The Incline Education Fund (IEF) was founded in late 2019 as a non-profit and is an IRS 501(c)(3) endowed K-12 education foundation. We are committed to ensuring an exceptional education to Incline Village students through the creation of both long-term financial and leadership resources.
By working directly with each school administrator as well as each of the Booster/PTA groups in a strategic and on-going capacity, IEF helps to provide an overarching vision to support students, educators and parents.
Through our programming, advocacy and fundraising, IEF helps to ensure academic achievement and skill development across generations of Incline students. In our first three years, we have helped to launch and raise over $400,000 in student programs (Learn more about all of our programs HERE).
In addition, we are building a community education endowment – now over $450,000- to help provide long term financial resources for our schools.
Incline Education Fund envisions an engaged, collaborative community that places a priority on education. We are committed to supporting our schools so that each of our children can reach their fullest potential.
To create a Community Education Foundation that assists in providing a world class education as awe-inspiring as our surroundings.
Our goal is to build a self-sustaining financial endowment that supports educational programs for our Incline Village schools. We will do this by setting aside a portion of our annual fundraising revenues to grow this endowment to stabilize the organization and to have the capacity to award future annual programming and grants.
We believe passionately that the children in Incline Village deserve a world class education, one that provides access to 21stcentury tools and innovative programs that prepare them for their futures. That includes technology skills, experiential learning programs, mentor and internship programs, college counseling, career coaching, and enriched literacy programs -including financial literacy courses. We also provide both educator and parental support.
IEF independently partners with local administrators, parent groups (Boosters, PTA) and other local non-profits and businesses to identify needs and find resources that supplement or enhance educational opportunities for our students. We will offer access to a wide range of resources and enriching programs (both in and out of the classroom) to help prepare our students for their futures as productive members of society.
The Need: Inadequate public school funding
Like virtually every other public school district in the U.S., Washoe County School District is drastically underfunded. In fact, K12 schools in Nevada are among the lowest funded in the nation and recently received all “Fs” in the Education Law Center’s “Making the Grade” report released in December, 2022.
That 2022 study reported that annual per-pupil funding in Nevada was $11,076 while the national average was $15,446. The recommended funding amount by subject matter expert, APA, (Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates) however, was $16,337. That means that Nevada should be spending 39%-47% more on our students, just to get the national average.
To be fair, education funding is a complex formula, and it is impossible to provide a top-notch education through the allotment of tax dollars alone. Throw in individual state budget issues, an overly complicated Nevada “funding formula” and schools are left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, as we look toward the future of our school system, this problem is not going away anytime soon.
IEF is working to fill these funding gaps through both long- and short-term efforts. We address current needs and issues via fundraising for program-specific projects while also building an endowment to support future generations of Incline students.
We all know Lake Tahoe – and Incline Village in particular – is an incredible place to raise a family. Few spots anywhere in the world rival our area’s beauty and recreational opportunities. But not everyone knows how good our schools really are, despite inadequate funding.
Good schools attract more families. Increased enrollment leads to more funding. Better funding allows for innovative programs, better teacher compensation and lower turnover… all of which lead to a great K12 experience and stability in our community.
“Incline Education Fund is driving a generational impact on expanding the quality of education in our community. By building an endowed foundation, IEF will ensure that our schools have support for years to come.”
Claudia Andersen, CEO Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation