Foundation Impact Report
EITC donors key to grant funding
Administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC) provides the opportunity for qualified businesses to make charitable contributions to educational organizations (like the Wildcat Foundation), in lieu of state tax payments.
The EITC program provides registered Pennsylvania companies with a 75% tax credit for donations to nonprofit educational improvement organizations like The Wildcat Foundation. If a business commits to making the same donation for two consecutive years, the tax credit increases to 90%.
The foundation will distribute more than $50,000 in EITC grant funding for the 2023-24 school year thanks to our valuable EITC donors:
PeoplesBank, A Codorus Valley Company
2023 Annual Appeal kicks off
Foundation Funds stories like the one below about Wildcat Cafe aim to show you the impact your donations have on students and teachers in the Mechanicsburg Area School District.
That impact only happens thanks to generous donors. The Wildcat Foundation Annual Appeal serves as one of our three key fundraisers throughout the 2023-24 school year.
The Appeal officially kicks off in November when you can be on the lookout for our postcards, letters, emails and social media posts touting the benefits of your donations.
Donors allow the Wildcat Foundation to provide grants for programs and projects that impact every grade level in our ever-growing school district. And as the district grows, the challenges and needs also increase.
Our goal is to help find creative solutions that support teachers, advisors, mentors, coaches and administrators – ultimately providing for student growth, development, and academic learning.
CLICK HERE for more information about the 2023 Annual Appeal.
Wildcat Cafe serves up Life Skills at Middle School
When visitors make the trek to the far end of the Mechanicsburg Middle School to pick up a lunch one Friday every month, they’re taking part in a program that can have a lasting impact on the students involved.
Wildcat Café opened for the 2022-23 school year as part of Rebecca Kuhn’s Functional Daily Living class. The class, which includes 12 students, is part of the Life Skills curriculum at the middle school.
Kuhn’s Life Skills students have been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and/or autism. She applied for and received a $1,000 grant from the Wildcat Foundation for the 2023-24 school year to purchase cooking supplies for the café.
“Our goal in our K-12 Life Skills program is to help our students become functional members of society after graduation,” Kuhn said. “We want them to be employable and be able to do as much as possible for themselves independently when they leave school. Running our classroom business (Wildcat Café) is just one way to help prepare them for our future.”
CLICK HERE to read more about the program.
Watch the Foundation Facts video below 👇👇👇
#CatHouse history flashback
The mission of the Mechanicsburg Area School District archives is to preserve the public documents that can be used by professional historians, students of history, and those individuals interested in the legacy of the school district and the role that public education has played in the community.
Some of the earliest known documents in the collection include:
- The Records of the Mechanicsburg High Alumni Association (1883)
- A commencement invitation (1892)
- An alumni banquet invitation (1893)
- A picture of the members of the class of 1894 (1894)
- A music program booklet (1904)
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Cat House archives.
Grant process
Continuing our mission to strengthen the educational, cultural, wellness, and athletic programs of the Mechanicsburg Area School District, the Wildcat Foundation is distributing more than $95,000 in grant funding for the 2023-34 academic year.
The grant process for the 2024-25 school year begins in November when the application process opens up for teachers, coaches and programs across the school district.
The foundation will receive grant applications for the 2024-25 school through January. A committee of volunteers will then review the applications and funding recommendations will be presented to and approved by the Foundation Board of Directors and School Board of Directors in April.
A transition in board members
The Wildcat Foundation welcomes three new members to its volunteer board.
Joining the foundation this October are Andrea Allessie, Jennifer Shockey and Tim Wendling.
Foundation board members serve 3- or 6-year terms as volunteers who support the foundation's mission to support MASD students.
Board members finishing up their terms this summer included Russ Daniels, Marc Harder, Andy Steele and John Mizerak. The foundation offers thanks to each of them for their invaluable volunteer efforts and dedication!
CLICK HERE to read more about our foundation board members and their roles in our community.
The Wildcat Foundation is registered as a 501(c)(3), k-12 public education foundation for purely charitable purposes. The volunteer board of directors convened its first meeting in early 1999 with the guiding principle, “to strengthen the educational, cultural, wellness, and athletic programs of the Mechanicsburg Area School District."
Contact information:
- Email: wildcatfoundation@mbgsd.org
- Website: https://www.wildcatfoundation.org/
- Location: 500 South Broad Street, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
- Phone: 717-691-4505
