District details philanthropy, grants and private support strategy to board
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Summary
Denise Moody reviewed grant awards since 2023, described a strategy prioritizing grants that align to district strategic goals, and noted changes in philanthropic trends that affect K–12 funding.
The school board received an update Oct. 21 on Rochester Public Schools— philanthropy strategy, including recent grant awards, selection criteria and how private and state funding is being used to support district priorities.
Denise Moody, the district—s philanthropy lead, told the board the goal is to use grant and philanthropic funds to seed and scale innovations that align to the district—s strategic priorities rather than to underwrite ongoing operational expenses. Moody reviewed competitive and formula grants the district had secured since early 2023, citing examples that include support from the Chan Zuckerberg initiative for deeper-learning work, federal and state grow-your-own and special-education pipeline grants, funding for school-based mental-health staffing earlier in the decade, community-schools awards, and private donations that helped expand programmatic work.
Moody said some grants pay for start-up or professional-development costs while others free up general-fund dollars for other purposes — for example, community-schools grants the district used to strengthen family-facing services in school facilities. She also described a recent school-based-health-center grant that supported a coordinator and work to extend access for students without stable housing; an AED replacement grant the district is pursuing to cover $50,000 of cardiac-response equipment costs; and a $300,000 award tied to a student—s scholarship that will fund a full-time music educator at the ALC for the first time.
Moody cautioned that philanthropic trends are shifting: some private foundations now prefer to fund intermediary organizations rather than direct school budgets, and potential state-budget uncertainty could affect the availability of state grants. She said district leaders are prioritizing coherent alignment between grant opportunities and the district's strategic plan and are cultivating relationships with large funders; she noted scheduled outreach to prospective funders such as the Bush Foundation.
Board members thanked Moody and district leaders for a disciplined approach. Superintendent Kent Pickell said he plans to increase his time on cultivation and fundraising to build on the district—s track record and seek additional support for strategic priorities.
