La Cañada ed foundation aims to stay on track as coronavirus derails fundraising plans
The La Cañada Flintridge Education Foundation’s support of La Cañada public schools hasn’t wavered during the coronavirus pandemic, but the group’s fundraising efforts are taking a serious hit as event cancellations and shelter-in-place orders proliferate.
Foundation leaders decided earlier this month to cancel the group’s 29th annual “Back to the 20s” spring gala fundraiser, although a ballroom at the InterContinental hotel had already been booked and nearly 500 reservations had been made.
Executive Director Marilyn Yang said canceling an event that typically raises about $500,000 in support of the La Cañada Unified School District was difficult but the right thing to do.
“We scrambled for about a week to decide what we were going to do,” Yang said Monday. “It was a really hard decision, but we put the safety and health of the community as a priority.”
An online silent auction wrapped up Friday night and helped raise $109,000. The list of auction items was smaller this year, as tickets to popular destinations and events now canceled or closed had to be pulled from the roster.
“It was a hard auction, but the community did rally,” Yang said.
Event sponsors also came through, supporting the group by not requesting refunds and helping to keep another $90,000 of funding intact.
The Foundation was still offering refunds to ticket holders on Monday, though Yang said only about a dozen refund requests had been made. Representatives from the InterContinental hotel allowed the organization to apply its reservation and deposit to next year’s gala, according to Yang.
Cancellation of the gala was just one hiccup in a fast-paced fundraising cycle — leaders are planning how to retool a spring campaign scheduled for late April after having closed the Foundation office to comply with county mandates that only essential businesses remain in operation.
LCFEF annually gifts La Cañada Unified with some $2 million in support of reduced classroom sizes, student wellness initiatives and La Cañada High School counselors in an annual campaign that runs through June 30 and funds the following school year.
The nonprofit has so far raised about $1.28 million this school year, though leaders are hopeful community members will answer the call and continue to support local schools through and beyond the pandemic.
“We’re just trying to work with the environment were in now,” Yang said. “Honestly [the message] is give if you can. This is a difficult situation — but there are a lot of people here who can step up and help.”
