In 2009, our first capital campaign raised close to 2 million dollars in a very short period of time; a significant amount of money that will help to create the foundation (literal and metaphorical) of the MYP building. Last year, in 2010, we ran a follow up New Parent Campaign which, although much smaller in scale, had many similarities to the previous campaign. Our co-chairs spoke to many new parents about their capacity to support the development of the school. This campaign included pledges from 25 families in total and had $349,150 in pledges. We have collected $233,600 of this already.

It has come to our attention that, as our school continues to grow in numbers, facilities, programs and reputation; it may be time to start an annual giving program. An annual giving program would be significantly different to a capital campaign program. Firstly, the appeal for participation would be softer and it would likely not need parent volunteers or chairs. In response to the feedback we received from an online survey last year, it was evident that many families at our school would rather not have a face-to-face meeting when considering gifts to the school. Instead, they would like to be able to access information about giving and make decisions as a family.

Secondly, funds raised in annual giving generally help to supplement the cost of the education that children are receiving. The funds raised support the operating budget as opposed to the development of new facilities. In many established schools, annual funds become part of a school endowment and only the interest income is spent each year.

Finally, an annual giving campaign would require all pledges to be paid in full by the end of the fiscal year (in our case, June.)

It is a possibility that contributions made through an annual giving campaign could be designated to broad gift categories such as the arts, athletics, outdoor education, classroom resources etc.

As with all of our fund raising initiatives, our goal is that families participate to a level that they are comfortable with. In the junior school assembly on Monday, March 14th, Gordon MacIntyre spoke to the junior school students of how small actions can come together to make a big difference. He was speaking to the students about their actions in raising money for Kipevu Primary School through the coin drive but it struck me that his discussion was applicable when it comes to supporting the school financially.

Members of our community will receive information about the annual giving campaign in more detail later in the spring. I would welcome any feedback you have about this process and if you have any ideas, suggestions or comments, please email me at sarah.scott@stratfordhall.ca