Education foundation needs new members

The Moorpark Education Foundation is seeking new leaders to revive fundraising efforts and support local schools.

"Now, more than ever, with the severe budget cuts to our schools, we need the foundation to help provide that supplemental funding," said Cindi Feig, who's served as foundation president for the past two years.

As she prepared to attend a meeting Tuesday to discuss recruitment strategies, Feig said if the foundation doesn't find new leaders soon, it will be unable to provide any financial support to schools.

"We need people with some fresh ideas to step in and help build the board and hopefully get the foundation back on track," Feig said.

Since it was created in 2003, the education foundation raised an average of $25,000 a year until 2007 for Moorpark schools, but it's been unable to gather momentum more recently because donations fell with the recession.

Although the organization is idle, it's still equipped to continue operations because it maintained its 501C3 nonprofit status and bank account. The foundation also has a few thousand dollars in an established endowment fund with the Ventura County Community Foundation, but interest revenues are not sufficient to sustain programs at this time, Feig said.

The nonprofit group's seven board members are Scott Mosher, Clark Neel, Kim DiCecco, Melissa Houlihan, Bruce West, Brian Tevenan and Feig. Optimally, the organization needs about 15 to 20 people on the board, Feig said.

The foundation, she added, should build new relationships with corporations and companies and work jointly with other agencies and foundations, but everyone is currently struggling and competing for the same funds.

Mosher, who's president of the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark, was elected to serve as foundation president for the remainder of 2009, during the foundation board meeting this week.

Members of the organization want to continue supporting the school district in every way they can even with limited funds, he said.

"The key to the success of the foundation is going to be in building the board," Mosher said.

At a recent school board meeting, trustees agreed about the importance of the foundation's role in helping to fill the growing budget gap that could affect public education for years to come.

"Funds must be generated locally to support programs in Moorpark schools," Ron LaGuardia said. "We're in an unprecedented situation, so we need an unprecedented solution, involving the community and come up with a funding alternative to combat the losses."

According to Feig, foundation board members are scheduled to meet again at the school district's administrative office at noon, Tues. July 28, to discuss a major fundraising effort which they hope to kick off at the beginning of the new school year.

"We need people to help," she said.

Anyone interested in volunteering to serve on the Moorpark Education Foundation is asked to call Moorpark Unified School Distrit Superintendent Ellen Smith at (805) 378-6300.