About Us, and Why We Fundraise

One Spark Academy was founded in 2011 with one mission in mind: to give kids who need something different a path to a great education. We’re a small learning center for middle-school students (and some who are older) who, for a variety of reasons, benefit from a non-traditional setting. Although we are a vendor and partner with several public charter schools, we receive no state funding. We rely on registration fees and donations to do what we love to do: teach kids well!

We have never charged families what it actually costs to run OSA. Many families cannot afford a private education, so staying accessible to more families is a priority. That is why we became a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and that is why ask for YOUR help. Consider your tax-deductible donation an investment in the future of our community.  You never know who will need us– your child, a neighbor’s, a friend’s, a co-worker’s. Many companies also match your donation to a non-profit.

Learn more about us: For the details about our program, go here. To see some of the awesome classes we offer, go here. To watch our home page video, go here.

Make it monthly! You can become a “Friend of One Spark” with a monthly contribution of any amount. Huge thanks to those who already contribute monthly.

How Your Donations Will Support Us in 2023-2024

• Support important upgrades and maintenance costs. As a tradeoff for relatively low rent, OSA takes care of maintenance for the interior spaces we use (and non-essential exterior spaces). Although we don’t know how long we can stay, upgrades help our students and programming NOW. This year, our needs include:
  • Upgrades to the Activity Room, including resolving limited electrical resources, and ensuring we can continue offering a full experience for our Food Fascination classes;
  • Continuing maintenance costs for AC and heating, with old units in need of TLC;
  • Materials for an Eagle Scout project to refurbish the outdoor amphitheater so it can be safely used again;
  • Labor/ material costs to refurbish the existing staircase to the Activity Room;
  • New materials and lab equipment for our science classes
• Provide scholarships for students-in-need to take additional classes they couldn’t afford otherwise. That need continues to be great for several families.
  • We’d like to be able to provide at least 5 current students with scholarships ranging from $250 (single class) to $500 per session (two classes).
• Support the added expenditures for our 2024 Outdoor Adventure such as chaperones and an additional rental vehicle, if needed.
• Supplement our payroll budget. 
  • Our teachers work hard! But it will take us a while to dig out from the debt we incurred during COVID (about $75,000!). That has meant that many expenses are coming out of our personal accounts.
  • Success in this campaign will provide for added hours for teachers, which are much-needed based on rising costs everywhere.
• Help us continue to grow while remaining accessible. Our Flex Plan (full-time) rate is discounted an average of $400 per month, per full-time student, from what our operational costs should require.