The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association, Inc. is proud to announce the start of the "Back to School Matching Fundraiser" program. This dollar-for-dollar, 100% matching donation program runs through August 2022 and aims to provide financial support to our general scholarship program.

The matching donation program runs through August 31st and will match up to $300 in donations. Donors will automatically qualify for membership in the Alumni Association based on the level of their donation and can also be recognized on the website. There are a number of ways for alumni and supporters to give; these include:

• Through our Crooms Alumni website using your Crooms Alumni user account at https://www.croomsalumni.com/donate
• On our PayPal Profile: https://paypal.me/croomsalumni
• Through this Facebook fundraiser at: https://www.facebook.com/donate/801857520851351/

All donations are 501(c)3 eligible for tax purposes.

Dear Crooms AoIT Alumni Association members and supporters,

We are pleased to present our FY22 consolidated income and balance sheet to provide full transparency into how your financial support is used. The Association's fiscal year runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The Association uses cash accounting but a line has been entered to recognize scholarship and athletic support commitments made in FY22 that were not paid out during the fiscal year.

A summary of major activities includes:

• An In-Kind Alumni donation of $626.59 helps raise 2x in additional funds for Crooms AoIT athletics (~$1,800) - a nearly 200% return on investment.
• A $250 grant was provided to the Crooms AoIT Girls Basketball Team.
• A partnership between the Alumni Association and Crooms AoIT Athletics now allows Panthers to donate directly to their athletic club of choice.
• The Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk program was launched as a capital fundraiser to support Crooms AoIT Athletics.
• Eleven (11) Croomies joined Class 3 of The Founders Society.
• The first year of the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk supported a donation of $3,706 to the Crooms AoIT Athletics Program and the establishment of a ~$3,000 endowment for the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant Program.
• $2,250 was awarded across three scholarships - including a very special scholarship in memory of Joyce Shiflett generously supported by Class of 2011 alumni Samuel Shiflet and his wife.

A summary of our financials is detailed below:

• The Association started the year with a fund balance of $3,504.34 in the General Fund and $0.00 in the "Brick" Fund (the "Brick" Fund was established in FY22 following the launch of the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk and is intended to provide support to Crooms AoIT Athletics).
• After removing internal transfers, revenues of $12,963.35 were collected through memberships, donations, brick purchases, and other means - representing a 402.0% increase from FY21. The Association anticipates a significant reduction in revenue in FY23 as brick purchases fall off.
• After removing internal transfers, expenses of $4,616.68 were recognized - representing an increase of 24% largely due to earmarked donations for the a) the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk Program (shown as capex expense in the Brick Fund) and b) in-kind donations for the Crooms AoIT athletics Program NASCAR fundraiser (shown as In Kind expense in the General Fund). $1,350.00 of these expenses for were scholarships and while an additional $250 were grant-equivalents for the Crooms AoIT Athletics Program. Overhead (from PayPal transaction fees) accounted for approximately 5.2% of all expenses for the year.
• An additional $2,250.00 remains to be disbursed for scholarships awarded during FY22.
• An additional $3,706.00 remains to be disbursed for athletics support
• Fund balance ended at $5,895.01, representing an 174% increase from the end of the previous year (after accounting for scholarship commitments). $2,865.83 of this fund base is unrestricted in the General Fund while $3,029.18 is restricted in the "Brick Fund".

If you would like more details, we invite you review the attached spreadsheet which includes transaction level detail for the year. Donor information has been removed to protect the privacy of our donors. Do not hesitate to contact us if you should have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support.

Our condolences to Bradley Mauger's (Class of 2014) friends and family on his passing on June 19, 2022. The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association has fond memories of Bradley's contributions during his time as a Croomie and afterwards:

• During Bradley's junior year, Bradley was a winner at the county and state level of the Award of Excellence from the Florida PTA for his artwork entered in the in the 2013 Florida PTA Reflections Program. Bradley received his award in the Visual Arts, Special Artists division.
• During his senior year, Bradley was awarded the Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Community Scholarship. Bradley's involvement at Crooms AoIT included being treasurer of the National Honor Society, a member of BETA club, and an ambassador to the PTSA. In his free time, he volunteered with several organizations, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cure CMD, and Canine Companions for Independence.
• Following Crooms, Bradley attended the University of North Florida and joined the student-run Osprey Financial Group where he helped managed a student endowment of $1.1M.

Bradley was a cherished member of the Cromms AoIT family and he will be missed greatly. In lieu of flower, the family requests individuals consider donating to Cure CMD in memory of Bradley. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2022 at 2:30PM at Orangewood Church, 1300 W. Maitland Blvd. in Maitland, Florida 32751.

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association ends its 2021-2022 fiscal year by issuing a $3,700 check to the Crooms AoIT athletics department. This donation aims to support athletics teams and sports clubs in their efforts to provide a full and enriching academic experience to Crooms AoIT students during their high school years. This donation is possible thanks to the support of alumni and community partners through the inaugural capital fundraising campaign for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

The Alumni Association has also been able to deposit over $3,000 into a dedicated fund to support the Coach Geoffry Alan Haines Athletics Grant Program. This deposit will help ensure the sustainability of the Athletics Grant Program for an indefinite period into the future. The Alumni Association plans to re-launch the athletics grant application process during the 2022 fall semester.

Alumni and community partners looking to specifically support Crooms AoIT athletics can directly support the team of their choice through the specialized donation page or support general athletics by purchasing a brick for the Crooms AoIT Alumni Panther Walk.

The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association is proud to announce the winners of three scholarships being awarded by the Crooms AoIT Alumni Association to the Class of 2022.

The $1,000 Crooms AoIT Alumni Association Community Scholarship is being awarded to Logan G. The Community Scholarship is meant to honor a student not only for academic and extracurricular achievement, but also for dedication to community service. This year, through the multi-scholarship application process, we had 48 applicants, all with different strengths: high GPAs, involvement in school activities, and community involvement. But, Logan stuck out from this year's crowded pack of applicants for having all the above qualities.

New this year, the Alumni Association is also honored to announce that Mariam S. has been awarded a $500 scholarship in honor of Joyce Shiflett. This scholarship is funded through a generous donation from Class of 2011 alumni Samuel Shiflet and his wife. Samuel noted that:

"Crooms is an amazing school which jumpstarts young careers in technology. The administrators, teachers, curriculum, and culture are all uniquely positioned to enable students in today’s technology industry. I owe my personal career success to the foundational knowledge this school provided to me. This school is an amazing force multiplier for young people and I want to ensure that continues. Second, and on a more personal note, my grandmother, Joyce Shiflett, passed away late last year and I have been struggling ways to honor her. She was the essence of grace and kindness and one thing that always stuck out to me was how much she loved her animals, especially cats. While reading the scholarship applications, one student’s love for animals also stood out to me along with their passion for this wonderful school. Whether it was volunteering more than 100 hours at an animal shelter or her plans to study veterinary sciences, I couldn’t help but smile as I read through her application."

Last, but not least: The Alumni Association is also proud to announce the return of the Tech Innovation Scholarship after a one year hiatus. The Tech Innovation Scholarship recognizes a graduating senior who has used their technical acumen to create or contribute to a technological project or product. Students are asked to submit their best project for review. This year's recipient proved to be one of the most unique project submissions we have had in the eight years of the program. Our recipient demonstrated how graphic design, video game modding, and video editing can be merged together to support an online community of video game car enthusiasts. The Crooms AoIT Alumni Association is pleased to announced James G. as this year's winner of the $750 Tech Innovation Scholarship.

Congratulations, and best of luck to all our scholarship winners, our other applicants, and the Class of 2022 as a whole in your future endeavors. Go Panthers!