Dear Siskiyou School Parents, Grandparents, Alum and Friends,
Happy Fall to you all!
Each year, the Siskiyou School, like all nonprofits, has a mountain to climb. We always set out around now, when mornings are cool and the sun still warms the middle of the day. Perfect hiking weather! We pace ourselves, knowing it’s a long trek.
This mountain is formed by the difference between what we receive in tuition revenues and the actual cost of a Siskiyou School education. That difference is about $1000 per child. To fully fund the budget this year, we have to reach $175,000. This budget gap total is comprised of expenses including school supplies, utilities, salaries and benefits and professional development expenses.
From experience we expect we will get about a third of the way up with the help of fundraising events throughout the year. For the steepest part we hope for direct dollar contributions from our school community. That part of the climb is called our Annual Giving Campaign. This year’s Annual Giving goal is $115,000.
It always takes several months to summit. Inevitably, there are surprises along the way -moments when we doubt we will make it and moments of overwhelming gratitude when generous donations arrive in envelopes. We always ask for 100% participation from all families as this is one requirement when applying for grants. We have made it to the top every year since the school began in 2006.
That success largely explains the quality and vitality of the school your children are a part of today. Achieving our yearly fundraising goals is key to the school’s sustained wellbeing.
How can it work? Who has $1000 above tuition to contribute for their child?
The founders perceived that ours was a generous community, deeply committed to Waldorf education for their children and those to come. They built the financial structure of the school on this premise and core conviction; after all, it was their generosity and their commitment that brought the school into being in the first place.
Tuition would always be set relatively low compared to other private Waldorf schools. The difference would be made up each year by parents, grandparents, alumni, giving from the heart. The amount raised would help ensure optimal programming, support for faculty, and tuition assistance, which would increase access for all families.
While the founders recognized that some families could give considerably more than others, they knew everyone could give something. And they bet on the idea that if every family tapped into what the school meant to them, tapped into the place it held in their lives, and then every family did the most and best they could, we would reach our number.
Parents would tap into the peace of mind they experience every day knowing their children are in such a wonderful school, in such wonderful hands. They would tap into the gratitude they feel for the richness of the curriculum, seeing their children happily knitting, vibrantly singing, proudly sharing their main lesson work, confidently performing on stage, expertly throwing javelins at the Olympiad, effortlessly responding in Chinese and Spanish classes, eagerly anticipating their teachers’ lessons. Mostly, they would tap into their feeling of good fortune to have a school where, in these times, their young children could hold onto their innocence and experience years of wonder, imagination, stories, inspiration, friendship and play - the gifts of the Kingdom of Childhood!
Grandparents, for their part, would marvel at how articulate and self-confident their adolescent grandchildren were, how engaged and intellectually curious, how comfortable and forthcoming in conversation with adults. Alumni parents would be grateful to have stayed the course, noting how superbly prepared their children were for high school where they excelled academically and emerged as leaders among their peers for their ease and fluency in the language of emotional intelligence.
And the alumni themselves…well, they would beam with joyful recognition when running into former teachers around town, show up with friends for festivals and eagerly volunteer community service hours long after their own graduations. Whatever their journeys had been, the warmth was what they remembered most about the Siskiyou School, the sense of connection and belonging, being held by their teachers with love.
With this letter and the launching of the 2023-24 Annual Giving Campaign, we ask you to begin that reflection for yourselves about what the school means to your family, and then to give from the heart.
With much gratitude for your ongoing support of this school.
Aurilia McNamara
Thank you for your support of the Siskiyou School!
Ways To Give
All donations through Annual Giving to the school are tax deductible.
You can send your donation through the link here, through a personal check or cash, or you can add your donation to your monthly tuition payment.
Oregon Cultural Trust
A contribution to the Oregon Cultural Trust allows you to leverage your donation to the Siskiyou School into potential tax credits. Learn more from their website at https://www.culturaltrust.org/.
Oregon Community Foundation
For those of you who are able to and desire to give a gift that ensures our healthy financial future, we have established an endowment fund through the Oregon Community Foundation.
Family Foundation Grants
The Siskiyou School has been blessed by gifts from family foundations affiliated with our community members. Please reach out to Erin Dickinson to discuss how our school might benefit from such a grant.
Legacy Gifts
Create lasting impact by naming the Siskiyou School as a beneficiary in your estate planning. Consult your estate attorney for the best format for that gift. Please advise Erin Dickinson if you are including the Siskiyou School in your planned giving.
Gifts of Appreciated Stock
Donating your appreciated stock creates a win-win for you and the Siskiyou School. By donating a stock you have held for over one year, you avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciated value.
In Kind Donations
The Siskiyou School appreciates all sorts of items for our school, such as instruments, tools, garden supplies and specialty craft items. Please reach out and let us know if you have something to donate!
eScrip
Go to escrip.com and follow the sign-up instructions. They ask for only a few details, like your name and email. Select The Siskiyou School as the organization to support. With eScrip, register at least one debit or credit card. They only ask for the number—not the security code or the expiration date. It is very safe!
iGive
With iGive, install the iGive addon to your browser. This ensures that your online shopping will automatically benefit the Siskiyou School! Go to www.igive.com, type in your cause: Siskiyou School, and shop and follow the instructions for installing iGive.
