Why Contribute?

Your contributions are critical to the Hoboken Charter School.  As detailed below, your taxes are, unfortunately, insufficient to fund charter schools.

Why Are We So Focussed on Fundraising?

The perpetual challenge faced by HCS and all public charter schools in New Jersey is that the state provides no facilities support. This means that critical budget dollars that HCS would otherwise be used for academics must be diverted to facilities-related costs. The tangible financial result of this is that HCS educates our children at a per pupil cost that is roughly 30% lower than that of district public schools, and the school has consistently maintained the budgetary discipline to be able to do more with less. However, it also means that we need to fund our own facilities improvements when the need arises.

To Our Beloved HCS Community:

The 2022-23 school year marks 25 years that HCS has been part of the fabric of Hoboken's educational community. In this time, the school has delivered its mission-driven education to thousands of students, and it exists today as a legacy of its original founders and generations of supporting families.

Our reasons for doing so may differ, but when we each won the lottery and were offered the choice to take a place in the HCS community, we each said 'yes.' As we enjoy the benefits of being part of the HCS community together, it is also incumbent upon us to continue the support which has made the past 25 years possible and to set the example for future HCS families.

Our 25th Anniversary Mission

The pandemic made us all realize how important it is to have pristine maintenance of our campus. For this reason, the HCS Board of Trustees (the "Board") has made the decision to invest in necessary upgrades to improve the air quality within the school to mitigate the spread of airborne viruses and pathogens across our student community, as well as to the school's aging and energy inefficient heating system.

Along with the Gala/Auction, the Annual Fund is one of the two primary fundraising vehicles that the FoHCS drives during each school year, and we are focused on helping fund the planned facilities upgrades as well as the other activities and initiatives that the FoHCS traditionally supports (e.g., technology purchases, staff training, accessibility of enrichment activities, etc.).

Acknowledging that everyone's circumstances are different, we only ask that you give what you can. As the FoHCS is organized as a 501c3 non-profit, all donations are 100% tax deductible. Our hope is that every HCS family will participate this year, and every single dollar will be received with gratitude.

Making Your Contribution

The Annual Fund

The Annual Fund opened for donations on 'Giving Tuesday,' November 29, at 8:00AM ET.  Giving Tuesday is universally considered to be a day to support those causes which animate us. We can't think of cause that hits closer to home than maintaining the safest possible environment for our children's education, and we hope each of you in the HCS community feels the same way.

You will have the option to make one-time online payments or select recurring monthly or quarterly payments. Alternatively, checks can be made to

'Friends of Hoboken Charter School' and sent to 

713 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ, 07030.

The Annual Fund will remain open throughout the 2022-23 school year to allow each of us to optimize the timing of our contributions.

Please follow this link if you wish to make a donation  at this time.  

The FoHCS Gala And Auction

The Gala is the biggest party of the year for HCS parents, and this year's event will host 150+ attendees.

The Auction typically includes awesome goods (memorabilia), services (spa treatments), and experiences (vacations) donated by HCS parents and the Hoboken community...and anyone can bid!  All funds raised go to the FoHCS for the benefit of HCS.

We rely on this event for 35-50% of our annual fundraising target.  

Please use this link to purchase a ticket .

The Power of Employer Matching

As you consider your ability to contribute, we want to call attention to one way in which you can amplify your donation - Employer Matching.

Many employers match their employees' contributions to 501c3 non-profit organizations sometimes dollar for dollar. You can see if your employer participates in matching programs by clicking this link and typing in your employer's name.

Please do take advantage of this opportunity, as donation matches can make a massive difference in our fundraising results!

The Friends of Hoboken Charter School

Jeff Tennenbaum, Yaphet Smallwood, Rob Johansen, Cindy Wiegand