The Hood River County Education Foundation (HRCEF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports students and teachers in the public school district in Hood River County, Oregon. HRCEF works to enhance education for students of Hood River County School District (HRCSD) by providing financial support for programs, services, and scholarships. Through our work, we seek to develop a community that values and supports education, where students are prepared to succeed, and where teachers are supported and valued in their work.
Through its 55 scholarship funds, HRCEF has awarded more than $2,300,000 in scholarships to over 950 students. We have also raised and distributed more than $193,000 through our Impact Teaching Grant program.
HRCEF was founded in 1991, with a primary focus on administering scholarships to high school seniors for post-secondary education, such as vocational programs, and 2-year and 4-year colleges. Since then, we expanded our focus to add:
- Grants for teachers to enrich classroom learning
- Funding to offset after-school and extracurricular fees for families with financial need
- Funding for school field trips for Title I schools
- Funding for swim lessons for district kindergarteners, 2nd graders, and 5th graders
- Administration of the software that powers the scholarship infrastructure for the 56 HRCEF scholarship funds and for 26 other local scholarship-awarding organizations
- Administrative support for a 529 Savings Plan for all district kindergarteners called “Small Steps – Big Dreams”
HRCEF has only 1.4 full-time equivalent employees, which includes a full-time Program Manager and part-time Executive Director. The volunteer board of directors consists of 21 members, who serve two-year terms. Board members give money and time to the foundation, particularly with scholarship scoring and review of teacher grant applications.