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December 5, 2003/Kislev 10 5764, Vol. 56, No.11
Marketing matters
New efforts to publicize STO result in increased donations
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
Increased marketing efforts for the Jewish Community Day School Scholarship Fund in 2003 have brought increased donations to the organization.
The scholarship tuition organization (STO), which uses donations to provide scholarships for Jewish day school students in the Valley, has raised $250,000 as of Dec. 1, an increase of $90,000 from this time last year.
According to Heath Blumstein, campaign and marketing director for the STO, most donations come during the month of December. On Dec. 1 alone, his office received $45,500. The majority of donations will come in the last two weeks of the month, he said.
The STO takes advantage of an Arizona tax credit that allows taxpayers to donate up to $625 per year to tuition organizations in lieu of paying the same amount in state income tax.
Previous marketing efforts have been aimed at helping the community to understand that the donations to the STO cost taxpayers nothing. And while education about the tax credit is still a goal of the board of the STO, a marketing committee, headed by Chairwoman Robin Meyerson, has put a new marketing plan into action.
Efforts include partnerships with both synagogues and local preschools to promote the STO. Meyerson said that nearly all synagogues in the Valley are participating in an effort to get the word out to the community, including pleas at High Holiday services, and mentions in sermons, newsletters, Web sites and e-mail bulletins to congregants. Additionally, the Jewish preschools have made efforts to educate parents about the program.
The STO also received donations of public service announcements on local radio stations, and on-screen advertising at some East Valley Harkins Theatres.
Two contests at the schools whose students benefit from the STO will award ice cream and bowling parties to classes or schools who have 100-percent participation from parents.
Additional efforts have been aimed at previous donors, asking them to persuade one person who did not donate last year to donate this year. The goal of this marketing technique is to raise twice as much money this year.
Last year the STO generated $1,043,679 in donations, which resulted in $958,753 in scholarships to 221 students. The donations came from about 1,800 households - a number that represents 4 percent of the 44,000 Jewish households in the Valley, according to Meyerson.
"If we could get one quarter of the households to do this, we could send all of the kids (to Jewish day school) for free," said Meyerson.
In addition, the STO places advertisements and publicity inserts in Jewish News.
Meyerson said that despite education efforts, there are still misconceptions about the STO. For example, she said, she has come across community members who don't understand that the private school tax credit is separate from the public school tax credit and other tax credits, such as the Tax Credit for the Working Poor.
The STO, which was created in 1999, has awarded $2.76 million in scholarships. The organization is administered by the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, and serves seven participating schools, including all Jewish day school students in grades one through 12. The schools are Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School, The King David School, Pardes Jewish Day School, Phoenix Hebrew Academy, Tri-City Jewish Community Center Day School, Beth El Kindergarten and Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Kindergarten.
"It doesn't cost anybody a dime to provide a Jewish education for any Jewish child in the community who wants one," said Mark Schwarz, STO chairman. "It costs absolutely nothing."
For information about the tax credit or to make a donation, call 480-634-4900, ext. 1134, or visit www.jewishtaxcredit.org.
Contact the writer at beth_olson@jewishaz.com.
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