Due to the rising costs of maintaining quality programs, Catholic schools continually face new financial challenges. Today Catholic school educators and leaders share the responsibility to establish funding formulas that ensure the viability and survivability of our institutions. Almost every Catholic high school and many Catholic elementary schools have established and expanded school Development programs. The Development Program at Saint Mary School was established in 1989. Its primary goal has been to tell the "success story of Catholic schools" and to raise the awareness of the enormous contributions our school has made to the Gilroy community.
Clearly, Development is more than raising money for the future of our school. It is about building relationships with people who will share the good news of Saint Mary School. Based on that definition, every parent, friend, alumni and donor or Saint Mary School is involved in Development.
There are currently funds in place for building the future of our school: the Endowment Fund, housed at the Diocese of San Jose; and funds established through the Gilroy Foundation. Several means exist to contribute to these funds: gifts of cash through memorials and donations; gifts of stocks and bonds, matching gifts through companies with established programs, gifts of real estate, bequests, tax exempt charitable trust and personal life insurance. Most often, gifts are given through the Annual Fund (held in the Fall each year), through participation in Endowment fundraising activities (Nite Golf and Alumni Basketball) and donations (including memorials intended to honor deceased family or friends) sent specifically for Endowment
What is Endowment?: An Endowment is a permanent fund that is restricted, the principal of which is reserved. The funds are invested and a determined percentage of the portfolio is used for the purposes restricted by the endowment. --In our case, tuition assistance and scholarship. Endowment s a way to create an everlasting legacy for donors and their heirs and to tenable our school to weather the challenges of fluctuations in enrollment or sharp increases of costs that may come our way. |
