Secondary Navigation
Sign up for MEF's E-Newsletter!
In January 1991, the McKinney Chamber of Commerce established the McKinney Education Foundation (MEF): to coordinate scholarship awards that local businesses were giving each year to McKinney High School graduates. MEF simplified the donation process and made award presentations more equitable to the graduates.
The First Executive Director and the First Endowment Campaign
After two years of learning, planning, and transitioning, MEF hired Beverly Kleckner to direct the foundation and lead MEF’s first endowment campaign. In January 2005, the MEF board approved a 3-year, $2 million endowment campaign.
At the kickoff, in 1995, MEF announced a strong start to the endowment campaign with gifts of $323,000.
In the second year, the John S. and Rachel Heard Foundation dissolved and transferred $1.2 million to MEF. In addition to this boost, Neil Sperry announced a pledge in May 1998 of $130,000 to honor his wife Lynn and her commitment to education and to MEF. With these two gifts, MEF reached its initial goal of $2 million.
In March 2002, MEF celebrated its 10th anniversary at a special event and then began planning for the next 10 years of supporting MISD. MISD was growing and prepared to triple in 10 years; therefore, MEF formed the MEF Advisors program (then called the My Educational Future Program) to help students find scholarships from outside MEF and to educate students and parents about college admissions. MEF also established the Lambda Epsilon Rho Society to reward academic excellence.