The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association, Inc. is proud to announce that it is providing this year’s Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant of $300 to three (3!!!) different recipients after receiving a record-setting seven (7) applications:

• $300 will be awarded to the Track & Field Program to support with replacing the existing track hurdles, some of which date back more than 25 years.
• $300 will also be awarded to the Baseball Program to support with purchasing a new L screen - this will allow for the baseball team to practice at home more rather than having to rent fields all the time.
• The final $300 grant will be used to support with the purchase of a volleyball cart for the Boys and Girls Volleyball teams and the PE program.

The Alumni Association is excited to be able to support Panthers Athletics and the school with these type of long-term investments which will serve many Croomies now and into the future.

The money for this grant comes from a previously established Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk athletics fund where alumni can purchase a brick with their name to be installed at our alma mater. Individuals interested in supporting the athletics grant program should consider purchasing a brick at https://brick.croomsalumni.com

Separately, the Crooms AoIT Alumni Association has partnered with the Crooms AoIT Athletics Department to create a specialized donation page that now available on the menu bar of the Crooms AoIT athletics page.

Update (10/28/2024): By popular demand, the grant application will stay open until November 4, 2024.

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association is pleased to announce the launch of of the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant application for the 2024-2025 school year. A total of $300 will be distributed during the Fall 2024 grant season. Multiple grants may be awarded, as such, applicants are encouraged to only apply for the amount they need. All funds distributed this season will be issued to a sporting team or athletic club, coach, or physical education program at Crooms Academy of Information Technology.

Since 2012, the Alumni Association's grant program has provided athletic clubs, sports teams, and school departments with financial support. In 2022 the grant program was renamed in memory of Coach Geoffry Alan Haines - Crooms AoIT's first athletics director. More information on the program is available on the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant page. Community members looking to support the Grant Program are encouraged to support the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk Program which provides dedicated funding to the grant program.

Submission Deadline: 11:59pm October 28, 2024

Procedures and Reporting Requirements

1. Submit the application: Applications may be submitted by Google Form at https://forms.gle/TcswArcP1eMYrV8aA
2. Applications must be received by 11:59pm October 28, 2024
3. Applications will be reviewed by the Alumni Association’s Grants Committee. Distribution will occur in November/December 2024.
4. Input may be sought by the Grants Committee from the Athletic Director or school administrators.
5. You must submit a copy of the invoice supporting the monies spent within one year of receipt of the grant. Please return the invoice by e-mail to scholarship@croomsalumni.com

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association, Inc. is proud to announce the start of the "Back to School Matching Fundraiser" program. This dollar-for-dollar, 100% matching donation program runs through August 2024 and aims to provide financial support to our general scholarship program. Extra warms and fuzzies for Class of 2005 who give as this school year marks their 20th Anniversary!

The matching donation program runs through August 31st and will match up to $500 in donations. Donors will automatically qualify for membership in the Alumni Association based on the level of their donation and can also be recognized on the website. There are a number of ways for alumni and supporters to give; these include:

• Through our Crooms Alumni website using your Crooms Alumni user account at https://www.croomsalumni.com/donate
• On our PayPal Profile: https://paypal.me/croomsalumni
• Through this Facebook fundraiser at: https://www.facebook.com/donate/1845847259225746/

All donations are 501(c)3 eligible for tax purposes.

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association has started its 2024-2025 fiscal year by depositing $650 into a dedicated fund to support the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant Program. This deposit will help ensure the sustainability of the Athletics Grant Program for an indefinite period into the future. This deposit comes from the sale of bricks during the 2023-2024 school year for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

This deposit of $650 follows our transfer of $1,500 to the Crooms AoIT athletics department in May. This donation aims to support athletics teams and sports clubs in their efforts to provide a full and enriching academic experience to Crooms AoIT students during their high school years. This donation is possible thanks to the support of alumni and community partners through the capital fundraising campaign for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

Alumni and community partners looking to specifically support Crooms AoIT athletics can directly support the team of their choice through the specialized donation page or support general athletics by purchasing a brick for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

Dear Crooms AoIT Alumni Association members and supporters,

We are pleased to present our FY24 consolidated income and balance sheet to provide full transparency into how your financial support is used. The Association's fiscal year runs from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The Association uses cash accounting but lines have been entered to recognize scholarships and brick order commitments made in FY24 that were not paid out during the fiscal year.

A summary of major activities includes:

• Crooms AoIT Boys Basketball Team was provided the $400 Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant.
• 22 additional bricks were sold this year for the Crooms AoIT Panther Walk, ensuring continuous funding for the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant and the Crooms AoIT Athletics Program. $1,500 was transferred Crooms AoIT Athletics as part of this year's efforts, and $600 was transferred as part of FY23's efforts.
• A $1,200 Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Community Scholarship was awarded to a Class of 2024 graduate - our 18th year of doing so and 21th community scholarship recipient.
• A $1,000 Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Tech Innovation Scholarship was awarded to a Class of 2024 graduate - our 9th year of doing so.
• For the first time, a portion of our fund balance was deposited into a interest-bearing CD to help generate an additional $169.07 of income this year.

A summary of our financials is detailed below:

• The Association started the year with a fund balance (excluding existing commitments) of $4,121.51 in the General Fund and $3,881.26 in the "Brick" Fund (the "Brick" Fund was established in FY22 following the launch of the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk and is intended to provide support to Crooms AoIT Athletics).
• After removing internal transfers, revenues of $4,396.32 were collected through memberships, donations, brick purchases, and other means - representing a 75% increase from FY23. The Association anticipated this significant increase in revenue in FY24 given a partnership with the Business Advisory Council (BAC) on brick sales.
• After removing internal transfers, expenses of $3,613.07 were recognized - representing a 44% decrease largely due a lack of brick purchases in FY24 for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk. Overhead (from PayPal transaction fees) accounted for approximately 1.4% of all expenses for the year.
• An additional $2,200 remains to be disbursed for scholarships awarded during FY24.
• An estimated $1,200 remains to be expensed for brick purchases during FY23 and FY24.

Fund balance (after commitments) ended at $5,386.02, representing an 23% decrease from the end of the previous year (after accounting for scholarship commitments). $2,150.15 of this fund balance is unrestricted in the General Fund while $3,235.87 is restricted in the "Brick Fund".

If you would like more details, we invite you review the attached spreadsheet which includes transaction level detail for the year. Donor information has been removed to protect the privacy of our donors. Do not hesitate to contact us if you should have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support.