About MEF
Malibu Education Foundation exists because Malibu’s schools are worth investing in.
wHO WE ARE
MEF is the only organization authorized by SMMUSD to fund staff and programs across all four Malibu public schools—Malibu Elementary, Webster Elementary, Malibu Middle, and Malibu High School.
We are not a PTA. We are not a booster club. We are not supplemental. We are structural. The instructional aides, the academic tutors, the community service liaison - the people and programs that strengthen the entire Malibu pathway for students - without MEF funding, many of these position do not exist.
MEF funds core support roles that strengthen every school site. As we grow, so does our reach, from deeper academic intervention to expanded opportunities from kindergarten through graduation.
Middle School Athletics is proof of what MEF can do. We identified a gap (no athletics program for middle schooler, no feeder into high school sports), launched and funded the program from scratch, grew it to 60% student participation, and within 18 months transferred full ownership to the district. That’s the model: MEF identifies, funds, and builds — until the community or district can sustain it permanently.
MEF is a California non-profit public benefit corporation, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. EIN: 99-1029697. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
HOW WE WORKMEF’s grant process is designed around one principle: the people closest to our students determine where the money goes.
Every fall, school principals and PTA representatives identify the staffing and program needs at each Malibu school site. Those needs are brought the MEF through regular Superintendent’s Advisory Committee (SAC) meetings, where district leadership, school administration, and MEF come together to prioritize. MEF evaluates those priorities against our fundraising capacity and confirms grant commitments by December, in time for school planning and staffing decisions for the following year.
This process means two things for donors: your gift is directed by educators, not administrators. And it arrives where it’s needed before the school year begins.
OUR SMMUSD RELATIONSHIPMEF operates under a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SMMUSD. The MOU designates MEF as the sole organization authorized to fund school staffing across all four campuses. It removes the burden of staff fundraising from the PTAs, allowing parent organizations to focus on what they do best: advocacy, enrichment, events, and school community.
As Malibu Moves toward its own unified school district, MEF’s role becomes more critical, not less. A new district takes time to build its financial infrastructure. MEF is committed to funding that bridge period — ensuring no student loses access to the staff and programs they count on while MUSD establishes its independent footing.
MEF’s foundation revenues are explicitly excluded from the district separation transfer calculations. your donation to MEF stays with Malibu’s students, regardless of how the governance changes around them.