GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) Foundation will host its annual Mindshare Gala on Wednesday, May 10, to raise vital funds for students and programming in the Grand Rapids school district.
Last year, the nonprofit’s philanthropic event raised over $260,000 to fund programs in the foundation’s five key impact areas: arts and music, environmental education, literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and physical wellness.
The annual event is critical to ensuring GRPS has the resources it needs to remove barriers so that every student is able to learn, develop and thrive, said Stephanie Adams, president and CEO of the GRPS Foundation.
“Urban school districts have a lot of needs across the board,” Adams told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “They’re helping to make sure kids have warm meals, appropriate clothing, making sure that all the needs are met so that they can be ready to learn.”
“The funds from this event go above and beyond to make sure that the experiences that children get during their entire education are available to them.”
Of the 13,787 students enrolled at GRPS this school year, 77.7% are classified at economically disadvantaged, according to 2022-2023 state data. The fundraising goal for this year’s Mindshare Gala is $300,000, Adams said.
For 30 years, the GRPS Foundation has served as the strategic fundraising partner for the Grand Rapids school district. Previously called the Student Advancement Foundation, the nonprofit was established in 1993 and has raised over $43 million for GRPS since its inception.
The foundation aims to link community partners with what the school district needs to support students. Adams said an investment in GRPS is an investment in the greater Grand Rapids community.
“I often say, everyone loves Grand Rapids – we brag about what a great place it is to raise a family and have your business,” Adams said. “Our school district should be just as admired and uplifted, and I hope that people see the GRPS Foundation as one of those key ways to be able to help do that. It really does take a village to make sure every scholar in our community has all the resources they need to be successful.”
Adams said she believes there are misconceptions that public schools are abundant in cash in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, due to the distribution of federal COVID-19 relief funds, called ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) dollars.
However, those one-time funds can only be spent to counteract the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and cannot be used to address the multitude of needs that existed in GRPS long before COVID-19 emerged in 2020, Adams said.
“There’s been such a disinvestment in our community, especially in our urban school district, for so long – it’s like we’re now in catch-up mode,” Adams said. “We’ve been in catch-up mode forever.”
This year marks the 30th year since the creation of the GRPS Foundation, and the 2023 Mindshare Gala will look back at the nonprofit’s history. The event will take attendees “back in time” for a night of old-school fun and nostalgia, according to the event’s website.
The gala will have a prom theme, and attendees are encouraged to wear their best prom attire, Adams said.
During the program, the foundation will recognize its community partner of the year and GRPS teacher of the year, as well as a new category recognizing distinguished alumni from GRPS, Adams said. The recipients of those awards will be announced a week before the event, she said.
The May 10 event will take place at GRPS University, located at 1400 Fuller Ave. Cocktail hour and registration is scheduled for 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Individual tickets are $250, and attendees can also reserve a table for eight people for $1,250.
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