Board of Directors & Staff

Fifteen Year Update (pdf)

Hear it from the Children

Message From the President

BISON 2008 990 form (pdf)

Message From the President

The old saying is that - Time goes by fast when you are having fun - and it is hard to believe that this is the BISON Fund’s 15th year of - giving families a choice and giving children a chance. From 200 awards in our first year to over1,400 this year, I can tell you that the founders of BISON did not envision this kind of demand. But, here we are. The demand for school choice is strong, not only in Buffalo but across the nation where many programs like ours have sprung up. Education from the earliest years is recognized by economically disadvantaged families as the way to change their families and their children’s lives.

 How many children have we helped in 15 years? Well, with this being our 15th year of giving families a choice, over 15,000 awards have been made, with an economic value in excess of $10,000,000 since inception in 1995. It currently costs nearly $1.5million per year to operate BISON.

We are often asked – Why do you underwrite only grammar school? I would like to read what is said on the front page of the 15th year report. Early excellence lasts a lifetime! Tuition assistance and scholarships are traditionally reserved for the college level, but the early years are the most important of a child’s education. Children who are poor readers and deficient in math at the elementary level have little chance of realizing their potential. BISON believes every child should have the chance to succeed!

The economic conditions and investment performance of the past year have certainly been difficult to say the least. Much financial capital has been lost and that impacts organizations such as ours since funders of all sizes need to evaluate their giving levels. What I would like all of us to think about, though, is that the families we are helping have been hurt much worse on a relative basis. Those who are eligible for the Reduced School Lunch Program have NO discretionary income and scrape to make the minimum tuition payment. Our program requires that all families must expend at least $500 towards their child’s education each year. This is a major sacrifice on their part when they, whose incomes are low, like us are confronted with rising costs

So, is the financial investment we are making, and is the investment families are making towards tuition worth it??? We only have to look at the results of where kids who leave 8th grade attend high school. This past year we had 160 8th graders in the BISON program and a record number of 100 of them got into private high school and another 30% are attending good public high schools. At least 90% wound up on their feet. The BISON Fund is making a huge difference in these families’ lives, giving them, through quality education, opportunities for a real chance to succeed. In past years you have heard from BISON kids and again today you will hear first hand from some older participants of what this program has meant for them. Your financial support is mandatory for us to keep supporting high levels of children so that we do not have to increase a waiting list due to lack of funds.

In conclusion, please feel a great sense of accomplishment in how you have positively impacted so many families in helping them break out of a potentially negative outcome, and at an amazingly low cost per child. Another benefit is that many of the schools that these children attend are being helped by the increased enrollment and by the diversity that is brought to them. Please be an ambassador for BISON, read the 15th report, use the bookmark, checkout our web site and Facebook and most importantly please stay with us financially in this worthy venture; thousands of kids are counting on us all. Education is everything.

Paul D. Bauer
President