In order to provide funds for its various programs, KEF holds a number of fundraising events that raise about $200,000 each year.

Each school year begins with a sense of anticipation and excitement concerning our community-building Garden Party. The Garden Party is KEF’s major funding raising event that highlights both the generosity of our community and the hard work and dedication of our school-based family of volunteers. This gala event taps into the diverse resources of our community, and features both a silent and a live auction. Every skill offered is put to use - whether the offering is an hour’s worth of flower arranging or delivery of donations, or as much as a six-month commitment to detailed planning and finely-tuned execution. And, of course, it must be noted that such a spectacular event could never have become the success that it is without the incredible support of the school’s highly-acclaimed Dads Club.

KEF’s second major fundraising event, the annual Telethon, provides an opportunity for KEF volunteers to reach out directly to each Kensington School family for additional financial support. One part of the Telethon effort, the reminder to Kensington families to take advantage of employer-matching contributions, has rewarded the school with thousands of dollar of added funding over the years.

Throughout the year, KEF encourages the school community to take advantage of funding opportunities through e-scrip, school-pop, and other community partner programs that provide significant financial support to our programs. To capture those benefits for KEF, families have only to sign up with one or more of the program partners before shopping in their normal manner.

KEF’s Fundraising committee is always searching for new ways to raise funds in support of our programs. One recent campaign took advantage of an opportunity presented by the just-completed school building renovation project. For that occasion, KEF sold individually-inscribed bricks to school families and community members. After personal messages were engraved, each brick was installed to add a unique and interesting focal point at the base of the flagpole near the school’s main entrance. The Fundraising committee also arranged for renovation project architects to incorporate additional fundraising opportunities at various other locations at the school site.

Through the Fundraising committee’s efforts, KEF began selling Peet’s Coffee cards to school parents and community members a few years ago. These cards, which yield up to 10% of the value of each card to the school, have proven especially successful during the holiday seasons.

Later this year, KEF, in conjunction with the PTA and the Dads Club, will participate in a fundraiser event with Dream Dinners in El Cerrito.

Every spring, KEF sponsors a school-wide Spell-a-thon with grade-appropriate ‘tests’ designed by our teaching staff.

KEF maintains a reserve equal to one year’s expenses to help ensure program continuity in the event of a funding shortfall.