PSCS Life – The “Why” Behind Annual Giving

You’ve probably heard that annual giving is pretty important to the PSCS community. But, what is most often misunderstood, is that we expect everyone in our community to contribute to our annual fundraising efforts, each year—board members (we already have 100% from this group), staff (we already have 100% from this group), and all our families (we have about 56% participation from our middle school families and 45% from our high school families). That’s right, we expect 100% participation, whether it is one dollar or a thousand dollars. Our school community counts on every family coming together in support of our annual fundraising efforts.

I’m writing this for those families that are either new to independent schools or for those that might be wondering,“ We are paying tuition, why are they asking for more money?” It’s important for everyone to realize the “why” behind annual giving.

The first, and most important thing to understand, is that the tuition that independent schools charge does not cover the full cost of educating a student in a truly robust way. Tuition covers our general operating expenses (salaries, supplies, and facilities), but does not cover additional resources or program value, such as, tuition aid. In fact, unlike most independent schools, the majority of our annual fundraising goes to support tuition aid. By donating, in whatever amount you can, you are supporting PSCS in being accessible to more students.

Next, contributions to annual giving help us provide professional development for our staff members so they may continue to grow their skills as teachers, as well as provide program aid and to provide additional resources for students as they come up throughout the year. Examples this year include professional training in neurodiversity and learning differences, and access to a school counselor. In past years, our annual fund has contributed to new machines for our shop, new instruments and musical equipment, and staff engagement in national level education conferences.

Lastly, we keep tuition as low as we can, while still offering an independent education free of testing and competition. As a nonprofit, this means we can then accept donations above tuition and families can receive tax benefits from their contributions.  When you give to our annual fund, you give our students the gift of personal growth and success—not only at PSCS, but into adulthood.

If you have not already contributed this year, I ask you to please consider doing so now. It would be a massive success for our community if, in our 25th year, we have 100% of our current families contribute to the success of all our students and staff.

Let’s do this PSCS community!

Amy