The Avondale Dream Scholarship

Overview

In the early 1990s, community leaders and the Avondale School District believed that there were businesses, organizations and citizens that would be inclined to help enrich the Avondale school experience if there was a way for them to do that. Schools are not classified as 'charities' under the IRS tax code, so it was impossible to make tax-deductible donations to schools. In addition, there was a fear that potential donors would feel that direct donations to the District might just be absorbed into the budget, rather than providing special benefits over and above the 'normal' program. With this in mind, an ad hoc community-based group, assisted by the District, created the Avondale Education Foundation (AEF) in 1992 as a 501(c) 3 charity. From the beginning, the AEF has sought to create an environment in which students and staff can dream and have reasonable hope that their dreams can come true.