Members of a local nonprofit that’s provided funding for Conejo Valley Unified School District for half a dozen years are often surprised to learn that the organization isn’t well-known in the community.

The Conejo Schools Foundation (CSF) provides resources to the school district every year, supporting the All-District Music Festival, awarding grants to schools and helping meet other needs identified by the district.

In 2006, CSF began giving mini-grants to each of the district’s 27 schools. Before that, the foundation awarded a block grant of $100,000 to CVUSD to “plug holes,” said Dianne McKay, one of the organization’s founders and a member of the executive board.

The fall 2009 mini-grants included funding for new cameras and computer lab updates at some elementary schools and a skillbuilding camp for at-risk students at Los Cerritos Middle School, as well as for the robotics program, mock trial and academic decathlon at Newbury Park High School.

Last year, the foundation also provided money for summer school, a program that had been cut due to financial constraints. The district ran the program, but CSF absorbed the costs.

In 2006, the foundation received a “Science Alliance” grant of more than $100,000 from Amgen Inc. to provide continuing education for science teachers and college student lab assistants at all three comprehensive high schools.

CSF also received a $25,000 grant from Verizon for an Internet safety program.

This year, the foundation collaborated with Conejo Recreation and Park District in sponsoring the Walk for Healthy Schools, a 5K walk that kicked off the park district’s Health Expo in early October.

But CSF executive officers and board members say they’re shocked to find out that so few people in the area are aware of the organization, which launched in 2003.

McKay said it “seems so odd” during school board budget-cut meetings when parents ask if there is an organization they can give to.

“We try to send (information) home at the beginning of the year and have other ways we get the word out,” she said.

David Kreinces, a foundation board member, said if more people donated small amounts, it would make a huge difference.

“I meet second- and third-generation Conejo Valley residents who are not aware of the foundation,” Kreinces said. “It doesn’t take that many people to give in the public school system because there are (so) many people. We really need to recognize that we’re all on same team. It doesn’t matter if you are an all-star or a bench player—give what you can.”

The organization’s members believe that support for schools will lead to a more productive society.

“People don’t know how vital that economic supplement is to the community and how public school education impacts the entire community,” Kreinces said. “The more resources we have, the more competitive our school system will be, and that’s a huge support mechanism for everything else in the community. Really, supporting the foundation, public schools, is the best way to support the community.”

The foundation has taken a hit, especially this year, due to the economic downturn.

“We don’t get as many parents sending in that $20 or $25 in the beginning of the year—we saw a dip in that,” McKay said. “But we were fortunate that some of our larger donors gave us big chunks so we could continue the minigrants. We have a couple anonymous donors who have been extremely generous.”

One donor has funded “Hop Into Kindergarten” at Conejo Elementary School for the past five years. The program is for children who didn’t attend preschool and don’t speak English. They, along with their kindergarten teacher, start school a couple weeks early to get a jump on the year.

“It’s made a difference in a lot of kids’ lives over there,” McKay said.

Kreinces is cautiously optimistic.

“We’d always be happier if it was better, but there are some key supporters in the community who have consistently been supporting the foundation in a variety of ways, despite the horrible economic climate,” he said.

CSF recently received a gift from former CVUSD student Anant Sahai, a professor at University of California Berkeley.

The donation was earmarked for academic purposes and was given in honor and in memory of his teachers at Thousand Oaks High School.

“The rhetoric in this country is increasingly pooh-poohing public schools, but let me tell you, the best kids I see, as well as the best I met as an undergrad and a grad student, have largely come from a public school background,” Sahai said.

Later in the school year, foundation members will see what the district’s final budget cuts will amount to and decide whether to donate a large sum to the district or continue with mini-grants.

“We’ll see what the best way to shore it up will be,” McKay said. “This is a time of great need for public schools.”

Schools can also take advantage of the foundation’s nonprofit status. For example, rather than starting its own nonprofit, the district’s magnet school, the Environmental Academy for Research Technology and Earth Sciences (EARTHS) used CSF as a backbone for raising funds. The foundation will also pay for shortterm projects, like the playground at Horizon Hills, which also used the foundation’s nonprofit status. Raising money through a nonprofit provides tax write-offs and allows donors to utilize employers’ matching funds programs.

“The important thing we want people to know is that we are here to serve all (public) schools in the Conejo Valley and support all fundraising, whether it’s a means for matching funds or however else we can be of service,” McKay said.

People can direct their donations to a certain school or certain area, such as academics, although the foundation does encourage unrestricted donations so the board can determine where the money is most needed.

For more information, visit www.conejoschools.org.