Our Story

Foundation 51 was created in 1998 by residents of Cumberland and North Yarmouth, Maine, for the purpose of directing private charitable resources toward the enrichment of educational opportunities for students in Maine School Administrative District 51. The Foundation’s seed round of fundraising—intended to test whether there was community support for the new concept of private financial support for public schools was highly successful. Our goal was to raise $51,000 from 51 families, and we actually closed the campaign at $55,000. Since that time, the Foundation has sponsored many very successful auctions, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in net proceeds.

In addition, more than $17,000 was raised in a widespread community campaign. Through multiple grant cycles, Foundation 51 has distributed more than $300,000 in grants that have benefited all of the schools in MSAD 51.

Foundation 51 has also created an endowment fund for long-range stability and security. Known as the Foundation 51 Permanent Fund, this Fund is administered by the Maine Community Foundation on behalf of Foundation 51.

Through the hard work and tireless efforts of many volunteers, Foundation 51 has earned broad support from the MSAD 51 communities, as well as the district’s administration, faculty, and students. The Foundation operates entirely independent of the schools, but strongly supports the school district’s mission, objectives, benchmarks, and learning results focus. Foundation 51 is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity.

Our Mission

The Mission of Foundation 51 is to promote educational excellence in MSAD 51 by funding initiatives that improve teaching and learning and by inspiring community involvement for the benefit of our schools.

 

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Last modified: 08/29/10