UMA 2023 - 2024 Annual Fund

At this time of year, schools traditionally reach out to make their annual fund appeal. As you may know, progressive charter schools like UMA are funded entirely through per pupil spending. Even before the recent rise in inflation and other education costs, this has always left schools with a gap to fill. Fundraising is an essential tool for schools such as ours to fill those gaps. 

Our UMA families know our school is a special place; you entrust us with your child’s education because we provide things that are not offered anywhere else. Our unique programs include our pathways, community days, focus on progress based learning, and diverse set of electives. We keep our class sizes small and give our excellent teaching staff the space to design and implement their own curriculums. However, these elements do have a cost. 

The following testimonials from some of our favorite staff illustrate how grateful our staff is to have such an inclusive and open-minding community:

“UMA has had a substantial impact on the lives of all the students. It creates a safe environment for all learners. As a parent of a current student and a teacher in the school, I have been overly impressed with the student's curiosity and staff’s ability to create engaging and creative ways of teaching to all.” Mr. Kris

“I love UMA because both myself and students have the space to make mistakes and to LEARN from those. The community here is the silliest and warmest I’ve ever experienced.” Ms. Arnold

“Upper Mississippi Academy offers students a chance to explore their curiosities, inquiries, and academic strengths while being guided by staff members who truly want to see them succeed. Our students are encouraged to grow in all dimensions of life, and the staff at UMA are fortunate to support them in all that they endeavor to do.” Ms. Juno

“Upper Mississippi Academy is a place where all people are welcome, not in spite of their identities, but because of their identities and experiences. We have built and continue to build a community that is ingrained with exploration, belonging, and grit.” Mr. Josh

We understand that families have various commitments, and we greatly appreciate any support you can provide. Every donation, no matter the size, makes a difference. UMA gratefully accepts contributions of both general and designated support; General support provides invaluable assistance where it is needed most, our operating costs.  But gifts may also be designated to a specific and meaningful area of interest such as community day programming, food service assistance, transportation costs, or curricular support.

Some examples of designated support you could fund include:

$5000 - Fully fund our Culinary Program for the school year - Includes food, cleaning, and service costs

$1000 - Cover the cost of supervision and materials for an afterschool student club

$500 - Fund a bus for a field trip - Sometimes our community days take us out of the cities and we need to rent a school bus to visit Minnesota's beautiful rural areas. 

$500 - Cover a weeks’ food service cost

$400 - Fund the school play - Covers cost of licensing and scripts

$300 - Fund a set of updated texts for English classes

$300 - Cover the cost of materials for the Printmaking class

$200 - Purchase a set of weight plates for the new weightlifting room

$50 - Supply materials for a biology, chemistry, or physics lab

To make donating as convenient as possible, we have set up multiple online donation campaigns where you can securely contribute to our fundraising efforts. Please visit our GiveMN site or our Paypal to make your donation today. Checks are also always welcome and remember that any donations are tax deductible. You can also choose to make a one-time contribution or set up a recurring donation that fits your budget.

Thank you for giving and supporting our school,

-The UMA Board and Staff

Increase your impact, have your employer match your gift!