Give A Gift
Help support a school as unique as your child. There are so many ways to give.
Annual Giving
Our Annual Giving fund is our broadest category; it helps maintain the implementation of our Waldorf style of teaching. Waldorf curriculum requires high quality, artist-grade materials for the students to work with; most of which our state allotted funds won’t support. These materials include main lesson books, wool and cotton yarn, beeswax crayons and modeling wax, non-toxic paints, top quality paint brushes, art, and healthy snacks for our Kindergarten program. Infusing art throughout our curriculum is a foundational piece of engaging the whole child: head, heart and hands.
Classroom Donations
& Field Trips
Classroom donations (yup, you guessed it!) can be made directly to any classroom of your choosing. The funds given to each classroom remains in that classes funds until the classroom teacher decides when and how to use it. The most common use of classroom funds is for field trips. Use the chart below to see an estimate of the costs associated with our traditional grade-level field trips throughout the years. This chart can help guide you in your decision-making when choosing to support the many hands-on opportunities Blue Oak provides for your student(s).
Parent Council
Donations to the Parent Council (PC) funds are only accessed and utilized by vote of the Parent Council. The PC uses these funds to support Blue Oak and host additional fundraising activities. Fundraising activities are defined as any activity which involves collecting funds to benefit Blue Oak School. The PC does not fund raise for individual classrooms but instead pursues all-school fundraising events that contribute to a healthy community at Blue Oak (i.e. teams, clubs, festivals, volunteer workdays, improvement projects, parent education events, committees, etc).
Here's How:
1) Donate to one of the above categories via PayPal.
2) Mail a check or pay with credit card over the phone.
450 W. East Ave, Chico, CA 95926
(530) 879-7483
3) Make a cash, check, or credit card donation at the Front Desk.
Important: For all donations, please specify what the payment is for (i.e. what class, what field trip/event/reason, etc.). If you are donating via PayPal, click “+add note optional” to add details, otherwise your funds may be distributed incorrectly. If you forget to add a note to your donation, please send an email to maggie@blueoakcharterschool.org.
All donations to the school are tax deductible.
Payments at the Front Desk
The Front Desk will and will not take payments for the items listed below.
Will Accept Payments For:
- Field Trips
- Classroom Donations
- Whole School Donations
- Whole School Fundraisers
- Vendor Applications
The Front Desk will accept payments for the above items from adults between the hours of 9AM and 2PM and will accept payments from students during snack and lunch breaks only.
Will Not Accept Payments For:
- Parent Council Fundraisers
- Classroom Fundraisers (i.e. school dance tickets, concession stands, raffles, etc.)
If you are involved with any of the above items, a Facility Use Form or Fundraiser Application will need to be submitted to establish who will be taking payments (i.e. classroom parent, PC representative, etc.) and to ensure that person receives cash handling training by Maggie Buckley.
Current and Upcoming Events
You can learn more about current and upcoming fundraising events on ParentSquare, in the Acorn weekly newsletter, on the Blue Oak Facebook page, and on the bulletin boards in the schools Front Lobby.
Year-Round Fundraisers
Below are a list of our ongoing fundraisers that you can participate in year-round to benefit your family and our school simultaneously.
Monthly Donations
Sign up to give monthly donations to Blue Oak via the PayPal link provided above. This easy and cost-effective option benefits all parties involved!
Box Tops
Download the Box Tops app to easily scan your receipts and help raise money for Blue Oak. Traditional Box Tops also accepted at the front desk.
Farm Fresh to You
Use the promo code BLUEOAK to donate a portion of your proceeds all while getting fresh and organic produce delivery directly to your door.
Get Involved!
Interested in hosting your own fundraiser for Blue Oak or your students classroom? The first step is to submit a completed fundraising application (see below) to the front desk for approval. After you receive approval from Administration, the Executive Assistant and Business Office Manger will be in touch to assist with event promotion and cash handling. See the examples of past events below to use as inspiration for your intended fundraiser.
Past Events
Our school, Parent Council, parents, and teachers promote a number of fundraising events throughout the year. Below you will see some examples of past events:
- Harvest Festival
- Walk Into Winter
- Special Event Box Dinners
- Partnership Events (i.e. Mod Pizza, New Clairvaux Winery, Nothing Bundt Cakes, etc.)
- Bake Sales
- May Faire
- Online Fundraisers (GoFundMe, Donors Choose, etc.)
- Concession Stand (using Blue Oak’s popcorn, snow cone, and/or cotton candy machines)
- Photo Booth
Estimated Field Trip Costs
This chart is an estimate of the costs associated with our traditional grade-level field-trips. See the Classroom Donations section above to learn more about how you can support your students education.
| Grade | Field Trip(s) |
~Annual Cost |
| K | Misc. Day trips | $10-40 |
| 1st | Misc. Day Trips | $10-40 |
| 2nd | Misc. Day Trips | $25-50 |
| 3rd | Overnight Farm Trip | $80-150 |
| 4th | Malakoff Diggins | $150-200 |
| 5th | Jug Handle/Pentathlon | $150-200 |
| 6th | Shady Creek/Medieval Games | $350-400 |
| 7th | Ashland | $250-400 |
| 8th | Class Trip | $350-450 |