Launching the 2020–2021 Annual Fund

A note from PBS parents Tracy Satvat and Joe Kauffman, Annual Fund Co-chairs

October 28, 2020

Dear friends and families of PBS:

What a remarkable year! It seems hard to believe that the summer break ended only about 8 weeks ago – and that it’s already nearly November. And yet, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the truly amazing faculty and staff, the school we love has faced the challenges of this pandemic head-on and developed a plan for keeping our kids learning and growing while also keeping the PBS community safe and healthy. In that spirit, we want to begin with gratitude, by saying “thank you” to all those whose efforts have led to a truly remarkable outcome: a blended learning model that has maxed out the amount of time students can be on campus while also ensuring that those remaining in distance learning have the same access to top-notch teachers and outstanding learning resources.

In this unique year, we are coming to you with a one-of-a-kind request for support. To help explain, we put our heads together with the Advancement Office to produce this video:

To sum up, we are hoping that you can join us in generously supporting PBS in two ways:

By supporting the Annual Fund

Help us achieve 100% participation from families. We hope that the Annual Fund can be a gift from the entire PBS community to our students. We ask that each current family consider a donation that is meaningful to them and that places PBS among their top philanthropic priorities for the year.
Help us raise $1 million. This amount represents about 10% of the school’s operating budget. In previous years, this margin has allowed us to add significant faculty resources – like our literacy and math enrichment coordinators and additional classroom teachers – and has enabled significant investments in professional development and other vital resourcing. The Annual Fund helps close the gap between revenue and operating expenses.
Help us secure gift commitments by December 18, 2020. The money we raise this year is spent this year, so by making your gift or pledge before the end of December, you can help us know what we can count on in the second half of the school year.

Make your Annual Fund pledge or gift online today!

By supporting the COVID Fund

This year, in addition to your Annual Fund support, we need your help to meet the unexpected in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school has invested $1.45 million (as of Nov. 16, in addition to already budgeted expenditures) to meet the needs of our students, faculty, and staff during this time.

The additional COVID-specific investment in our campus, our team, and our community has helped us to…

…support our faculty and staff, our school’s most important resource
…increase financial aid support
…provide robust academic resourcing for both on-campus and distance learners, including additional teachers
…double the size of our 1:1 iPad program and invest in the software needed to connect securely with remote learners, and
…provide the staffing, equipment, and training needed to keep the campus clean and safe and to meet new state mandates

Make a supplemental pledge or gift to the PBS COVID Fund today!

Getting your questions answered…

As you consider your gift, there are a number of resources at your disposal to help you get answers you haven’t been able to find here:

Each grade level has assigned Annual Fund Class Captains, parent ambassadors who have signed up to help their classes achieve 100% participation. They are eager to share why the Annual Fund is important to them and to get you answers to your questions.
You can also reach out to either of us directly if you have questions. (Our contact information is at the same link as the Class Captains.)
The professional staff of the school’s Advancement Team – led by Olana Khan, Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategy, and Michael Lavigne Jr., Director of Advancement – are also happy to set up time to chat.

In closing…

We hope that you are as committed as we are to the longevity and growth of PBS. Your enthusiastic support of the Annual Fund is a vital component of our students’ success, and your partnership is the most direct way to ensure that PBS continues to thrive and meet its mission:

The Phillips Brooks School community inspires students to love learning, to develop a spiritual nature, to communicate effectively, to be kind to others, and to respect the uniqueness of each person.

We look forward to sharing more with you over the coming weeks about the importance of the Annual Fund and the particular needs that will be met by the COVID Fund. Thank you for your generosity and enthusiasm for our school!

Sincerely,

Tracy Satvat P’23 P’27 (she/her ℹ️)
Annual Fund Co-chair

Joe Kauffman P’20 P’22 P’27 (he/him ℹ️)
Annual Fund Co-chair

The Impact of Your Support

By helping us meet our Annual Fund goals, you allow PBS…

…to INSPIRE every child at PBS by ensuring access to exceptional teachers and top-notch learning resources

…to INNOVATE in teaching through investment in ongoing professional and curricular development, and

…to VALUE our faculty with attractive compensation packages – a significant challenge given the Bay Area’s high cost of living.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PBS Annual Fund?

The Annual Fund is a yearly fundraising campaign designed to support the PBS operating budget. The Advancement Office and volunteers work together to ask for the participation of every member of the PBS family—trustees, parents, faculty and staff, parents of alumni, alumni, grandparents and friends. In 2019–2020, the total raised was over $1 million in unrestricted funds. The success of the Annual Fund is a testament to our firm belief in Phillips Brooks School and its continuing mission to inspire a love of learning in every PBS student.

Where do Annual Fund dollars go?

Your donation contributes to the PBS mission of motivating students to love learning and to grow to be their best selves. Gifts to the Annual Fund support virtually every aspect of school life — faculty professional development, financial aid, field trips, special speakers and assemblies, and music and art supplies are just some of the ways Annual Fund dollars make a measurable impact on the academic program and on your child’s education in a typical year. Contributions to the Annual Fund are unrestricted gifts, and the funds are given and spent in the current fiscal year.

Why is the Annual Fund needed? Why not simply fund the school’s needs through tuition and fees?

During the budgeting process, the Board of Trustees projects the school’s operating expenses for the upcoming year and its sources of revenue, including tuition, fees, and contributions from the Annual Fund. The PBS Annual Fund comprises an important part of the total school budget, and allows PBS to provide an extraordinary educational experience.

Funding the school through the Annual Fund offers many additional benefits compared to funding the school through tuition alone, such as tax-deductibility for parents and the potential for employer matching gifts. Additionally, the school would like to keep tuition at a level that is affordable for a greater number of families, and generous contributions to the Annual Fund made by families who are able to do so help reduce the need for significant tuition increases.

How does the Annual Fund differ from the Spring Benefit?

The Annual Fund is an appeal for unrestricted gifts to support all programs at PBS.

The Spring Benefit is an annual event with ticket sales and sponsorships to cover the cost of the event. The live and silent auctions support faculty salaries, benefits, and professional development, and a Fund-a-Student paddle-raise supports financial aid for families who qualify.

Both are important components of the school’s revenue structure and are integral to meeting our budgetary commitments each year.

Is our gift tax-deductible?

Most likely – though everyone’s tax situation is unique, PBS is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all contributions to the Annual Fund qualify as charitable gifts that are made without exchange for goods or services, in keeping with IRS regulations. The school’s tax ID number is 94-2494458. Each donation is recognized with a formal tax letter that can be used to document the gift for tax purposes.

Why is 100% participation important?

How much should we give?

We hope that each family will make a gift that is meaningful to them and places PBS among their top philanthropic priorities for the year. Everyone has a unique ability to contribute, so we recognize that a meaningful gift will look different for each family. Every gift is important to the school, and every gift makes a difference.

The school asks returning families for a specific amount based on their previous giving history. New families who would like guidance on how much to give are encouraged to reach out to Michael Lavigne Jr. in the Advancement Office to schedule a conversation about how PBS can fit into their philanthropic priorities.

Annual Fund Giving Circles

Illustration of the 7 giving circles at PBS

Here are a few facts about giving in 2019–2020:

Gifts to the Annual Fund range in size from $5 to $100,000, and they fall roughly into categories outlined by the giving circles above.
50 families supported theannual fund at the Head’s Circle level or higher.
These leadership gifts represent 19% of the gifts made and 74% of the funds raised in support of our mission through the Annual Fund last year.

What are corporate matching gifts?

To encourage philanthropy and show their community support, many companies match the charitable donations of their employees; some will even double or triple the size of your gift. You can obtain a matching gift form from your employer. Send the completed form or notification of intent to match to the Advancement Office with your gift. We will complete the form, if needed, and return it to your employer, who then completes the match. Examples of companies that offer matching gifts are Apple, Google, and Intuit. More information is available on the Matching Gifts page on the PBS website, including a search engine to find out if your employer is known to match contributions.

How should we divide our gift between the AF and the COVID Fund?

Returning families

What we are hoping most families will consider is at least matching their previous giving to the Annual Fund – we are counting on the unrestricted support you mentioned to hit our regular budget goals – and then dividing up any supplemental gift in whatever way they prefer.

New Families

Because the Annual Fund is a yearly event, we recommend deciding on a gift level that puts PBS among your top philanthropic priorities and represents a sustainable commitment for coming years. (See the FAQ "How much should we give?" above.)

Once you’ve decided on an annual commitment that feels meaningful and right for your family, we would ask that anything additional you can give this year go to the PBS COVID Fund.

More information for All

Gifts to the COVID Fund can be designated for a specific purpose when you use the online giving form. The designations you can choose are listed here:

Unrestricted
Support faculty and staff
Support financial aid
Support academic resourcing
Support educational technology
Support health, wellness, and cleanliness staffing and equipment

The Annual Fund Co-chairs or the PBS Advancement Team would be glad to discuss any of this in greater detail with you, if you'd like, and answer any other questions you may have. Please reach out using the contact information in the “Getting your questions answered…” section of this page.

Ways to Give

	Pledge or Give Online To make a gift of pledge of any amount now, fill out our secure online forms for the funds below: Annual Fund Spring Benefit - Financial Aid
	Mail a Check Mail your check to: Phillips Brooks School Attn: Advancement Office 2245 Avy Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025 And don't forget to include your contact information, so we can thank you properly!
	Gifts of Appreciated Securities Giving stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares is easy and can come with significant tax benefits. Just follow these instructions.
	Matching Gifts Multiply the power of your gift! Find out if your employer matches donations.
	Wire Transfer Contact the Advancement Office at development@phillipsbrooks.org for instructions.
	Phone in a Gift Contact the Advancement Office at 650-854-4545 x139.