About the Foundation

The Columbia Public Schools Foundation (CPSF) began on the premise that every child needs a strong foundation. Created as an endowment for Columbia’s youth, CPSF supports quality programs that directly and positively impact student learning.

CPSF is an independent, not-for-profit organization governed by a board of directors. CPSF volunteers represent community members, business professionals, educators and parents. We were established to collect and distribute contributions from individuals, businesses, and organizations. Our goals are to:

• Enhance academic excellence in the public schools by providing funding not available through public sources.
• Expand learning opportunities for all our children.
• Stimulate creativity and innovation.
• Enrich the schools’ basic curriculum.
• Encourage community and business involvement in the public schools

Sometimes people wonder why this extra funding is needed since our public schools are supported with tax dollars. The simple truth is that those tax dollars barely cover “fixed overhead”: salaries, benefits, utilities, transportation, maintenance, etc. There are very few dollars left to invest in innovative teaching materials and experiences; sometimes even important basics such as library books aren’t adequately funded. Your donation to CPSF really make a difference for kids in the classroom.

CPSF asks our entire community, individuals and businesses, to participate in our campaign to build and strengthen our endowment. With continued support we will achieve our goal establishing a substantial endowment capable of funding the worthy enrichment and enhancement project requests that we receive each year. Your donation to CPSF will be used to fund learning experiences for Columbia Public School students.