IPSF campaign looks to raise $1.3 million for Irvine schools by New Year’s Eve

Have you heard about the Irvine Public Schools Foundation’s Annual Campaign to raise money for IUSD schools? Well, it’s netted about 90 percent of its goal with just two weeks to go, foundation officials announced today. This year’s drive was launched back in October, and the target amount is about $1.3 million. That figure reflects how much the City of Irvine will match through its own challenge grant.

Think of it this way: For every dollar donated to the IPSF campaign, the city will kick in an additional dollar until it has spent $1.3 million. By Wednesday, the foundation said it had raised approximately $1.17 million of that total. That’s a lot of money, but it still leaves funding on the table, and the clock is ticking. The deadline to leverage the entire city match is Dec. 31 “We are deeply grateful for the community support of our Annual Campaign thus far,” IPSF President and CEO Neda Eaton said. “However, with 32,000 students currently enrolled in IUSD schools, we need additional funding to maintain the world-class education our community expects and our students deserve.” The Annual Campaign represents IPSF’s primary call to action each year, reaching out to parents, community members and corporate donors. Proceeds continue to pay for instructional assistants and additional staffing hours across the district, reducing student-to-educator ratios. IPSF is in fact the only organization that can raise funds to add teachers and instructional assistants in Irvine's classrooms. Meanwhile, the foundation also fuels elementary music programs, science, technology and after-school classroom enrichment. “Many Irvine residents moved to our community due to the high quality of our local schools,” Eaton said. “With the help of our community, we can reach our goal by Dec. 31 and help maintain the excellence of our schools.” For more information, or to make a donation, click here.