Ways to Give
make the magic live on
ensuring st. mary's thrives for years to come
The St. Mary’s community is unmatched, and its financial and volunteer commitment to our school is special. At St. Mary's Episcopal Day School, we believe that every child deserves access to a transformative education that fosters academic excellence and a lifelong long love of learning in addition to spiritual, social, and emotion growth. Our donors' generous support plays a vital role in helping us fulfill this mission and empower our students to become responsible, compassionate, and well-rounded individuals who exemplify our motto of Learn~Lead~Love on a daily basis.
There are many ways you can contribute to the future of our school and make a lasting impact on the lives of our students. Whether you choose to make a one-time gift, establish a recurring donation, or invest in a specific program or initiative, your generosity will truly be life changing for our students.
Be a saint
A guide to giving
Thank you for being a Saint and considering supporting St. Mary's Episcopal Day School either monetarily or with the gift of your time! Outlined in this guide is detailed information and the variety of ways you can donate and volunteer.
donate
St. Mary's is blessed to be a sound financial institution thanks to the hard work of our Administration and Board of Trustees. In addition to support from the Parents' Association, the school relies on donations from our annual appeal, the Heart of Gold Fund, to assist with projects not otherwise covered under the operating budget. You can contribute by making a gift to this important fund, participating in capital campaigns, or choosing to leave a legacy gift. All gifts, no matter the size, are important to our community and make a difference.
volunteer
St. Mary’s simply would not exist without the countless volunteer hours dedicated by our community. While a majority of these hours are coordinated through the selfless work of our Parents’ Association, there are other opportunities that are available throughout the year in your student’s homeroom and beyond. We are grateful for volunteerism big and small. Whether you are a whiz at the Dewey Decimal System, handy with a glue gun, or have other talents, you can by giving your time to efforts that enhance the student experience.
Annual Giving
St. Mary's is able to put our "Learn~Love~Lead" motto into action each school year via tuition dollars and money raised through our most important appeal, the Heart of Gold Fund. The Board of Trustees and Administration target specific projects and offer donors a Family of Funds approach to designate their gift to an area that inspires them.
If you would like to get a head start on giving, please visit our HEART OF GOLD link!
alumni
As adult members of our community, we encourage alumni to think about their experience as students. Very few of their successes here happened by chance. A great amount of time and care goes into each student's development. The hard work, dedication, and constant communication by our faculty has created a reputation for producing successful graduates. St. Mary's continues to provide the same academic and nurturing environment for our current students and their families. This is what makes St. Mary’s a success.
To our alumni: Just as you needed St. Mary’s when you were a student, St. Mary’s needs you. Be a part of the school's long-term success. Your gift to the Heart of Gold Annual Campaign helps to guarantee the school's future. With your philanthropic gift, you ensure that future generations have the opportunity to learn, discover, dream, and succeed at St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School.
If you are interested in making a gift to St. Mary's or have an alumni update to include in an upcoming edition of the Saint, please email shelby.tuttle@smeds.org for information.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Like most independent schools, St. Mary's relies on a combination of tuition and fundraising to meet the needs of the school. While tuition dollars cover expected costs like faculty and staff salaries, turning the lights on, and keeping the building cool, etc., our Heart of Gold Fund allows us to say "yes" to opportunities not otherwise budgeted for that the Board and Administration targets as important to enhancing the student experience and of interest to our families. We feel that our tuition is competitive with area independent schools and we want to keep it that way with the backing of a robust annual giving campaign.
Donations to Heart of Gold range from $5 to $75,000 with the average parent gift being around $975. Each year we set a parent participation goal of 100% because participation is truly more important to our school than any financial goal we could set. We want families to give in a way that is meaningful to them to show support for St. Mary's mission from within. All gifts, no matter the size, are vital to our success.
Annual dues for Parents' Association memberships go toward the things outlined in the PA section above. Additional support of the PA's fall Benefit through auction item donations, sponsorships, and ticket purchases, help to put on the community-building event, and net proceeds are then designated to school projects voted on by the PA.
Heart of Gold donations go directly into the school's operating budget to fund the immediate needs of the school each year. St. Mary's asks that parents prioritize donating to annual giving first so that we may reach 100% participation, but we are grateful for support from both fronts and couldn't operate without donations from the PA and Heart of Gold. Many families are able and excited to support the PA and Heart of Gold each year, and as a general rule, plan to make a Benefit donation in the fall and an annual giving donation in the spring.
Yes, there are two different categories of giving: Leadership and Sustainer. Leadership giving includes the Headmasters' Club ($6,000+), Saint Society ($3,000-$5,999), Fleur de-lis Society ($2,000-$2,999), and Halo Club ($1,200-$1,999). Sustainer gifts include the Gold Club ($800-$1,199), Blue Club ($600-$799), Supporters ($300-$599), and Friends (Up to $299). We encourage donors to take advantage of our Family of Funds approach and designate their gift to an area that is important to their family. Donations may be made anonymously and/or given in honor or memory of an individual(s).
Yes! All gifts made to the Heart of Gold Fund are 100% tax deductible (tuition is not). You will receive a thank you letter acknowledging your gift that also serves as a tax receipt.
Each family will receive a donor envelope at the start of the Heart of Gold campaign. Checks may be returned in that envelope, and convenient online giving via credit card is available at: forms.diamondmindinc.com/smeds/heartofgold. We also accept gifts of stock, appreciated securities, and other assets, and the Development office is happy to provide transfer instructions.
Does your company offer a Matching Gift program? We would be happy to assist with this process to ensure that your donation is doubled!
Our goal is to minimize the number of "asks" in our community so that giving is meaningful and not diluted. Our sincere hope is that families can plan on supporting the Parents' Association Benefit in the fall, the Heart of Gold annual giving appeal in the spring, and nothing more. That being said, there will likely be smaller requests throughout the year that are more specific to your student, including but not limited to the fall Book Fair, Homeroom party supplies, costumes, etc.
We are blessed to be at full capacity on our campus and capital improvements will be based on optimizing the space that we have. If we continue to see the incredible support through the PA and Heart of Gold, Capital Campaigns will be unnecessary.