Vanguard Prep School Raises $150,000 for North Texas Giving Day

by Chasey Brim; Development Director, Vanguard Prep School

Vanguard Prep School, DFW’s leading therapeutic school serving students with academic, social, emotional, and behavioral differences, participated in North Texas Giving Day for the first time on September 21st, 2023. NTX Giving Day is an 18-hour online giving event serving more than 3,200 nonprofits in North Texas. The event is hosted by the Communities Foundation of Texas and is the “largest community-wide giving event in the nation.” 

 This was Vanguard’s first year participating in the campaign, and Head of School Patti Pickering led the school’s efforts to raise money for staff recruitment and retention, extracurricular activities, and scholarships for the 2023-24 school year. In preparation for the 21st, Vanguard engaged in Early Giving starting on September 1st. Early Giving ran until the 20th, and the school was able to secure a 100% staff participation rate in this year’s campaign. Patti and her team also attended NTX Giving Day community events, development meetings and spoke with the Vanguard community about the importance of joining the movement. Raising funds and awareness of Vanguard’s mission was essential to providing endless opportunities for students to excel inside and outside the classroom. 

On the morning of NTX Giving Day, the CEO of The Menta Education Group, Rory Conran, joined Vanguard students, staff, and families in downtown Dallas for the kickoff event hosted by WFAA Channel 8 News. The Vanguard community was featured throughout the morning, and Patti was interviewed by the segment’s host! WFAA reaches over one million viewers each morning, and Vanguard was one of the selected nonprofits to highlight! The school spent the rest of the day monitoring, giving, and spreading Vanguard’s mission to help the school reach its fundraising goal of $150,000.

The event officially closed after midnight on the 21st, and Vanguard was only a small amount away from their goal. However, on the morning of September 22nd, Communities Foundation of Texas awarded Vanguard with the Fab Freshman Award and $1,500 which allowed Vanguard to reach 100% of its fundraising goal! This prize is given to a nonprofit that participated in NTX Giving Day for the first time and who secured the most unique donors between the 1st and 21st of September. A total of 172 donors participated in the school’s giving event, and Vanguard raised a total of $150,497 to support staff, extracurricular activities, and scholarship funds.