Member News


The Elkhorn Public Schools Foundation Continues to Expand Scholarship Program

The Elkhorn Public Schools Foundation is a non-profit organization in Elkhorn, NE, dedicated to enriching education for students in the Elkhorn Public Schools District. Our mission is to promote student achievement and the unity of our community and its public schools by encouraging, supporting, and recognizing excellence in innovative education, quality school programs, and civic involvement. One way we fulfill our mission is through our robust Scholarship Program.

As recently as May 2023, the Foundation awarded 198 Community Funded Scholarships and 243 ACHIEVE Scholarships totalling over $550,000. The Foundation encourages students to continue their education after high school and has made a significant investment in building a robust scholarship program to administer both Community Funded Scholarships and the Foundation’s ACHIEVE Scholarship Program. Investments in technology, staffing, and a matching funds program enable the Foundation to grow our Scholarship Program and make it easy for donors to partner with us to provide additional opportunities for Elkhorn students.

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PENCIL Ushers in New Era of its More Than 40-Year History, Announces Christiane Buggs as Next President & CEO

Buggs is a Nashville Native, MNPS Graduate and Current School Board Member

After five months of a thorough, national search, PENCIL and its Board of Directors are honored to name Christiane Buggs, a Nashville native, MNPS graduate and current school board member, as our new President & Chief Executive Officer. Christiane will assume the role as PENCIL’s new leader on January 1, 2024, and will have the opportunity to work closely with PENCIL’s current CEO – Angie Adams - throughout the spring.

Christiane’s proven experience as a leader, background in education, deep ties with Metro Nashville Public Schools, and determination to see our children succeed make her well-suited to be PENCIL’s next CEO.

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Elkhart Education Foundation welcomes New Executive Director, Ellen Williams

Elkhart Education Foundation’s staff and board have recently hired a new Executive Director, Ellen Williams. Williams is from South Bend and is excited to work in Elkhart for the students of Elkhart Community Schools.

She comes to Elkhart from Notre Dame’s Robinson Community Learning Center, where she served as the Director of the Take Ten program. Prior to that role, she served as Executive Director at the Humane Society of St. Joseph County, which included coordinating with local schools for educational programs.She received her Juris Doctorate from American University and a BA from Ohio University in Political Science. She also attended Notre Dame for a Leadership Series in Executive Leadership.

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Inaugural Memorial Scholarship for Fallen Officer Awarded at Baldwin High School Senior Night

The Baldwin-Whitehall Educational Foundation [BWEF] awarded the first-ever Officer Sean Sluganski Memorial Scholarship to Emma Meyer, a senior at Baldwin High School pursuing a degree in forensic science at Arizona State University. The memorial scholarship was established earlier this year to honor Sean Sluganski, an officer with the McKeesport Police Department who was killed in the line of duty on February 6, 2023. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a graduating senior of Baldwin High School who intends to pursue a career in law enforcement and crime prevention. As the inaugural recipient of this scholarship, Emma embraced the opportunity to carry Sean’s important work forward.

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NAEF Treasurer Mike Taylor joins Knox Education Foundation as Chief Executive Officer

For NAEF Treasurer Mike Taylor, CEFL, CFRE, January 2, 2023 marks the beginning of his role as Chief Executive Officer for Knox Education Foundation in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Mike is an East Tennessee native who grew up in Oak Ridge and is a 1995 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville from which he received a BS in Business Administration. Mike joins the Knox Education Foundation team after an extensive leadership role at the Henrico Education Foundation in Richmond, Virginia where he has served as CEO since 2014. Before that assignment, he served six years as Executive Director of the Mountain Education Foundation in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. Mike Taylor is both a Certified Education Foundation Leader (CEFL) and Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), and serves on the board of the National Association of Education Foundations.

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NAEF Board and CEFL Members' Panel Discussion at the Virginia School Boards Association Annual Meeting Convention

On November 17, 2022, three CEFLs and two NAEF Board members participated in a panel discussion today at the Virginia School Boards Association Annual Meeting Convention. The panel discussion highlighted how foundations work with superintendents and school board members to underwrite new initiatives, build relationships, spark innovation and develop sustainable funding to create meaningful student impact!

Pictured left to right:
Jodi Gillette CEFL, Executive Director: Central Virginia Community Colleges Educational Foundation | Brittany Dwyer Gianoli CEFL, Executive Director: Headwaters Education Foundation | Dr. Amy Cashwell, Superintendent: Henrico County Public Schools |
Mike Taylor CEFL, CEO: Henrico Education Foundation

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Grand Island Public Schools Foundation Receives $2.4 million Estate Gift for Charles & Bessie Frith Scholarship Fund

She always said she wanted to invest in students who had the “fire in their belly” for success.

Bessie Frith of Grand Island, made good on that promise with a $2.4 million estate gift to the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation to endow the Charles & Bessie Frith Scholarship Fund.

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Bartlesville Education Promise Provides Nearly $850,000 To Help Students Achieve

Bartlesville Education Promise, recognized as one of Oklahoma’s leading non-profit foundations in aiding education, has invested nearly $850,000 over the last seven years in helping local public school students become more successful.

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