Novi, Northville educational foundations collaborate on tailgate fundraiser

NOVI — The Novi Educational Foundation collaborated with district rival Northville’s foundation for the first “Baseline Blitz,” a tailgate fundraiser held before the annual Novi-Northville football game in Northville Oct. 18.

The event featured food, games, vendors, a silent auction, a raffle and an appearance by Roary, the Detroit Lions mascot.

“They are rival schools, so the rivalry runs long and deep,” said Novi Educational Foundation President Kathryn Macguire. “But because we are both ‘NEF’—  Novi Educational Foundation and Northville Educational Foundation — we decided to get into the fun too.”

Macguire said that there are other schools who do a collaborative fundraiser, but this is the first time that Novi and Northville have done one.

The two organizations had been talking about doing something like this for years. She said the idea was revamped when executive directors Sue Collins Schroeder, of Novi, and Kate Mitchell, of Northville, came into the picture and they started to bring the idea to fruition in July.

“It has come together so brilliantly at this juncture,” said Macguire.

The event had multiple ways for the two organizations to raise funds over the week leading up to the event. Both foundations split the funds acquired through a  50/50 raffle. They also held a donations competition between the two districts using QR Codes on-site. Families of young children could donate $25 and get to greet the football team as they came on the field. The middle school and high school kids were able to enter a raffle where whoever threw the most footballs into a shopping cart got a $100 gift certificate. High school students also won couches placed on both ends of the football field where they could sit with their friends to watch the game.   

There was also a silent auction, which featured a four pack of tickets to the Detroit Lions game on Thanksgiving Day, including parking, a signed football, and an MP3 player. The funds from the auction were split between the two organizations.

The weekend prior to the event, community members participated in a 5K to raise funds for their district as well.

“It was a FANTASTIC week of building community within (Novi Community School District) but also with our neighbors in Northville,” Collins-Schroeder said in a letter to supporters.

“It is just a great way to get the community involved to raise money, and all the money goes back to support the programming for the kids of both Novi and Northville,” said Macguire.

She said they were hoping to raise at least $10,000 for each school. However, when the final tally was done the Novi Educational Foundation walked away with $22,000 in funds. The two districts combined to raise $45,000.

“While Novi fell just short of winning the challenge, raising over $22,000 for Novi is an incredible achievement,” Schroeder told supporters in the letter.

The funds go toward programming that the district can’t use state funding for, such as therapy dogs, teacher grants, teacher fellowship grants, and college scholarships for kids based on need, as well as scholarships for kids to go on expensive field trips such as the annual eighth grade Washington, D.C., trip. The organization has helped to fund various school learning areas, such as the outdoor education area at Novi Meadows, and hammock gardens at the different elementary schools.

“All the money goes back to the students and the teachers to support their learning,” said Macguire.

The foundations plan to collaborate again next year when the game will be held on Novi’s home turf.