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Thursday morning, August 16, 2012


Dear Friends on the Board of Five Smooth Stones Foundation,

We are writing this letter with the utmost sense of urgency: We need your financial support to raise $4280.00 by the close of business today to pay down a debt incurred under the auspices of our university partner, the University of Baltimore.

As you may know, we have developed a critical strategic partnership with the University of Baltimore. In our charter school application, we featured this partnership as the foundation of our plan to become the first single gender early college high school in the country. As an early college, our scholars would earn college credits while in high school and thus become very well prepared for the demands and rigors of college.

Over the past eighteen months, Dr. Marguerite Weber and Jack have worked closely together on several fronts. First, they designed and launched a Saturday academic enrichment program for 4th and 5th grade boys. Every Saturday during the 2011-2012 school year, boys from throughout the city attended Collegiate Academy. Dr. Weber and Jack also worked closely on preparing the charter school application and she participated in our Founding Group presentations to the Charter School Review Board and the Baltimore City School Board. Our relationship with UB is a reality, supported by a letter of intent with Provost Joe Wood.

During this time Five Smooth Stones Foundation incurred over $9,000 in expenses for facilities usage, copying, office expenses, staff support and Marguerite's consultation time on this project. We have struggled to reduce this debt over the past few months, using our revenues for programmatic activities, such as the just completed Summer Bridge Academy, where fifteen gifted and eager boys were challenged to learn in an advanced academic environment. Please view this video on the Summer Bridge Academy.

Over the last two weeks, we have focused on paying this debt or else lose our partnership with the University of Baltimore. If this debt slides into default, UB is statutorily required to withdraw its support of the partnership and thus Baltimore Collegiate would lack an early college high school partner. This has been our sole option until today. With support from several friends, Provost Wood offered the following yesterday afternoon. He waived $3800 of the debt and urged me to find the funds to pay the remaining balance by Thursday, August 16th at 5pm.

To be candid, if we lose this partnership, we may well lose our charter. This, my friends, would end our work before we even get seriously started with the business of planning for the opening of Baltimore Collegiate in the Fall of 2014.

Given the short notice for this appeal, would you consider several possibilities for giving:

1) If you are a board member, please consider giving your board commitment today or by 12 noon tomorrow.
2) Tap a generous donor who believes in our work and mission.
3) We are expecting a gift from donor of $3500.00 by September 1. A short term loan against this gift would be welcomed.

In all cases, we need your support---no matter how small. We are convinced that we can get to our goal over the next 24 hours.

Please communicate your support to Jack Pannell (410-929-1899) at any time of day or night before 2pm today. Forgive us, if we send you periodic updates on our progress. Together, we can save this important partnership and move forward with our work to build a truly great educational institution.

Best Regards,

James Blue, Chair of the Board
Jack J. Pannell, President


Five Smooth Stones Foundation, Inc.

4 W. Read Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
410.929.1899