$700,000 Raised for San Marino Schools Fund

Two months into a fund-raising campaign for public schools, the San Marino Schools Foundation has collected more than $700,000 toward its $2.5-million goal, a school district spokeswoman said last week.

The foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to raising money for the San Marino Unified School District, kicked off a two-year “major gifts” campaign in March with $586,000 in contributions already pledged.

Targeting individuals, private corporations and foundations, volunteers raised an additional $119,265 during the past two months, said Barbara Bice, director of school relations and development for the district.

Of that amount, $50,000 comes from a corporate matching-gifts package involving three residents, Richard Giss, Dennis Kneier and Jack Robinson, partners in the accounting firm of Touche, Ross & Co. The three convinced the company to match their combined $25,000 gift, Bice said.

In addition to the major gifts campaign, the foundation is also well on its way to meeting a $355,000 goal for its annual fund-raising effort, Bice said. During the last eight years, the foundation has raised about $350,000 annually to help meet the district’s operating expenses.

“We’re delighted with the progress so far,” Bice said, adding that the foundation plans to aggressively seek more corporate matching-gift donors.

Money from the major gifts campaign will be used to fund programs outlined in a five-year master plan drafted by the foundation. A $25,000 donation from the Mericos Foundation of South Pasadena has been used to upgrade foreign-language programs at San Marino High School and Huntington Intermediate School.

The foundation was formed about eight years ago.e State funding depends in part on enrollment and attendance figures, so San Marino has seen its revenues drop.