| LOCAL
EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS
School Fuel is an LEF. What is an LEF and how will
it benefit the public schools in Novato?
An LEF is a Local Education Foundation.
Well funded and operated LEFs benefit public education systems
in three very important ways:
- they provide a centralized and focused fundraising entity
that can attract donations not only from parents and small
and/or local businesses, but also from large corporations,
individuals without school aged children, and private and
public foundations, thus resulting in more efficient and
more successful fundraising;
- they increase parent and community involvement in the
school system; and
- they can provide a unified and very powerful voice,
for parents and the community at large, in identifying
areas of need and advocating for positive change.
It is our intent that the LEF in Novato, as with most throughout
California, will be independent of all school based organizations,
including each school site, each PTA/PTSA, the NUSD Board
and the NUSD Administration. However, in order to function
at its highest potential, the LEF will need to have a close
working relationship with all of these stakeholders, as well
as with the community at large. The LEF will be guided by
its own set of Bylaws and a diverse Board drawn from throughout
the community here in Novato.
Every community, including Novato, is quite unique; and
therefore every LEF is ultimately a product of the unique
qualities within its community. However, the process by which
all of these LEFs were formed is remarkably similar, and
it is through this process that we found the way to our own
LEF structure that will reflect all of the stakeholders,
and the community at large, here in Novato.
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