2023/2024 Annual Giving Campaign

DONATE TODAY

With as little $15 per month you can help Bishop Pinkham students shine brighter.

Bishop Pinkham Junior High offers a strong language-based academic program and like all top-tier schools we rely on donations to be truly competitive and enable our students and faculty to meet their full potential. Donations are critical to the program enhancements that make Bishop Pinkham really shine. To learn more, scroll to our FAQs.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Bishop Pinkham Parents Association (BPPA) will be held on Thursday, October 25, 2023 at 6:30 PM. The meeting will be held virtually. Please look in the principle’s weekly message for the link.

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Message from the Bishop Pinkham Parents’ Association President

This past school year has been a year of change. Students and staff at Bishop Pinkham have

navigated what was a series of seemingly unending changes in health and safety protocols

that impacted how learning and extra-curricular activities could be undertaken. The good

news is that we look to be on a path that will have us moving ever closer to greater

normalcy.

This has also been a year of change for the Bishop Pinkham Parents’ Association (BPPA). In

the fall of 2021, six new members were elected to the board, taking over from a group of

parents who had worked tirelessly, some for more than three years, to raise funds that

support the exceptional learning experiences for all students at BP.

The BPPA is a volunteer parent association which raises funds and works with the school to

support outstanding enrichment programs that our school is known for such as band

clinicians, artists in residence, wellness symposiums, sport and outdoor education, drama,

library and technology resources, Healthy Hunger lunches, Grade 9 farewell and cultural and

leadership opportunities. Every activity we sponsor meets the larger school vision, and

depends on financial contributions and volunteer time donated by families in our school

community. Anyone is welcome to join the BPPA and you can do so by visiting our website

at www.bishoppinkhamparents.com. And, as always, we encourage anyone who is able to

make a donation online (either one-time or a recurring monthly contribution) to ensure that

we are able to continue to support Bishop Pinkham’s outstanding opportunities for its

students.

As we all look forward to some well-deserved summer school holidays (and hopefully some

beautiful weather too), I would like to thank everyone who has made a donation to the

BPPA to support and enrich our kids’ learning experience at Bishop Pinkham. I would also

like to thank the parents and grandparents, including my fellow BPPA board members, who

have volunteered their time to support our activities this year.

Have a wonderful summer and, as a board, we look forward to reconnecting with you all in

September.

David Klug

President, Bishop Pinkham Parents’ Association

What makes a great school?

**Or rather, who makes a great school?**

LEARN MORE

Bishop Pinkham, a school with a longstanding history of academic and language leadership, understands that success in education relies not only on talented teachers and engaged students, but also on the support of our school families. It’s no surprise that schools with strong family involvement benefit from enhanced learning opportunities and a more meaningful school culture. Throughout the year, our amazing Bishop Pinkham school families contribute in many different ways, but always in service of our students, and our school.

In short—you make the difference.

What is The Bishop Pinkham Parents Association (BPPA)?

The BPPA is a registered charity* run by parent volunteers that raises money to fund enrichment programs for your children at Bishop Pinkham Junior High School, a public school in the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) system. For over thirty years, the BPPA has made significant contributions to the culture and opportunities available at Bishop Pinkham, relying on school families to support its efforts.

*CRA charitable number 13115 8289 RR0001

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BPPA is the only fundraising entity that supports our school.

Our committee uses the funds it raises to offer outstanding enrichment programs that our school is known for, beyond the base curriculum: such as band clinicians, artists in residence, sport and outdoor education, drama resources, technology, and cultural and leadership opportunities. Every activity we sponsor meets the larger school vision, and depends on the resources and volunteer hours donated by our school parents.

Why an Annual Campaign, Now?

This year, we’ve chosen to launch a direct donation campaign rather than focus on smaller fundraisers that take a lot of time and capital to organize. Our goal is to use the least amount of resources to get the greatest return on investment. Dividing our costs (volunteer hours* plus fundraising expenses) by gross revenue, we’ve calculated what each fundraising initiative costs. For example, fundraising via AGLC Casinos costs us 7 cents for every dollar raised.

Here are some examples of our most common fundraising activities:

AGLC Casino
- $0.07 to raise $1.00
Online Direct Donation Campaign
- $0.10 - $0.15 to raise $1.00
Grant Writing
- $0.20 to raise $1.00
Special Events
- $0.50 to raise $1.00
Selling Products
- $0.95 - $1.05 to raise $1.00

* Volunteer time has been notionally valued at $15.00/hour

This doesn’t mean we’ve stopped producing popular events. If your child enjoys the occasional Fun Lunch, great! If you’d like to attend Jazzy Desserts, terrific! These are fun legacy programs that you and your child have told us they’d like to keep. The joy these events bring to our students and their parents can’t be measured by profit alone.

But those of you who’d rather make a monthly or single contribution to our educational programs can take comfort in knowing that your dollar will have a significant impact to your child’s education.

How Much of My Donation Goes to Bishop Pinkham?

Your entire donation! When you make a donation, you can be sure it’s going straight to BPPA and then Bishop Pinkham’s administration to fund the programs that give our students enrichment opportunities. We invest the money in programs that meet our mission and vision, as well as the school’s larger mandate. Our committee is dedicated to keeping administration and fundraising costs as low as possible. Because the fund is managed by parent volunteers, our overhead is low.

What is Your Mission and Vision?

Mission

Our mission is to engage every Bishop Pinkham family to commit their time, talent and treasure to make a difference in their child’s education. These funds and resources will support enrichment opportunities in music, language, technology, the arts, science, culture and leadership, as well as sport and outdoor education. By dedicating support to all programs, across all grade levels, our fundraising mandate strives to leave no child behind when it comes to realizing their individual passions and unique potential.

Vision

We envision an environment in which our students and parents are engaged, both hearts and minds, in supporting a strong, language-based academic program grounded in a cultural and community perspective, enhanced by meaningful enrichment opportunities. In short, we envision a school where our students take full advantage of opportunities that further their sense of responsibility and personal growth, and value their growing talents and gifts.

What Your Kids Told Us

You might be interested to know that we asked students, via an informal survey, what they love about Bishop Pinkham, what they hope to achieve this year, where they’d like to see change, and how they can help. They told us what they’d like more of—Art Market, Band Trips, more Tech, more Drama props, and most of all, the beloved Snack Shack! You’ll also be pleased to know that they told us they’d really like to help out. We plan to continue engaging our students in creative ways throughout the year—and we hope you’ll all join us in supporting their creative, irrepressible energy!

We invite you to contact us with any ideas or questions.

How Much Should I Donate to Make a Difference?

Our financial target for this campaign is $20,000. We’ve set this amount based upon the list of activities our teachers and administration have told us they’d love to offer your kids this school year. Great stuff, like band clinics, camping, cross country, artists in residence, climbing trips, museum-and-lunch with a language twist, a sensory room, and so on. And you get to choose where you direct your money. Any money we raise over and above our target will be used to further enhance your child’s junior high school experience – the level of investment depends entirely on you.

Donating money is a very personal decision. There is no right or wrong amount. Our fundraising goal is to get 100% parent participation - not a specific dollar amount. We believe that the average parent, or guardian, may be willing to contribute $120 per household or $15/month. Some families may wish to give more – others may not be able to do as much. At the end of the day, everyone pulling together will help your kids have an exceptional year!

Can I Get a Tax Receipt for My Donation?

Definitely. By partnering with CanadaHelps, a leading Canadian non-profit social enterprise, we are able to provide you with a tax receipt for 100% of the value of your donation. The BPPA receives the amount of your donation less their processing fee.

Can Grandparents or Other Family Make a Donation?

Absolutely! Education is the best holiday gift ever. Just send them the link to this page, and we’ll be thrilled to receive their donation.

Will my Donation Amount Be Confidential?

The BPPA Treasurer is the only one who’ll see your donation. The Treasurer may provide reports on donation totals; however, individual donors cannot be identified.

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