Photo by April Coffey.
Landon Nast speaks to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce during its August luncheon.
Great schools don’t happen by chance. They happen because a community chooses to invest in them.
That was the message Landon Nast, president of the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation, shared during the Aug. 11 Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon as she outlined the foundation’s work and its vision for supporting Vestavia Hills students for generations to come.
Established in 1996, the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization governed by community leaders, parents, alumni and supporters. Its mission is to provide perpetual financial support to Vestavia Hills City Schools while helping protect the academic excellence for which the school system is known.
Today, the foundation manages an endowment of more than $4 million. Rather than simply raising money to spend, the foundation invests those funds so they can continue generating support for the schools year after year.
Each year, approximately 2% to 5% of the endowment’s earnings are distributed through grants, while the principal is preserved. Since its founding, the foundation has awarded more than $2 million in grants to the school system.
Those grants are designed to have a direct impact in classrooms, providing innovative resources, enhanced learning opportunities, new technology and support for educators.
Nast said the foundation’s current focus is growing that endowment even further through its new “Generations: Investing in Vestavia Education” campaign. The goal is simple: The larger the endowment becomes, the more the foundation can provide to the schools each year.
Unlike a one-time donation, an endowment gift continues working into the future. That means a contribution made today can help support students and teachers not only this year, but for generations of Vestavia students still to come.
There are also opportunities for the community to get involved through the foundation’s annual fundraising events.
“Pitch-In” is the foundation’s schoolwide giving campaign, held during the last week of January. Families participate through donations and fun school activities, including themed dress-up days.
The foundation’s signature event, “Dinner & Diamonds,” is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27, 2027, at Vestavia Country Club. The evening brings the community together for dinner, fellowship, sponsorship opportunities and auctions. The foundation is currently seeking volunteers, sponsors and businesses interested in partnering with the event.
Community involvement, however, extends beyond writing a check. Parents, alumni, businesses, grandparents, residents and other supporters can contribute to the foundation’s mission through donations, sponsorships, volunteering or simply helping spread the word about its work.
The foundation’s ultimate goal is to create a permanent source of funding that strengthens Vestavia’s schools without losing sight of the future.
“Great schools don’t happen by chance,” Nast told the chamber audience. “They happen because the community chooses to invest in them.”
For those who want to help shape that future, the foundation offers an opportunity to do exactly that — one gift, one volunteer hour and one partnership at a time.
