Prairie Creek Community School is grateful for the all the gifts of time, talent and treasure that help us meet our mission. Below, you can learn more about the "why" that underpins our development initiatives and ways you can financially support our work. 

If you would like to donate by check, checks can be mailed or sent to school in Backpack Express.  

Checks can be written to:
Prairie Creek Community School
27695 Denmark Ave
Northfield, MN 55057

Time

as a volunteer in a classroom, on a adventurous field trip, at special events such as Curriculum Night and May Day, serving a daily lunch.

Talent

as a resource in your area of expertise or to share specific skills, on our school board and board committees, acting as a Room Representative for your child's classroom

Treasure

as a donor to Prairie Creek who believes in our school's mission to educate children responsibly, with true passion and for future service--by contributing to our Annual Fund in amounts that suit your budget, by spending at our Annual Auction, by purchasing items from a classroom teacher's wish list.

Ways to Support Prairie Creek

Prairie Creek owes its existence to a wide community of parents, grandparents and relatives, alumni, neighbors, interested educators, local businesses, and generous funders. 

Our beneficent community has sustained the school through its volunteerism and generous gifts.

Mayday2016_3

A special word about school funding 

We think public schools should be free—supplies, field trips, experienced teachers, small classes. Ideally, everything that we need to create an educated citizenry should be provided to each child free of charge. But it’s not.

Like all public schools, Prairie Creek receives state funding based on the number of enrolled students. However, unlike traditional public schools, Prairie Creek as a charter school can't raise additional funds through local tax levies. In the current funding crisis, all schools have had to turn increasingly to fundraising and Prairie Creek is no different. It is expensive to run a school like ours: state funding alone doesn’t support things like our small classes (20 students), generous staffing, progressive curriculum, artist residencies, trips, and so on.

In response, our school conducts and hosts a variety of fundraisers and benefits throughout the school year. When these support occasions arise, we ask that you consider the value of a Prairie Creek Community School education and:

  • Donate a Dollar a Day directly to Prairie Creek (just hit the DONATE button at the top of this page)
  • Buy a Prairie Creek T-shirt during our annual sale (kids + adult sizes, printed with original student art!)
  • Give Prairie Creek merchandise as gifts (water bottles, coffee cups, calendars, clothing)
  • Contribute to the box top and milk caps collection fundraisers Prairie Creek holds
  • Purchase student photos in the spring, for which Prairie Creek receives a percentage of the fees
  • Step up as a Grandparent, and help to support your grandchildren's education by making a gift to Prairie Creek
  • Honor your time as a student at Prairie Creek by contributing as a alum to our annual fund
  • Join Prairie Creek for our Annual Auction by donating items, inviting friends and relatives, and bidding

Thoughts going forward 

Parents, we hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on your children’s experiences at Prairie Creek. Is your daughter excited by her learning? Is your son happy to head to school in the morning? Do your children’s teachers go the extra mile? Are they creating life-long memories?

As strange as it may feel at first, we invite you to think about putting a monetary value on your Prairie Creekers’ school day. How much is such a day worth? If every family pledged to sustain Prairie Creek with a $1 per day per child, we would come very close to meeting all of our fundraising needs for the year. A click on the Donate button here is the first step to setting up an automatic withdrawal from your bank account. Prairie Creek also welcomes one-time gifts in any amount that best suits your family's budget, be it $10, $25, or $100. The bottom line is that our school is thankful for whatever resources you can imagine that would support your student's education—time, treasure, and talent.

It's important to sustain Prairie Creek.

And it’s that simple.

Thrivent Choice

Thrivent Choice is a charitable grant program that allows eligible members to recommend where Thrivent Financial distributes part of its charitable outreach grant funds each year. Prairie Creek Community School is an approved Thrivent Choice grant recipient organization! If you or someone you know is a qualifying Thrivent member, please consider using some of those dollars to make a difference at our school.

Learn more here!