Annual Fundraiser

Annual Fundraising Drive 2007-8

Important Links

Donation Form (English)
Donation Form (Spanish)

Year after year, our departments have made up for budget shortfalls by having the students sell everything from wrapping paper to chocolate (and every sundry in between). While these efforts have met some of the school’s financial needs, they have wasted our teachers’ and kids’ time and energy. It makes the kids into knickknack salesmen, teachers into sales managers, and us into junk collectors…do you really need another scented candle?

To add to the insult, the school receives a small fraction of our spending. Our efforts to “contribute” are going sideways…to the fundraising companies…and we can’t even write off most of our “donation” because we’ve “received something of value”!

This endless cycle of selling does not provide stability, or the funds needed to actually IMPROVE the school facilities or quality of the educational environment. There remains little money for the purchase of new musical instruments, woodworking tools, tutoring programs, academic subscriptions, art supplies, PE equipment, transportation for field trips/team sports/competitions, etc. and certainly not enough for bleachers in the new gym. These scattered fundraisers barely raise enough to pay for toner and paper!

Last year, Horner Jr. High School implemented an Annual Fund campaign. This fund will help meet our needs in three ways.
1. Stable/reliable annual source of revenue for the school
2. Eliminate the need for trinket selling, freeing up valuable time for learning AND directing 100% of our contributions to the school—department heads have pledged to put a moratorium on fundraising if donations can meet their needs
3. Generate enough money to meet current shortfalls and make improvements

This fund will be a vital resource to improving the quality of education your child receives at Horner Jr. High School. Through your donations, we will be able to provide programs and services that have been eliminated under the Fremont Unified School District budget. We would be able to support art and music programs, site licenses and software, supplemental classroom supplies, maintain emergency supplies, etc. These programs are essential to the mission of educating the “whole child”. Specific objectives for this year are listed by priority on the back of your pledge sheet.

This annual appeal will here forth be called the Horner Annual Fund Drive. Once again, we are requesting a donation of $100/child for a school wide goal of $90,000. With your donations and the matching programs that many of your employers provide, we believe that we can make great inroads to providing the educational necessities and eliminating the perpetual fundraising.

Please return the pledge form to the office with your check made payable to Horner Junior High School—Annual Fund Donation, and remember to mark the box that lets us know that your employer will match your donation. We’ll do the rest.

Thanks for supporting your child’s education.

Back to Fundraising Links

Annual Fundraising Objectives

Below is a list of the items we have focused on supporting through the Annual Fund Drive (in priority grouping). If we generate enough donations, our department heads have pledged to put a moratorium on fundraisers! Yeah, so please donate generously.

Top priorities: first ~$45,000

• Add in the last $10,000 toward retractable bleachers in the new gym— currently, people are bringing in lawn chairs to watch the games. The chairs damage the floors and do not allow enough seating space.


• give science, math, English, history, departments $3-$5,000 each to fund: photocopying, graph paper, staplers, calculators, academic subscriptions, supplemental books, classroom supplies/equipment specific to each subject


• give PE $3,000-$5,000 toward sports equipment and playing field, court improvement


• give electives and Special Ed department (Spanish, art, music, shop, drama) $2000 each toward subject appropriate supplies, and classroom materials as supports the Site Improvement Plan (SIP).

• before/after school tutorial program for students at risk of not passing CAT/STAR testing


• free breakfast for STAR testing week; mid-morning snacks in classrooms


• new/replacement musical instruments


• updates: projection, audio/visual, laminating machines and supplies

• school beautification


• landscaping along drop off area


• increase staffing so kids can buy lunch without spending their entire lunch period standing in line


• umbrellas/covered area in quad over lunch tables


• landscaping in quad area


• new signage for HORNER along the street on side of buildings