The Foundation for Palm Springs Unified School District

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The Foundation for Palm Springs Unified School District

Please help us help them to flourish and prosper in the future. It operated independently from the District, and was run by a 100% volunteer staff.

We are a nonprofit that develops and funds creative, future-focused initiatives – not covered by tax dollars - to prepare our next generation. 97% of our students are at or below poverty. The Foundation for the Palm Springs Unified School District is the fundraising arm of the District. Charged as a 501(c)3 with providing a sustainable stream of private-sector funds to schools within the six citie

s* served by the District, the Foundation is tasked with helping to close gaps in public and state funding in increasingly tough economic times for public schools. Originally established in 2008 as The Pinnacle Fund, the Foundation in its early years had a focus on "putting arts and technology in the classroom." In 2013, The Pinnacle Fund was retooled and reinvigorated as the District-supported Foundation for the Palm Springs Unified School District, with key Executive Director and administrative-staff positions established. Today it operates as an arm of the District, with District representation on The Foundation’s Board of Directors.
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*Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Thousand Palms. Strategic Initiative

The establishment of The Foundation for the Palm Springs Unified School District represents a strategic initiative on the part of the district to fund additional teaching efforts, ensure high-quality education, and support funding of curriculum-enhancing activities in the areas of health and wellness, science, math, technology, and the arts. The Foundation’s original mandate of distributing classroom micro-grants to teachers -- still a key component of its work -- has been expanded to include donor-naming opportunities; commercial and business underwriting of specialized curriculum academies; formal appeals to venture philanthropists; major donors; aggressive grant-seeking; and the formulation of local and national sponsorship opportunities. Importantly, The Foundation is more than a grant-making organization. It aims to improve lives and strengthen our community through furthering public education. The Foundation believes every student in the Palm Springs Unified School District deserves the opportunity to be prepared and to succeed in either postsecondary education or in a career after high school. Our task is bridging gaps, and providing the resources to improve student academic preparedness across the education continuum. Our values: integrity, collaboration, innovation, impact, learning, inclusion, and fun

06/05/2026

Hilarious! Touching! Irreverent! High Energy!
Join us for a rare opportunity to see Broadway veterans and MTU perform an all-new musical comedy directed by David Zippel before it heads to the national stage.

3 Performances Only - All Tickets $35!!
May 15 - 7:30 pm, May 16 - 7:30 pm, May 17 - 2:00 pm
Helene Galen Performing Arts Center
31001 Rattler Road, Rancho Mirage. 🎟️ @ https://www.eventbrite.com/o/david-greens-musical-theatre-university-at-psusd-45221076103

Conceived, co-written and directed by Tony Award winning lyricist David Zippel, composer Matthew Wilder and book writers Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, Princesses is a musical-within-a-musical story of a group of upscale teen girls forced to put on a school production of A Little Princess. When superstar of stage and screen Kevin Finch pays a visit to his daughter Miranda at the elite Reardon Boarding School where he has warehoused her since the death of her mother, he winds up taking over as director and co-star. Suddenly, the rebellious, reluctant students find a reason to be interested in putting on a show, and Miranda and Kevin find a way to connect for the first time. Created by veterans David Zippel (City of Angels, The Goodbye Girl, Hercules, Mulan), Cheri and Bill Steinkellner (Four-time Emmy-winners for Cheers and Disney’s Teacher’s Pet), and Matthew Wilder (Mulan, “Break My Stride,” and recent hits by No Doubt, Christina Aguilera, and Kelly Clarkson). NOW... in a rare opportunity, you can see the re-working of Princesses in its development before it reaches the footlights of a national stage. Two Broadway veterans, Tony Award winning actress Karen Ziemba (Contact, A Chorus Line, The Producers, Bullets Over Broadway) and Brent Barrett (Jerome Robbins Broadway, West Side Story, Chicago) will spend a week working and mentoring MTU students in this fully-staged and costumed, high energy new musical at the Helene Galen Performing Arts Center.

21/03/2026

At the very toasty event in Ruth Hardy Park, Palm Springs, telling the story of our neighborhood student community in need of your help - 97% socioeconomically disadvantaged and 10-12% homeless. As a separate nonprofit, our mission is to open young eyes to boundless possibilities and help the next generation flourish. We work with donors and philanthropists to bring innovative ideas and opportunities like new shoes, robotics, music, esports, wellness centers to 20,000+ kiddos across 500 square miles in the Palm Springs Unified School District— stuff that falls outside the bounds of tax dollars and classrooms. Thank you to board members Eliza Stern, Jo-Anne Ebensteiner, Dorothy Sexton, Randy Pashke and SMART Mentor Owings Stone. Please help support our work at the link in our bio. 🙏

20/03/2026

Just a glimpse of the robotics competition, a program funded by generous donors to The Foundation. Qualifying teams from district elementary schools worked all school year programming a sequence of precise commands for their robots to perform. Teams were graded on accomplishing these tasks but also on leadership, collaboration and team problem-solving, soft skills vital to success. Open to participants from elementary through high school, this cool program opens eyes to future pathways and opportunities, fosters creativity and critical thinking and develops essential skills like programming, teamwork, and persistence in troubleshooting, to prepare this next generation for a future we can only imagine today.

19/03/2026

We are kicking off our spring-summer campaign to ask for your help with funding for Shoes for Students. 97% of the district’s students are at or below poverty and research shows new, proper fitting shoes inspire confidence for learning. Please help give kids a running start in the fall and give today. Give at: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/shoesforstudents/

19/12/2025

We are beyond thrilled to announce that our humble leader and Foundation Director, Ellen Goodman, has been selected as the Palm Springs Post’s 2025 Person of the Year.
We could not be prouder to have her as one of our very own movers and shakers for the Palm Springs Unified School District. Her leadership, dedication, and heart for our community continue to inspire us all.

Thank you, Ellen, for everything you do and Thank you

To read the article please look for the link in our bio.

☀️

04/12/2025

Don’t miss the kick-off of the seventh season of Palm Springs Speaks at the newly renovated on Tuesday, December 16th.

PS Speaks presents in conversation with Rob Reiner , with a book signing following his presentation.

For tickets or for more information about upcoming events please visit palmspringsspeaks.org

Cheech Marin, February 10, 2026
Wade Rouse, February 24, 2026
Cece Moore, March 30, 2026

02/12/2025

Coming to the State of the City?

Be sure to pay us a visit to learn more about our initiatives and how The City of Palm Springs supports our missions; Shoes for Students, Advanced Technologies and Wellness Centers.

04/11/2025

Still buzzing from last night’s celebration with our incredible One Night Out team! 💫 Couldn’t do it without you all — thank you for everything you bring to this event every year. 🙌

22/10/2025

🎁 The season of giving is almost here!

We’re so excited to once again come together for Palm Springs Unified School District’s Community Giving Day on Saturday, December 20th. 💫

This special day, hosted by The Foundation for PSUSD and the PSUSD Family Engagement Center, is all about compassion, connection, and community. Together, we’ll help bring holiday joy to PSUSD families through gifts, food, and essential resources — all made possible by the kindness of people like YOU. ❤️

Let’s make this season a little brighter for those who need it most. ✨

👉 To learn more or to make a contribution, please follow this link: https://www.psusdfoundation.net/holiday

26/09/2025

Special shout out to the Palm Springs High School Key Club who are out at Palm Springs Village Fest handing out One Night Out Paris postcards - making that final push for ticket sales as we are one week out. .club Y’all Rock!

23/09/2025

The countdown for tickets is on! 100% of proceeds benefit our students! 🎟️ $50 tickers at the link in our bio or at OneNightOutParis.com

Special thank you to our sponsors:
Amazon
Steve Tobin & Johnny Krupa, Grace Helen Spearman Charitable Foundation
Barton CPA
Desert Oasis Healthcare
Eisenhower Health
Jim & Carol Egan
Randy Paschke
All People’s Presbyterian Church
Erkies Plumbing
Modernism Week
One Valley Foundation
Visit Greater Palm Springs
Ben & Jerry’s Palm Springs
Lulu Catering
Altura Credit Union
Desert Water Agency
Erin Boyd
Karen Cornett
Nancy Cunningham
Karen Higgins
Phillip Hodges
Terri & Bart Ketover
MSA Consulting, Inc
Michael Myers
David Peck
Eliza Stern
Jo Whiting
Keith Young
Palm Springs Disposal Services

All proceeds benefit The Foundation for the Palm Springs Unified School District’s educational enhancement programs and projects, supporting our 20,000+ student community. A PSUSD Alumni Production. Ages 21+.

Address

Opening Hours

Monday	08:00 - 16:00
Tuesday	08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday	08:00 - 16:00
Thursday	08:00 - 16:00
Friday	08:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+17604168455

Website

http://www.psusdfoundation.net/

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