The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association is proud to announce the recipient of the $1,000 Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Community Scholarship. The Association is pleased to announce the Class of 2023 recipient is Ashley H..

The Community Scholarship is meant to honor a student not only for academic and extracurricular achievement, but also for dedication to community service. This year, through the multi-scholarship application process, we had a record setting 53 applicants, all with different strengths: high GPAs, involvement in school activities, and community involvement. Ashley's application shined through this year given her localized impact and contributions to her Crooms AoIT community.

Ashley worked to revamp the Pasta for Pennies program to support a local Sanford institution: the Goldsboro Museum. The revitalized program raised $1,000 to support the Museum and made a difference in our Sanford community. Ashley also served as Crooms AoIT's Student Government representative at the county level, a PTSA student representative, and a Business Advisory Council (BAC) student representative.

Congratulations, and best of luck to Ashley, our other applicants, and the Class of 2023 as a whole in your future endeavors. Go Panthers!

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 the Crooms AoIT Girls Basketball Team. The girls basketball team is in its second year of building after a 4+ year hiatus. The grant will be used to:

• Invest in uniforms that can be used across multiple seasons for new team members
• Cover some start-up costs for the concession stand so they can raise their own money for future operational costs

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.

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association is pleased to announce the launch of of the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant application for the 2022-2023 school year. A total of $300 will be distributed during the Fall 2022 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 November 11, 2022

Procedures and Reporting Requirements

1. Submit the application: Applications may be submitted by e-mail at scholarship@croomsalumni.com (download the application here: https://www.croomsalumni.com/sites/default/files2/Fall%202022%20Grant%20...)
2. Applications must be received by 11:59pm November 11, 2022
3. Applications will be reviewed by the Alumni Association’s Grants Committee. Distribution will occur in November/December 2022.
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 2022 and aims to provide financial support to our general scholarship program.

The matching donation program runs through August 31st and will match up to $300 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/801857520851351/

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

Dear Crooms AoIT Alumni Association members and supporters,

We are pleased to present our FY22 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, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The Association uses cash accounting but a line has been entered to recognize scholarship and athletic support commitments made in FY22 that were not paid out during the fiscal year.

A summary of major activities includes:

• An In-Kind Alumni donation of $626.59 helps raise 2x in additional funds for Crooms AoIT athletics (~$1,800) - a nearly 200% return on investment.
• A $250 grant was provided to the Crooms AoIT Girls Basketball Team.
• A partnership between the Alumni Association and Crooms AoIT Athletics now allows Panthers to donate directly to their athletic club of choice.
• The Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk program was launched as a capital fundraiser to support Crooms AoIT Athletics.
• Eleven (11) Croomies joined Class 3 of The Founders Society.
• The first year of the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk supported a donation of $3,706 to the Crooms AoIT Athletics Program and the establishment of a ~$3,000 endowment for the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant Program.
• $2,250 was awarded across three scholarships - including a very special scholarship in memory of Joyce Shiflett generously supported by Class of 2011 alumni Samuel Shiflet and his wife.

A summary of our financials is detailed below:

• The Association started the year with a fund balance of $3,504.34 in the General Fund and $0.00 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 $12,963.35 were collected through memberships, donations, brick purchases, and other means - representing a 402.0% increase from FY21. The Association anticipates a significant reduction in revenue in FY23 as brick purchases fall off.
• After removing internal transfers, expenses of $4,616.68 were recognized - representing an increase of 24% largely due to earmarked donations for the a) the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk Program (shown as capex expense in the Brick Fund) and b) in-kind donations for the Crooms AoIT athletics Program NASCAR fundraiser (shown as In Kind expense in the General Fund). $1,350.00 of these expenses for were scholarships and while an additional $250 were grant-equivalents for the Crooms AoIT Athletics Program. Overhead (from PayPal transaction fees) accounted for approximately 5.2% of all expenses for the year.
• An additional $2,250.00 remains to be disbursed for scholarships awarded during FY22.
• An additional $3,706.00 remains to be disbursed for athletics support
• Fund balance ended at $5,895.01, representing an 174% increase from the end of the previous year (after accounting for scholarship commitments). $2,865.83 of this fund base is unrestricted in the General Fund while $3,029.18 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.