Introduction
Business Partnerships are any organized collaboration between a business/community organization, individuals, and schools for the purpose of improving the educational experience for students. 

The “partnership” movement holds the promise of improving public education by enhancing the funding limitations of schools and by providing learning exchanges between schools and their community. In this handbook, the focus is on meaningful partnerships. It is not about how many partnerships a school has established. It is about quality and the measurement of value added to your school’s learning environment.

Partnerships are not a new concept. Schools have long invited parents or members of the community to be resource persons on a “come-when-you-can” basis. Usually their contributions are short-term and for a single purpose. These alliances promote good school-community relations and can serve as the basis for new and innovative partnerships. The vision for future education partnerships is to establish long-term relationships between the private sector and school district with a focus on development. It is this long-term approach and a focus on specific goals that makes the development approach a more lasting and impactful benefit to schools.

The outcomes from a development effort produce a broadened base of support for education, which will increase communication between the community while enriching a curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the future. Development is a long-term commitment to youth in support of quality education and the fostering of educational excellence. Initiating and nurturing partnerships through the private sector is a way to increase trust and confidence in education. Most importantly, a long-term plan is a comprehensive partnership that truly affects students and is more beneficial than a collection of smaller unrelated projects.

Schools should develop partnerships of need with community businesses located near them. The Hillsborough Education Foundation develops partnerships with major corporations for district-specific needs. Both types of partnerships are important to improving the educational experiences of our students.

All schools may establish an account with the Foundation. The Foundation serves as each school’s umbrella for giving. An account in the Foundation provides the same benefits of an independent 501(c)(3).

Each school principal should appoint an individual to be a partnership coordinator that serves as the school contact for all partnership activities and as a liaison with the Hillsborough Education Foundation. The partnership coordinator would assist their school with a long-range view of partnerships.

Purpose
The purpose of this handbook is to increase the awareness of educators regarding the financial opportunities that exist in their backyard. It outlines steps to take in establishing and maintaining partnerships, but more importantly; how to move their schools toward development.

Why development? Just compare any K-12 traditional partnership plan with any college development plan. Incentive programs, T-shirts and book covers just do not compare to endowed chairs and major gifts. This is a practical guide for schools to work with their education foundation to take partnerships to the next level.

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