Welcome to the 2026-2027 CHIME Fund Drive

Every year, we ask CHIME Charter families to contribute to the CHIME Fund, our annual giving campaign and the most direct way to support your student’s education. Your gift allows CHIME Institute to continue delivering a high-quality, inclusive learning experience to nearly 1,000 students each year.

This year is especially meaningful as we celebrate 25 years of CHIME Charter School!

We are asking that 100% of our families make a gift of any size to the CHIME Fund

Why 100%? We all have a shared interest in our children's education and, together, we are investing in their future. Full participation reflects our community's strong commitment to CHIME. Additionally, several sizable grants are only available to schools with high levels of community involvement. When 100% of CHIME families contribute to the fund, it opens doors to more funding, allowing our children to thrive with a fully funded education at CHIME.

Every year, more of our families step up. Last year, 86% of our elementary and middle school families gave to the CHIME Fund, our best year yet. Let's push past that this year and get to 100%.

“How much should I give?” That’s a common question and the answer is a personal one. We understand that each family’s financial situation is unique. Think about what your household can comfortably afford and consider setting up a monthly recurring gift. If it fits within your budget, we suggest a contribution of $200 monthly or $2,000 annually per student. Every dollar makes a difference—whether it’s $20 per month, $125 per month, or $500 per month. Our goal is 100% families investing in our children’s education, no matter the amount.

Do recent donations count? Any donations made between July 1, 2026 - September 30, 2026, including any existing monthly donations you may have set up previously, will be counted toward the CHIME Fund Drive, the classroom challenges and the schoolwide challenges. If you have a recurring donation already set, you will receive an email by Friday, August 31, confirming we've credited your donation to your student. Purchases of tickets to a school event, such as a CCA's Pancake Breakfast, CHIME-O-Ween or our annual Gala, will not count toward the CHIME Fund or the competitions. 

I have more than one student at CHIME. Do I have to make a separate donation for each student? Nope! One donation will cover all your students at CHIME. Just be sure that, when prompted, you list all your students' names and classrooms. 

For cash or check donations, please complete this offline donation form and return it to the front office at CHIME Charter School.

Did You Know...

Did you know that CHIME’s Schwarzenegger Community School is not an LAUSD school?

As an independent charter school, CHIME doesn’t receive funding in the same way LAUSD schools do. Each year, there’s an approximate $2,000 gap per student between the state funds we receive and actual costs required to run CHIME Charter. Our dedicated staff works hard to bridge this gap through grant funding and support from our CHIME community and families like yours. When you give, you directly impact and support what makes CHIME special.

Where does your donation go?

  • Staffing highly trained teachers
  • Maintaining low adult-to-student ratios
  • Individualized support for students
  • Funding our excellent Library, P.E., Art, and Music programs, providing weekly enrichment for your student
  • Offsetting operational costs to help us provide competitive salaries for our teachers and paraprofessionals.

Dr. Studer put a detailed video together to explain how money from the CHIME Fund support your student's education. Check it out here.  

How Will My Child Get Credit for My Donation?

When making a donation, we'll ask you for your student's information. Be sure to include the student’s name and grade as instructed.

If you have more than one student at the school, you can make one donation and they will all get credit. We just ask that you list them all so that we can ensure everyone receives credit.

Does Your Company Match?

Many companies offer matching gift programs. Click here to check if your company matches or check with your company's HR. If you need more help or info about matching gifts, please reach out to Julie Himot. 

Questions?

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Julie Himot, Director of Development at jhimot@chimeinstitute.net or 818.252.9514

Classroom Competitions

We all enjoy a good challenge, especially when it benefits our school. This year’s challenge will focus on classroom participation, aiming for 100% involvement.

To keep things fun, we’re offering rewards as we approach our 100% participation goal! These rewards are based on participation during the drive, running from now through September 30.

Classroom Participation:

  • Every elementary classroom and middle school advisory class that achieves 75% will be treated to a pizza party!
  • Every elementary classroom and middle school advisory class that achieves 100% will have a color party!

Schoolwide Participation:

  • When the elementary school or middle school reaches 65% participation, students will enjoy an ice cream party!
  • If 100% participation is reached by the elementary school or middle school, students will have a snow day on campus!

Elementary School Totals

WATCH THIS SPACE...
WE'LL START UPDATING IT ON SEPT 1!

Grade Teacher & Room # Percent to 100%
TK Crowe - 1 0%
TK Bowen - 2 0%
TK Joutras - 5 0%
K Alber - 3 0%
K Fuentes - 4 0%
K Wiessbrod - 6 0%
1 Nodal - 7 0%
1 Stein - 11 0%
1 Bullard - 12 0%
2 Nitz- 8 0%
2 Jami - 9 0%
2 Garcia - 10 0%
3 Kandler/Barazza- 13 0%
3 Cherniet - 15 0%
3 Marquez - 16 0%
4 Baral - 21 0%
4 O'Brien - 22 0%
4 McCombs- 28 0%
5 Nwadiwe - 18 0%
5 Etting - 19 0%
5 Fresh - 20 0%
  TOTAL: 0%

Middle School Totals

Grade Teacher & Room # Percent to 100%
6 Simms - 23 0%
6 Geier - 24 0%
6 Mayhew - 34 0%
7 Miller - 25 0%
7 Brown - 26 0%
7 Lynn - 31 0%
8 Robinson - 27 0%
8 Najmi - 32 0%
8 Landau - 33 0%
  TOTAL: 0%