Next week, on Tuesday 30th September, we will be launching the Mulgrave 2008/09 Annual Fund Campaign. This campaign is run by the school’s Advancement Office and is the one and only time in the year when we ask you to make an outright philanthropic gift to the school.  We are giving the Annual Fund renewed focus this year with the aim of raising total revenue income through increased parent participation.  This is because a young Mulgrave School has matured to the point where we need to be able to match the level of philanthropy present at this country’s other great independent schools if we are to compete on all levels, including supporting families who may not have the means to afford a superior education.

The Annual Fund does not pretend to be anything other than what it is: an appeal for your support as the parent community of this school in assisting us, financially, to enrich the educational experience we offer to your children and to build a great school.

Fact:

The operating budget for the current 2008/09 school year includes fundraising income of nearly $500K.  This represents 5% of total student tuition, meaning your fees only pay for 95% of what it actually costs to provide a quality programme to your child.  This compares favourably with 8% supplementation at comparative independent schools in the Lower Mainland.  Like these other schools, we rely on philanthropic giving to ’bridge the gap’ between a standard education and an exceptional one.

Fact:

We pay out nearly one million dollars in bond interest to our parents every year and these funds come from our annual operating budget.  The bond programme is what built Mulgrave School. The outstanding campus and facilities we enjoy today have largely been financed through this capital investment scheme and it certainly proved to be wise financially, given that our facility is now worth many times what it cost eight years ago. But the scheme also constitutes a debt to our parents and takes directly from our operating budget in the form of bond interest payments and bond redemptions.

There are two direct ways in which you can support the Annual Fund: 

• you can respond to the online request for a contribution
• you can return the bond interest payment which will be made by the school on 1st October

What would this mean?  Among other things like facility enhancement, it would mean we can increase the budgets available to your children’s teachers – providing them with more professional development, more resources for their classrooms and the ability to take their programmes to levels most teachers only dream of – all in an effort to ensure your children have the most positive and effective education possible.

As is often the case in realizing a dream as great as the Mulgrave one, the initial impetus has come from a few people on a large scale.  This has been the tradition of Annual Giving at Mulgrave.  If we are to move our school into its next phase of growth, then this needs to change.  We need every family in the school to become a stakeholder in the very present future of the school by supporting our Annual Fund.  We ask you to do this because you know the value of a truly superior quality of education and of the potential impact of a truly great school and you want both of these things for your children - and your children’s children.

In conclusion, I have three good news announcements!

• every member of the Board of Directors has pledged support for the Annual Fund 
• over 55% of staff has already made a contribution 
• the MVP have pledged the net proceeds of the upcoming Fall Fair to the Annual Fund!

Please join us! Watch for the launch of Mulgrave’s 2008/09 Annual Fund next week and help us to achieve our $305K target by making your annual gift to the school.

Thank you. 

Sincerely,

Tony Macoun
Head of School
tmacoun@mulgrave.com