Why Donate to the Partnership?

Our volunteer directors are keenly aware of being entrusted with donors’ hard-earned money.  As stewards of their gifts, we work to maintain our reputation for professionalism, fairness, and integrity.  To date we are proud to have placed nearly $700,000 of donations into the hands of local children. 

Contributions – both large and small – are immediately budgeted to fulfill the goals of one of our two main programs:

Classroom Mini-Grants are our primary program.  These awards of up to $500 per teacher per semester allow them to purchase supplementary curricular materials.  This fulfills our goal of placing our donors’ resources in the hands of the children of CUSD7. Click here for more info.

Academic Tuition Student Scholarships are the second program of The Partnership.  These modest awards of $500 primarily recognize potential among students who seldom receive scholarships.  Grades are noted but are not critical to a student’s selection.  Greatest weight is given to a student’s work ethic, career goals, and the esteem of the adults who write recommendations. Click here for more info.

Overhead is limited to printing costs, stationery, and postage.  We have no bricks-and-mortar, and we pay no salaries.  Of course, state and federal fees as well as professional services are required to maintain our 501(c)3 status.  Otherwise all activities and programs of The Partnership are conducted by volunteers.

The Partnership routinely sets aside 10 percent of its unrestricted annual income.  Generous bequests and restricted gifts have allowed us to build a strategic reserve.  We think it’s important to point out – and we’re very proud to do so – that all of our funds, restricted and unrestricted, are in federally insured instruments.  We are adamant about not putting our partners’ hard-earned money at risk, and we are proud to have never lost a dollar.

Donors who are interested in contributing to any of the above programs or the reserve or who are interested in estate planning options, click here.

More Information 

For more information on making donations (including info on tax deductions) please read our FAQs. If you have any further questions about your donation please contact us via our web form or email us directly at info@thepartnership7.org

To learn more about the partnership and it's board of directors, visit our about page, and to learn more about our process for using funds click here.

Donate by Credit Card

Donation can be submitted online using any major credit card account. We ask that donations by credit card be limited to donations between $10 and $1000. If you would like to make a donation above or below this amount please send via postal mail or contact us.

During the donation process, you will be presented with options for how your donation will be applied, including the opportunity to personalize your donation. Click "Donate Today" below to learn more!

Donate In Person or by Postal Mail

For donations by mail, please send a check made out to "The Partnership for Education Excellence" to the following address: 

The Partnership for Educational Excellence
P.O. Box 125
Gillespie, IL 62033

If you are interested in learning more about how your  donation will be applied, including the opportunity to personalize your donation email us at info@thepartnership7.org.