The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” has some special meaning for the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation the Santa Monica City Council at its April 24 meeting showered the local foundation with a $250,000 donation it will use to see its new responsibility to raise more money and fund more school programs district-wide.

“The Education Foundation has worked to enhance the quality of public education in our community for 30 years, and the City is extremely supportive of the work they do,” Mayor Richard Bloom said. “The City is thrilled to be able to contribute to the Ed Foundation’s important work and to help the Foundation now expand its role to do even more.”

The City Hall donation will be used to help fund arts education, academic and athletic programs at all Santa Monica-Malibu public schools, and support the foundation’s work, including the hiring of additional staff and increasing its fundraising capacity.

Tuesday’s Council action represents the second half of the City’s initial $500,000 pledge to support the foundation’s endowment for the arts education. Through the “For the Arts” campaign, the foundation has raised $2.1 million in endowment funds to support music, visual arts, dance, and drama programs in schools throughout the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD).

This $250,000 contribution will still support the arts and enable the foundation to leverage and expand its district-wide fundraising efforts.

“We are very grateful to the City of Santa Monica for this contribution and for its long-standing commitment to supporting the Ed Foundation’s work on behalf of all students” SMMEF Executive Director Linda Greenberg Gross stated. “While we are fundraising right now for our current slate of academic, art, and athletic programs, we are also raising funds and building the infrastructure we’ll need to fulfill our expanded role in the not too distant future. The City of Santa Monica’s donation gives us a terrific boost to help us get there.”

SMMUSD Superintendent Sandra Lyon said the donation would help provide students with “equal access to educational opportunities.”

“As we look ahead to a centralized fundraising model with the goal of providing equal access to educational opportunities for all students, having the City of Santa Monica’s generous support for the Education Foundation is very significant and will help make that goal a reality.”