Trending

Advertisement

New book aimed at helping schools raise money

Share

A Rancho Bernardo resident is sharing his decades of experience in obtaining money for schools through his new book.

“The Essential Fundraising Guide for K-12 Schools” explains the grant process, describes the multitude of funding sources available and contains more than 350 website links to help people quickly access potential funding providers.

Stan Levenson said his book can be read in an hour, a goal he strove for because teachers, administrators and others like parents, school foundation members, school volunteers and school board members have many demands on their time.

The guide is the third book Levenson has written on the subject. His earlier books were “Big-Time Fundraising for Today’s Schools” in 2007 and “How to Get Grants and Gifts for the Public Schools” in 2002.

“(My new book) brings everything up-to-date and ties into social media and networking,” Levenson said.

He has made a career out of fundraising and been involved with it at the kindergarten through high school level for more than 40 years. His career included being the coordinator of special projects for the Sweetwater Union High School District, where Levenson said over the course of 13 years he raised at least $16 million for the district.

Levenson has a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oswego, a master’s from the University of California Los Angeles and a doctorate from the United States International University (now Alliant International University). He has written numerous articles about fundraising and often been interviewed in various media as an expert on the subject. Levenson has lived in Rancho Bernardo for 15 years and before that in Poway for around 11 years. His wife, Kay Pantelis, taught for 40 years in the Poway Unified School District, he said.

While Levenson writes in terms of public schools, he said the advice is just as relevant for private schools, which often serve as examples of what public schools should be doing, he said. Levenson also points to public and private universities as examples, especially their development offices, which he said elementary and secondary educational facilities and districts should have.

“This is how elite (schools) are raising millions each year,” he said, explaining too many schools focus on the “nickle and dime” fundraising methods of the past 30, 40 or 50 years — such as bake sales and car washes — when they should be focusing their time and efforts on fundraising methods that would net significantly more money.

“This goes way beyond (small fundraising),” he said. “I’m trying to move public schools away from (the nickle and dime model).”

One hindrance is most school districts not having development office staff members who focus on grant writing. He said the University of Michigan has more than 500 people in its development office and his New York alma mater with 7,500 students has 25 staffers in its development office.

“It really makes a lot of sense,” Levenson said, adding that at the public school district level a development office’s staff can often make the effort self-funding within two years. “I’m trying to help people understand that (development) people earn their salary and fringe benefits within two years or less, generally speaking,” he said.

“The Essential Fundraising Guide for K-12 Schools” can be purchased through Amazon for $19.95 (paperback) or $9.95 (e-book).

Advertisement