HCHSAA MISSION, PURPOSE AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER HUNTER ENTITIES
Mission and Purpose – Pursuant to its mission statement, “HCHSAA is a volunteer social and charitable organization committed to the recruitment, development, and advancement of the gifted students and alumnae/i of Hunter College High School.” HCHSAA’s members recently voted to amend its Certificate of Incorporation to further expand its purpose, now defined as –
To obtain money or property by gift, bequest or devise and to invest and reinvest the same, and to apply the income and principal thereof exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine, either directly, as described below, or through contributions to or for the benefit of charitable organizations to promote the charitable, scientific, literary and educational activities, of Hunter College High School, of New York, New York (the “School”), or its alumni, including, without limitation,
A. the establishment of scholarships, fellowships and other student or alumni programs through HCHSAA or by grant to external organizations;
B. sponsoring educational, scientific, literary and cultural programs in cooperation with the School;
C. providing financial support to the School in the form of endowment funds and other funding for the libraries, laboratories, theater, dance, music, art and academic programs, athletic and computer facilities, and other programs and facilities of the School;
D. organizing the alumnae and alumni of the School to further the School’s activities and serve as a resource for students of the School to enhance their education;
and to engage in any and all lawful activities incidental thereto except as restricted herein.
History – HCHSAA was established by a group of alumnae in the early 1970s during the New York City and State fiscal crises to provide support to Hunter College High School, when it was at risk of being closed. In 1997, HCHSAA was incorporated under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York and, in 1998, it was determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be exempt from taxation as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Relationships with other Hunter and New York City Education Entities – Although HCHSAA’s purpose is to support the students and alums of Hunter College High School, it is a separate entity with no direct ties to the high school or any other Hunter entity.
- Hunter College High School (HCHS) – HCHS and Hunter College Elementary School (HCES) together form the Hunter College Campus Schools (HCCS) currently located at 71 East 94th Street, New York NY. Pursuant to the terms of its Certificate of Incorporation, HCHSAA only provides support to HCHS and not HCES. While HCHSAA works closely with the administration of HCHS to determine the best use of any grants it might make, neither entity governs or controls the other. While HCHSAA can use its voice and grants to attempt to influence decisions by HCHS, it does not have any direct authority over HCHS’s curriculum, policies, admissions, or academics.
- Hunter College and City University of New York – The HCCS are administered by Hunter College (one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY)). The HCCS schools are publicly funded and chartered by the CUNY Board of Trustees. There is no direct relationship between Hunter College and HCHSAA other than the fact that Hunter College very generously provides office space to HCHSAA at no cost.
- Hunter College Foundation, Inc. (HCF) – HCF was created in 1992. HCF’s purposes include support of the HCCS. HCHSAA and HCF have no direct relationship but HCF has acted as an intermediary to help manage large grants from HCHSAA to fund operating expenses and long-term capital improvements at HCHS. These grants have included a recent pandemic grant and a historic grant to explore expanding the HCHS facilities.
- New York City Department of Education (DOE) – The DOE manages New York City’s Kindergarten through 12th Grade public school system. Although the HCCS schools are public schools that collectively cover Kindergarten through 12th grade in New York City, they are chartered by CUNY and therefore are not managed by the DOE. As a result, the DOE has no authority over HCHS.
View our by-laws here.