For over forty years, the Orinda community of school families, residents, alumni, empty-nesters, and businesses have maintained a long-standing tradition of bridging the funding gap between California state school funding and the actual cost to educate each student in Orinda. In the Spring of 2020, ONE was founded as a collaboration between all of Orinda’s educational funding partners to strengthen, streamline, and amplify Orinda's collective fundraising efforts to support exceptional education for every student in Orinda schools. As a result, we are seeing consistently larger donations, high participation rates, and great partnership among school families, Parents’ Clubs, local businesses, and community members. To get involved, email hello@oneorinda.org.

ONE is governed by a Board of Directors composed of a representative from each of the six school Parents’ Clubs, several at-large community/school parent members, and a Volunteer Treasurer. The Board meets on a monthly basis and is supported by an Investment Committee, a Marketing Committee, as well as an Event Committee. Click here to view ONE’s bylaws.

While Orinda’s parcel tax revenue is used toward attracting and maintaining quality TK-8 teachers and bond measures are reserved for the repair and upgrade of our aging school buildings to keep them modern and safe, ONE raises the funds required to advance the academic experience beyond what is possible with public dollars alone. Donations to ONE Impact every Orinda student from transitional kindergarten through high school with smaller class sizes, 1:1 technology, STEAM programs, Wellness Centers, middle school electives, and all high school classes and programs. With continued budget cuts from the state, maximizing fundraising and making efficient use of every dollar will be essential for preventing deep and devastating cuts to our programs and staff, enhancing the daily educational experience for every Orinda public school student. We risk these benefits and other school cuts if we are unable to meet our fundraising goals. The programming supported by local fundraising is the difference between our schools being good and our schools being great.

ONE was created in the spring of 2020, when the six Parents’ Clubs of Orinda’s public schools came together to streamline and amplify the collective efforts of all Orinda’s stakeholders. ONE is a verified 501c3 with its own board, staff and a tax ID number. When school parents donate on behalf of their student(s), the organization they donate to is ONE. Each Parents’ Club provides a team of their own parent volunteer fundraisers who solicit gifts from their school’s parent community. These donations are allocated by school to the appropriate “ONE - School Name” fund. This ensures that parent donations directly fund their own schools’ annual budgets. Corporate matches secured by school parents are likewise allocated to the same “ONE - School Name” fund as their original donation (unless requested otherwise by the donor). One representative of each school Parents’ Club sits on the ONE Board of Directors to ensure equal and adequate representation of all schools. While school fundraising teams connect with their school communities, ONE’s board and staff connect with the Orinda community at large on behalf of ALL our schools, soliciting gifts from our Orinda neighbors and local businesses. These community and local business dollars are allocated to the ONE - Orinda fund, benefitting all Orinda schools and, by extension, our community.

All six of our schools’ budgets include a combination of district grants and school site expenses. ONE works with Orinda Union School District (OUSD) to establish an annual “cost per pupil model,” ensuring that district funds are being allocated equitably and responsibly across all campuses. Miramonte’s budget is likewise comprised of a grant to Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD), as well as additional site specific expenses. While ONE consults with our Parents Clubs to encourage simple and sustainable school site budgets, each Parents’ Club has ultimate control over their own annual budget and, subsequently, the ONE Ask amount required to achieve their budget goals for a fully funded school year.

While school fundraising teams connect with their school communities, ONE’s board and staff connect with the Orinda community at large on behalf of ALL our schools, soliciting gifts from our Orinda neighbors and local businesses. These community and local business dollars are allocated to the ONE - Orinda fund, benefitting all Orinda schools and, by extension, our community.

In the 2022-23 school year, donations to ONE improved the educational experience of every public school student in Orinda. 3,739 students were impacted by your donations 1,699 school families donated in support of their schools 247 community members, business, and realtors supported Orinda schools In Miramonte’s College and Career Center: 244 seniors received services - that’s 88% of the class of 2023! 679 1:1 meetings were conducted by staff 198 individualized college lists were built 24 Academy Sessions were offered 102 seniors attended the free Summer Essay Workshop 147 college representative visits were hosted 4745 letters of recommendation were sent on behalf of our seniors In Miramonte’s Wellness Center (also known as the Student Union): 7996 sign-ins were recorded for services like 15-minute breaks, pre-arranged counseling sessions, study periods, and Wellness Center activities 190 students were served by 160 referrals for counseling services OUSD successfully upgraded its technology by purchasing: 264 iPads 220 Chromebooks 40 MacBooks 9 projectors In support of electives and classes: 81 art classes were offered across six campuses 30 electives were offered at OIS 14 class sections were funded in support of the Miramonte seven block school day This is only a portion of what donations to ONE fund. Additional services include Physical Education & Recess, Libraries, STEAM, Classroom Aides, TOSAs (Teachers on Special Assignment), Classroom Supplies, Professional Development, and so much more.

ONE raises money by asking for donations from school parents, businesses, alumni, and the local community. Representatives from our six school sites make these requests of their school parent populations. ONE staff solicit donations from local business, Orinda community members, and Miramonte High School Alumni through the newly launched MatsNation.org website.

There are many opportunities to get involved with ONE. We are often seeking volunteers for our Event Committee, Marketing Committee, and Investment Committee. If you have expertise and an interest in volunteering in any of those areas, please contact us at hello@oneorinda.org. To see if there any any available job opportunities, visit https://www.oneorinda.org/join-our-team.

There are a variety of communities who donate to ONE, and a variety of ways to make a donation. To learn more, click DONATE in the website menu and then select if you are a school family donating on behalf of a student’s ONE Ask (FAMILY GIVING), an Orinda resident who would like to support our local schools (COMMUNITY GIVING), a local business who would like to donate in exchange for partnership perks (BUSINESS GIVING), or a Miramonte High School Alumnus who would like to give back to Orinda’s schools (ALUMNI GIVING). Each of these pages will detail specifics on how to donate that include credit/debit card payments, checks, stocks, and legacy giving.