Our vision is to enhance the quality of public education in Independent School District #544 through the awarding of grants to teachers, staff, administration and/or students. The grants we award help fund projects and programs, supplement the regular curriculum, provide extra teaching supplies and materials, and update the district's technology offerings. We also offer scholarships to students who attend summer camps, graduating seniors and alumni.

We are able to accomplish our goals through membership donations from alumni, community members and businesses. We also receive memorial donations from friends and family of alumni, teachers and community members. We have a great relationship with district administration and are able to communicate effectively to make sure that we are doing what is best for our organization and the school district.

In addition to being a non-profit organization that financially helps the school district, we are also the alumni association for Fergus Falls High School. Because of this, we connect with our alumni on a bi-annual basis through our alumni newsletter, and reach out to alumni through social media and at class reunions. We are also present at several sporting and arts events throughout the school year to spread the word to parents and the community about who we are and what we do.

We will know that we are making progress through the number of members we have (and where those members are coming from) and by the amount of grants we are able to award on an annual basis.

Back in 2013, we set a goal of finding 500 new members before September 1, 2018. We are well ahead of the 100 new members/year pace and are confident we will meet our goal. We have also started a Major Donor Campaign where donors would give $544/year for 5 years. We are currently at 52 Major Donors and hope to get to 100 at some point in the near future. Last spring, we also compiled a Classroom Wish List where teachers could request one item for their classroom. That list was then published in the local paper and community members, businesses and alumni could then find an item to fund. The 2016-2017 Wish List was a success; 67% of the requests were funded. In the past, we have also had a grant budget of $20,000/year. For the 2016-2017 school year, we were able to increase that budget to almost $34,000 thanks to our Major Donors and our increase in members.