La Fiesta Establishes New Legacy Fund For HPISD Schools
The Highland Park Education Foundation (HPEF) this week received a gift of $100,000 from La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas that will establish the “La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas Legacy Fund.”
The La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas Legacy Fund is a new type of endowed fund in HPEF’s Tartan Endowment. Legacy funds are unrestricted and can be used for various needs in Highland Park ISD.
Founded in 1986, La Fiesta has evolved into a community-wide organization, which coordinates the La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas Gala and other events each year to raise money for various Park Cities charities.
HPEF has been a beneficiary of La Fiesta for more than 30 years. Previous gifts have enabled HPISD to deliver programming, including seed funding to introduce Spanish language curriculum in K-4 classrooms, and support for student wellness programs in the middle and high schools.
“La Fiesta has set a remarkable example with their Legacy Fund,” said Bryce Benson, HPISD trustee and liaison to the HPEF board of directors. “Their fund, combined with the other Legacy Funds being established, empowers HPISD to meet the urgent needs we face today and those we are certain to face in the decades to come.”
In 2014, La Fiesta also established an endowed fund to institute two distinguished chair positions in Fine Arts and STEM at Highland Park High School.
“With our new Legacy Fund, we are honored to make a gift that will continue HPISD’s tradition of excellence in education no matter how the landscape of our District evolves over time,” said 2020 La Fiesta co-chairs Mary Deaver and Fran Matise.
Established in the mid-1990s, the Tartan Endowment has grown to more than 50 individual funds with a total value of more than $36 million. These permanent funds generate annual income which is distributed by HPEF to support specific donor-designated purposes, or in the case of legacy funds, the greatest current needs across the district.
