a volunteer may not be placed at the event of their choice.

Hourly Volunteering

For FAPA (Updated September 2024)

Tax Receipt Available: NO

Value to Foothills: $25/hour

Details:

There are ongoing volunteer opportunities with the Foothills Academy Parents Association (FAPA). These opportunities have the same dollar value per hour and are managed by FAPA, then reported to Foothills Academy Society for logging to your family commitment.

These can include:

Being an Executive Member or Director for FAPA

Being an active member of a FAPA Committee

Volunteering for a FAPA event

FAPA Volunteer opportunities are included in your Family Commitment email and available online here.

FAPA volunteer hours are eligible at the discretion of the FAPA President.

Skip The Depot

Tax Receipt Available - YES

Value to Foothills - 100%

Details:

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 these donations are collected every 3 months.

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

FlipGive - New

Tax Receipt Available - No

Value to Foothills - 100%

Details:

FlipGive is an easy and passive way to contribute to your family commitment, through the use of Gift Cards.

The amount you have contributed can range between 1% up to 20% back - depending on the place the gift card is for.

These gift cards can also be used for online shopping.

All gift cards are digital, making this an easy way to choose places you already shop or spend money and have a percentage count toward your family commitment.

Join using this link.

Places you can buy gift cards:

Grocery Stores - Safeway, Sobey’s, Real Candian Super Store, Walmart, Fresh Co. and more.

Clothing - H&M, LuluLemon, Marks, Winners, West49, SportChek, and more

Food - Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Boston Pizza, earls and more

Gas - almost all gas stations.

Other - Indigo, Home Depot, Home Hardware, Cabela’s and more.

Funding Innovation - New

Tax Receipt Available - No

Value to Foothills - 95%

Details:

Funding innovation is a program that has blind bid silent auctions on high quality art prints. This may sound confusing, but you have most likely seen these before at grocery stores, Home Depot, hospitals, and other high traffic areas.

Families can find a location, and work with that company to get the easel set up.

After the easel is set up, there is no work for families to do - Funding Innovation takes care of setting up the art, replacing it, contacting bidders and collecting money raised.

An average easel raises between $1000 and $1200 per year.

95% of funds raised from your easel are counted toward your family commitment.

Cards and Calendars - New

Tax Receipt Available - No

Value to Foothills - 100%

Details:

We collect art and photograph work from our students each year and make cards and calendars with this art.

You can order cards and calendars from October 1 to November 15. An email with instructions on how to order these items will be sent.

Cards and calendars will be available to be picked up in early December.

Create Your Own Opportunity

Tax Receipt Available - Variable

Value to Foothills - Variable

Details:

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 Brianna Gare, the Interim Manager of Community and Alumni Engagement, to discuss and get support as needed.

Throughout my child's seven years at Foothills Academy, you not only served as a catalyst for academic achievement but also awakened my son’s hidden gifts and talents. He leaves Foothills Academy with an increased appreciation for himself and the community at large. Thank you Foothills Academy from the bottom of my heart.

— Parent of graduating student