The ESD Fund
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"We support ESD because of their commitment to the whole child." esd grandparent |
The ESD Fund is the highest fundraising priority and the school's first ask to the ESD community. It provides unrestricted support to the operating budget, and donors can direct their gift(s) among ESD's eight institutional priorities. |
See If Your Employer Will Match Your Gift
You can make a bigger impact with a matching gift! Several companies will match their employees' gifts to qualified non-profits like ESD. Use the gift-matching calculator below to see if your company has a matching gift program.
FAQs
Please review the frequently asked questions below for more information. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact Kam Bakewell, Director of The ESD Fund and Special Projects.
| Where do The ESD Fund dollars go? |
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| The ESD Fund is fundamental to the School’s operating budget each year. Therefore, dollars raised ensure that the school can attract and support excellent faculty and staff, offer dynamic programming, and allow students access to technology. In these ways, the funds help to maintain small classroom sizes and makes possible professional development opportunities for our faculty and staff. The ESD Fund also enables the institution to offer financial aid opportunities that foster community. |
| Why should I support The ESD Fund? |
| Your gift is both a symbol and a tangible vote of confidence. It enables the leadership of the school to move forward with plans for the year. When our entire community embraces participation and generosity, we create the ESD experience that we all value and treasure. |
| How does it fit into the ESD business model? |
| The ESD Fund offers a tax-deductible opportunity to augment tuition revenue that supports the school’s operating budget. It allows the ESD community—parents, alumni, faculty, staff, board members, grandparents and friends of all financial circumstances—the ability to support the life of the school. This is a common practice for most independent schools throughout the country and is becoming more valuable as we continue to face challenging economic times and rising expenses. |
| What is the difference between The ESD Fund and other fundraising efforts hosted by the Parents’ Association? |
All giving to ESD is greatly appreciated and offers important support to various areas of school life. The ESD Fund is a budgeted fundraising priority of the school because it offers significant, unrestricted operating support to ESD on a yearly basis. Other fundraising efforts hosted by the Parents’ Association, Booster Club, and other parent volunteer groups raise restricted dollars for special projects to build community and offer other ways for families to give of their time and resources to the school. These donations are counted toward your total contribution to the school but do not count for participation in The ESD Fund. |
| Why give more this year than last year? |
| The Board of Directors and Head of School are committed to minimizing tuition increases while continuing to offer every student an excellent education. The majority of any school budget is applied to people and facility maintenance, leaving little flexibility due to those fixed costs. The cost of providing an excellent education continues to increase significantly, putting pressure on the budget. We ask those who can stretch to please do so, given that not everyone can due to their current circumstances. |
| What is the “Family of Funds” and how is it different from The ESD Fund? |
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The Family of Funds is a subset of The ESD Fund. We believe you want to know exactly what your gifts accomplish and how they will be directed to the School’s expenses. The Family of Funds provides the opportunity to match your personal philanthropic preferences to ESD’s operating budget. When you make a gift to The ESD Fund, you will have the opportunity to direct that gift to one of the eight funds in the Family of Funds:
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"In honor of all of ESD's faculty and staff, from gate to gate, that find the motivation every day to show up, lead, protect, and inspire our kids to discover and live their highest purpose. From every Eagle parent, we thank you!"
current esd parent
Giving Societies
We aim to have every ESD community member demonstrate their support for our students and faculty through participation in The ESD Fund. Together, we can ensure that our students receive the distinctive ESD programming that sets our school apart.
Only you know what a meaningful gift is to your family. Your participation at any level helps ensure the success of our campaign and communicates your commitment to sustaining and strengthening ESD for future generations.
| SOCIETAS FIDELIUM |
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| 1974 young alumni leadership |
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| society '74 |
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| additional gift levels |
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| Special Recognitions |
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Societas FideliumLaunched in 2019, The ESD Fund established Societas Fidelium (Society of Loyalty) to honor donors whose annual gifts help sustain ESD's mission. For inclusion, gifts must be made by November 1 of the giving school year. Society '74Society '74, named in honor of the year ESD was founded, was launched in 2014 to recognize leadership annual giving to The ESD Fund. Each spring, the Hobson Family Head of School Dave Baad and the Chair of the Board of Directors honors Society ’74 donors at a special reception in honor of leadership giving. |
At ESD, we celebrate a tradition of philanthropy dating back 50 years. This culture of giving elevates our school to new heights and ensures that ESD can deliver on its mission and offer outstanding learning experiences for all students.
