Leadership | Partners | Volunteer
South Carolina Future Minds is the statewide, non-profit, 501(c)3 that organizes private support for the state’s 700,000 public school students.
Public universities and private schools often have dozens of people working to connect private support to their institutions. South Carolina Future Minds is the only entity working to connect private donors to all public K-12 public schools across the state.
Our work is paying off:
· Statewide Innovation Efforts. The State Board of Education has asked South Carolina Future Minds and the Education Oversight Committee to bring together public and private sector leaders, such as representatives from the state Chamber of Commerce, The Riley Institute at Furman, colleges, universities and leading education groups to help promote and bring innovation to our public schools. This will be an enormous undertaking, with potential long-term positive impact on our children.
· The annual Conference of South Carolina Public Education Partners. This brings state and local education groups together to talk about common challenges and best practices. The 2011 conference was capped by announcement of the first annual “Dick and Tunky Riley WhatWorksSC Award”. Driven by The Riley Institute at Furman and South Carolina Future Minds, this award for proven effective programs was supported by BB&T, the state Board of Education, state Chamber of Commerce, SC School Administrators Association, SC School Boards Association and other corporate partners.
· Nationally Recognized SC Teacher of the Year Celebration. This annual event is the largest gathering of state leaders in business, government and education in support of our state’s teachers. It also features the winner of the only statewide talent contest open to K-12 public school students.
· Teacher Appreciation Month. Thousands of people annually reach out to thank a teacher, and one lucky educator wins a Bahamas cruise from corporate partner Bojangles’.
· “Spaghetti Night”. Mueller’s Pasta works through South Carolina Future Minds to offer every public school in our state free pasta for a “Spaghetti Night” of parents, students and teachers. As of December, 2011, more than 160 schools had received nearly eight tons of pasta.
· “Go Back to School SMART”. Our Facebook campaign in 2011 partnered with SMART Technologies to give away thousands of dollars of equipment to three SC public schools.
And our work continues…
· Online School Donations. We’ve rolled out a “button” which now allows any SC public school to accept tax-deductible contributions online. Click here to see an example of the button, in the upper right hand corner of the page.
· Alumni Donations – We work to help public high schools connect with their alumni and turn reunions into opportunities for continuing financial support.
South Carolina Future Minds has strong relations with all major state education groups, and supports their work as we all build a strong network of support for our children in public schools.
Still have questions? Feel free to contact us at info@scfutureminds.org or give us a call at 803-741-5646.
MISSION STATEMENT
South Carolina Future Minds advocates for public education in SC and connects public and private sectors in promoting innovation for excellence and support of teachers in preparing students to thrive in a global community.
