Supporting Michigan K-12 public school education foundations through networking, collaboration, and professional development

The Michigan Education Foundation (MEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization built by and for people passionate about quality public K-12 education in Michigan. Its mission is to be a catalyst for the creation and growth of local education foundations in communities across our state.

The MEF hosts five meetings a year.  Each meeting focuses on a topic relevant to education foundations and includes time for idea sharing and Q&A among attendees

Upcoming Meetings

    Meetings are located (unless otherwise noted) in the Okemos Public Schools Administration Building / 4406 Okemos Rd., Okemos, MI  48864 (** virtual meetings as of May 2020)

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• All persons associated with an education foundation are welcome. 

• MEF membership is not required for meeting attendance for new foundations.

• to attend a meeting, send us a message and we'll add you to our email list.

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2020-21 MEF Meetings

• August 10, 2020: Current issues facing education foundations 

• October 5, 2020: Fundraising Part 1 (events) 

• January 11, 2021:  Fundraising, Part 2 (private donor meetings, corporate partners)

• March 8, 2021:  Education foundation / District partnerships: various models

• May 3, 2021:  Classroom Grants (and annual meeting)

 **Due to the uncertainty of our times, the MEF board may change the scheduled meeting topics to address the current needs of our members.

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Previous Meeting Topics

• Virtual Discussion Series

• May 4: How can education foundations stay relevant today? 

• May 11: Spring fundraising events: what's next?

• May 18: Education foundation finances: how to bridge the gap in fundraising

• Donor Retention (at The Johnson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Rapids)

• Annual Appeals

• Tax law changes and the implications for fundraising

• Technology challenges and opportunities

• Endowment campaigns

• Transitioning from all-volunteer board to paid staff

• Public school funding in Michigan

• Board engagement

• Website solutions for nonprofits; ADA compliance

• Board best practices

• Fundraising events

• Starting or re-starting a K-12 education foundation

• Social media marketing

• Email marketing

• Outreach strategies for major gifts

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MEF Membership

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MEF membership supports the continuation of the organization and offers these benefits to member foundations:  

Annual MEF Membership Benefits

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• 5 meetings per year, featuring both outside and inside speakers

• Document sharing via a Google intranet site 

• Networking/idea sharing with other state foundation leaders

• Learning opportunities on topics relevant to running an education foundation

• Link from the MEF website to your foundation; use of the MEF logo on your foundation's site

• Notes and documents from each meeting

• 10% membership discount with the National School Foundation Association (NSFA)   To access the NSFA discount, use this link. 

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Annual Membership Dues: $125 

Come to our next meeting and see what we're all about. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The MEF is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors.  Directors are elected from the membership and serve 3-year terms.  Meet our current board: