Who We Are:
The Clipper Foundation was founded to foster excellence in K-12 public education within SAU 50 and 52 serving the New Hamsphire towns of:
Portsmouth
Greenland
New Castle
Rye
Newington
As an independent 501(c) 3 non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors, The Clipper Foundation provides sustainable funding that ensures ongoing excellence and enriches the educational programming in our community. It is our belief that an outstanding public education system creates a more vital community delivering long lasting benefits that are rewarding for all. With a teacher driven grant process, our goal is to champion our educators. To date, the Clipper Foundation has awarded over $275,000 in grants to teachers.
Current Board Members
Should you want more information about the Clipper Foundation Board please reach out via email to one of our current members.
Lynda Schmidt, President
Stu Levenson, Vice-President
Phil Pettis, Vice-President
Priscilla Coughlin, Secretary
Tim Driscoll, Treasurer
Our History…
The Clipper Foundation was started by Portsmouth High School alumni who recognized a basic need in the community—to continually raise the bar for innovation and excellence in education. With a fervent desire to give back to their community, they envisioned a permanent educational endowment that could help educators by supporting extraordinary academic programs. Garnering strong support from other parents, educators and the community, the founders formed a committee to help solicit the funds necessary to build the foundation.
The Clipper Foundation builds upon the success of a passionate community leader Joe Sawtelle’s “Fund for Excellence in Education”, established back in 1993, by establishing a permanent endowment to help continue to raise the bar for excellence in education. The Clipper Foundation looks to nourish and cultivate extraordinary learning opportunities that will distinguish our students, schools and community.