Since its inception in 1992, the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation has raised more than $10 million for Mountain Brook Schools and currently has more than $12 million in its endowment fund, thanks to the generosity of Mountain Brook patrons. Here, the foundation’s executive director Rachel Weingartner details not only the integral role the foundation plays in the school system, but also how the community is to thank for the foundation’s success.
Why did you choose to work in fundraising?
I have been in professional fundraising for well over a decade–close to 15 years. I previously fundraised for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. I also fundraised here, when I moved back to Birmingham, for Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama. When I was approached about this role in 2019, it was a true no-brainer for me because I knew my children would be in the Mountain Brook Schools system, and to be able to have a role, professionally fundraising for my children’s education, was something that I was thrilled to be a part of.
How has the foundation impacted the lives of students and teachers in the community?
Morgan Chatham, who’s a Mountain Brook High School teacher, applied for a grant because she wanted her students in math class to engage with each other more. We funded her ideas–white boards all the way around her classroom, some digital projectors–things that do cost a lot of money in terms of a public school budget. Once that pilot project was proved to work, the other math teachers at the high school loved the model. You can see how foundation dollars allowed for a teacher to think outside the box, to think innovatively and to try something so that if it worked, it could then become the standard in the school system.
What are some of the ways the foundation gives back through community participation?
“Give 180” is a campaign a lot of people see around the community. The idea is that we ask families with students in the district to give a dollar for every day their student is learning in Mountain Brook Schools. It’s $180 for the 180 days they’re in school. The only fundraising “event” that we do is a track meet in the spring, and it has all four elementary schools’ participation. Last year, the track meet raised over $80,000 for the foundation, and more than 720 students participated, which is really amazing.
What would you say is one of the reasons why the foundation is as successful as it is today?
Mountain Brook Schools are truly at the heart of what makes Mountain Brook a community. So many people move to Mountain Brook because we are one of the top public schools in Alabama. You can run a public school system on government funding, but in order to have the best public school system in the state, members of our community do need to contribute.
How does the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation play an integral part in the school system’s vitality?
A donation to the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation is an investment in our school system. It is a way to make sure for your children and grandchildren that the school system stays strong, which is essential to the success of Mountain Brook as a community.
