Our Mission:

The HBEF is creating awareness, commitment and financial support for continued educational development of the students and teachers of the Hermosa Beach City School District, thereby ensuring competence, competitiveness and creativity through community, corporate and private sector involvement.

What We Do:

The HBEF raises money annually to support student programs. The Foundation gifts funds to the HBCSD in June to be used in the following school year. Funds are raised through the Annual Appeal, several small fundraising events throughout the year and our signature dinner/dance/auction event, Hearts of Hermosa, which is held every March.

Why We Do It: 

Because we love our kids and want to support their excellence in education. Many people believe that with Hermosa Beach’s high property values and the amount of taxes paid by our residents, that our public schools ought to be flush with money.

In fact, the opposite is true.

Not only do our taxes not fund our schools directly, but our district receives fewer California dollars per student than most other districts. California gives more dollars to low performing schools or schools in economically disadvantaged areas. Hermosa Beach is a high performing district. It’s an unfortunate reality of the process by which public schools are funded in California. To read more about how our public schools are funded, click here. (direct to school funding page)

How We’re Different:

We are a 100% volunteer organization. The programs we fund support ALL students in the Hermosa schools.

Hermosa Schools are in the top 10% of CA schools and well above the State’s definition of a high performing school (based on Academic Performance Index Scores). The HBEF helps to ensure that Hermosa students reach their potential by giving raised funds from parents and community partners. These HBEF funds strengthen our entire school district and ensure educational excellence for all Hermosa students. Donations are tax deductible.

With the recent passage of Proposition 30, state funding for the Hermosa School District will stay at approximately the same level as last year. Although we are grateful to have escaped further funding cuts, the school district still receives over $1,100 per child less in state funds than we did just 5 years ago.

The HBEF will continue its work to raise funds that help Hermosa students reach their full potential. Hermosa families expect our schools to provide an excellent, not just adequate education and experience. We are fortunate to live in a community that supports a strong education foundation.