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The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, April 12, 2023 11
Savannah’s Windsor Forest Elementary
Awarded Georgia United Foundation 2023
School Crashers Grants
Georgia United
Foundation in partnership with
Georgia United Credit Union
is excited to announce that
Windsor Forest Elementary
School in Savannah is a 2023
Georgia United Foundation
School Crashers grant recipi
ent. School Crashers is one of
the Foundation’s largest com
munity service programs that
offers schools across the state
an opportunity to apply for a
school facility makeover. The
program strengthens communi
ties by supporting local school
systems with the end goal of
improving the learning envi
ronment for the students, facul
ty and staff.
Georgia United is
expanding its presence in Cha
tham County. The credit union
has a storefront in the Junior
Achievement Colonial Group
Discovery Center in Savannah,
and groundbreaking on a Geor
gia United branch in Pooler is
expected later this year.
Windsor Forest Ele
mentary in Savannah is a Title
I school with approximately
700 students that was built
almost 60 years ago. It is the
first school in Chatham County
with a Spanish Dual Language
Immersion program, and it also
serves as the cluster site for stu
dents in the ESOL (English as
a Second Language) program,
with more than 200 ELL (En
glish Language Learners). With
prevalent language barriers to
overcome, being a teacher at
Windsor Forest can be very
challenging. School Crashers
and Mohawk Flooring grants
will provide a rejuvenating
space where teachers can take
a restorative moment during
their stressful day. Transform
ing the teacher’s lounge into a
faculty recharge room is envi
sioned as a quiet and relaxing
space with new furniture and
appliances, walls painted in
soothing colors, contemporary
decor, appropriate lighting and
refreshing aroma. Positive
ly affecting the well-being of
teachers enhances their ability
to motivate academic achieve
ment in their students.
Through the previous
nine years, Georgia United’s
School Crashers program has
positively impacted 43,666
children across 63 schools by
creating inspiring learning
spaces and facility improve
ments valued at more than $1.8
million. Funding for the pro
gram is provided by Georgia
United Foundation and gener
ous donations made by com
munity partners. The selected
schools will receive project
improvements over the sum
mer before the start of the new
school year.
The School Crashers
nomination period opened in
February to all accredited K-12
schools in Georgia. Interested
schools were asked to include
a photograph along with a 250-
word essay describing why
their school should receive a
makeover. Nominations were
received from 247 applicant
schools and after a rigorous
judging process, seven schools
have been slated to receive
school improvements over the
summer.
“We are looking for
ward to serving our commu
nities and strengthening our
school systems through the
tenth annual School Crashers
program,’’ said Georgia Unit
ed President and CEO Debbie
Smith. “The Georgia United
Foundation, credit union team
members, generous donors,
community partners and vol
unteers make this a worthwhile
community service event,
where we provide inspiring
learning spaces for the stu
dents, faculty, and staff. By the
end of the summer, we antici
pate that School Crashers proj
ects will have impacted a total
of 70 individual schools with
improvements valued at more
than $2 million.’’
To learn more about
the School Crashers program
and view photos of past School
Crashers recipients, visit gucu-
foundation .org/ schoolcrashers.
Savannah SCORE and Wells Fargo Present
The 10th Annual State of Small Business in
Chatham County on May 3
Savannah SCORE
and Wells Fargo will present
The 10th Annual State of Small
Business in Chatham County
on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
The free event will be held
from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in the
Torian Auditorium at Savannah
State University, located in the
Howard Jordan building of the
College of Business Adminis
tration. Doors open at 8:00 a.m.
Savannah area busi
ness leaders from different sec
tors will each have three min
utes to present a brief overview
of the current state of affairs in
Chatham County as it pertains
to their industries. They will
then offer their key insights
into what this means to the fu
ture of Savannah and the small
business owner.
The conference is
free and open to the public.
Please RSVP with
this link: https ://www.score.
org/savannah/event/lOth-an-
nual-state-small-business-cha-
tham-county
The 2023 State of
Small Business in Chatham
County presenters include:
SPEAKER: Michael Toma,
Ph.D., professor of economics,
Georgia Southern University in
Savannah
TOPIC: Small Business Sta
tistical Overview
SPEAKER: Moncello Stew
art, president, the Greater
Savannah Black Chamber of
Commerce
TOPIC: Black Business Own
ership
SPEAKER: Becky Brownlee,
area director, Small Business
Development Center, UGA
TOPIC: 2023 Small Business
es Credit Survey
SPEAKER: Joseph Marinelli,
president, Visit Savannah
TOPIC: Tourism
SPEAKER: Scott C. Scheidt,
chief security officer, Seimitsu
IT Services and High-Speed
Broadband Fiber
TOPIC: CyberSecurity
SPEAKER: MarRonde Lump-
kin-Lotson, Department of
Economic Development, City
of Savannah
TOPIC: Certification
SPEAKER: Paula Kreissler,
executive director, Healthy Sa
vannah
TOPIC: Productivity
SPEAKER: Victoria Saxton,
COO/CFO, Small Business
Assistance Corporation
TOPIC: Small Business Ac
cess to Capital in the Savannah
Region
SPEAKER: Charles Bowen,
corporate / entertainment attor
ney, The Bowen Law Group
TOPIC: Film Industry in Sa
vannah
SPEAKER: Catalina Gar
cia-Quick, Business Develop
ment, Pratt Industries - Recy
cling Division
TOPIC: Local Strides in Sus
tainability
SPEAKER: Rhett Mouchet,
associate broker, Colliers Inter
national Savannah
TOPIC: Commercial Real Es
tate Trends
SPEAKER: Jesse Dillon,
Chief Operating Officer, SEDA
TOPIC: Growth in the Savan
nah Area
Moderators for the
event are the founders of The
State of Small Business in
Chatham County: Marjorie
Young, CEO of Carriage Trade
Public Relations® Inc., and
Joe Marchese, owner of Joe
Marchese Commercial Con
struction.
The presenting spon
sors are Wells Fargo and Sa
vannah SCORE.
Supporting spon
sors include The University of
Georgia Small Business Devel
opment Center, The City of Sa
vannah’s Entrepreneurial Cen
ter, Savannah Area Chamber of
Commerce, and The Greater
Savannah Black Chamber of
Commerce.
Virtual Sessions
offered at Inm and
530 pin
Session 1:5/8
Session 2:5/15
Session 3:5/22
D.A.S.H.
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SCAN ME
Now Under New Fundraising Management
The board of Just
Our Luck Youth Services is not
happy with the organization’s
fundraising results. The board
chair pounds her fist on the ta
ble. declaring, “I am sick and
tired of hearing excuses every
year. We never meet our fund
raising goals. Something has
to be done.” Trying to distract
from where she believes the
conversation may be headed
the executive director inter
rupts with, “we would hit our
goals if the board would give
and fundraise. You can't expect
staff to do everything.” Quickly
the board chair retorts, “Well
then, why do we have staff?”
Oh, this is going to be a round
of finger pointing. Where will it
end, and what will most bene
fit the young people served by
Just Our Luck.
If you’ve been part
of a discussion such as the
above, you know that changing
an organization’s fundraising
program can be contentious,
and too often isn’t addressed
until reality cannot be avoid
ed. When you come to this
crossroads, we suggest taking
positive action: put your fund
raising program under new
management. This shifts the
focus from who is responsi
ble for what has happened in
the past, to what can be done
differently going forward. Get
out of the same-old-same-old
nonprofit fundraising mode
and treat your fundraising shop
as if it is a new, proud, startup
ready to take on the world. Or
ganize your fundraising as you
would organize the launch of a
new business. Make promises
to your donors and funders -
and get busy fulfilling them.
Here are things your
fundraising team should be able
to deliver. The most important
is accessibility. You simply
cannot be too busy to commu
nicate with current or prospec
tive donors and funders. Be ac
cessible and intelligent: know
what you are raising money
for and why. Add the following
to the mix: accurate data man
agement, an engaged and com
mitted board, higher skilled
administrators and staff, and
increased transparency and ac
countability. Prioritize creating
a donor friendly environment
that offers donors and funders
more ways to invest and be
come engaged. Create up-to-
the-moment special evets that
are new and fun - no more of
the same old chicken dinner
and silent auction. Double up
on that creativity and pour it
into your stewardship program.
Banish the days of a thank you
letter and gift receipt followed
by another solicitation. Engage
the young talent that surrounds
you organization and ask for
their opinions on how to make
donors and funders feel valued
and appreciated. Draw in cre-
atives and those who are fo
cused on the bottom line. Then
share the responsibility for im
plementing what you agree on.
Importantly, you may need to
seek out an individual with a
higher level of fundraising and
fund development experience
to run your program. Someone
who can both look at the big
picture and advance the de
tails. When things are going as
planned you need to take cor
rective action. It just might be
that you need to operate under
new management.
Copyright 2023
- Mel and Pearl Shaw of
Saad&Shaw - Comprehensive
Fund Development Services.
Let us help you plan for 2023!
Video and phone conferencing
services are always available.
Call us at (901) 522-8727.
www.saadandshaw.com
Where Are We Going As A Country?
Joseph H. Silver, Sr., President Silver & Associates
Do you want your sons and
daughters to be blinded to the
real history of this country?
Where are we going
as a country when the Gover
nor of Florida says that African
American history and culture
have no relevance? If it were
Jewish, European, Asian, or
Christian history and culture,
would you feel the same?
Where are we going
as a country when children are
not feeling safe at schools and
adults do not feel safe in pub
lic places because of gun vio
lence? Is this what you want to
experience for your children,
grandchildren or for your
selves?
While I have posed
some serious questions, I hope
it spurs a conversation between
and among us on what our
hope is for this country. I hope
it causes us to reflect on what
we really want for our fami
lies, for ourselves, and for our
neighbors. I am concerned for
the rights and safety of my four
grandboys. In a true democra
cy, rights should be celebrated
not taken away, school safety
should be an expectation, and
children should expect to be-
Continued from Page 1
come adults, not having their
lives cut short by gun violence.
Let us be bold enough to speak
out against injustice. As Martin
Luther King Jr. said “A threat
to justice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere.’’
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There are more than 120,000 consumers
within the distribution and shopping area
of The Savannah Tribune. In addtion to
our special appeal to African-American
readers, an aggressive distribution
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all sectors of our market area.
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