Category: Giving

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Giving Uncategorized

Sharing Support and Smiles

By Julie Riggs,
English Chair, Lakehill Preparatory School

I love North Texas Giving Day and look forward to it every year.  There are eight or ten institutions I like to support, including my own dear Lakehill Preparatory School. The bargain-hunter in me enjoys knowing that I can give more than I otherwise might since the Communities Foundation will boost my little gifts, and the occasion gives me a special day to be a philanthropist and patron of the arts in my own small way.

I recently heard a radio report about people who choose not to register because they believe their votes make no difference, and it would be easy to rationalize that my minute contributions make no discernible difference in the vast ledger of need and opportunity– I may personally never see evidence of a single benefit arising from my gifts.

But giving makes a difference to me. My heart sings while I deliberate on how to distribute my support and smiles with contentment when the deed is done. But even more important, giving itself makes a difference. With so much generosity in the air, cynicism and greed themselves must give ground, and the world truly becomes a brighter place.

 

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Giving

Why do we need an Annual Fund?

By Lacie Kuhn
Lakehill Preparatory School, Director of Development

Most people don’t realize that at any private school, tuition only covers part of the total cost of educating each student. An Annual Fund is essential to closing that gap. Each year we look to our supporters for donations that have an immediate and meaningful impact, keeping Lakehill the unique campus we know and love.

But what, exactly, does the Annual Fund, well, fund?

  • The student experience—it makes possible the athletic teams, clubs, extracurricular activities, and academic teams that give students a well-rounded, complete experience.
  • Faculty support—it allows the school to offer competitive salaries, benefits, and facilities, making Lakehill more able to attract and retain qualified, passionate leaders.
  • Safety—it ensures students are safe from drop-off to pick-up every day, by maintaining security presence at both campuses.
  • Advanced training—it gives every faculty and staff member access to the latest seminars and training materials, ensuring they can stay current in their field.
  • Curriculum support—it provides the resources to research and maintain an updated curriculum, and add in new class offerings in response to student interest, as well as to stay ahead of current academic trends.
  • Financial aid—it helps bring extraordinary student talent to Lakehill.
  • Technology and Resources—it creates flexible and collaborative learning spaces for students and faculty to work in, including helping to provide current research and technical materials.

The Annual Fund Campaign is the most popular and important vehicle through which our supporters give to Lakehill. Your donation goes to work immediately, helping to ensure that one more Warrior achieves their ultimate goal of becoming a Lakehill graduate and attending the college of their choice.

We are proud of Lakehill’s reputation for being a “Small Place where you can do Big Things.” That applies to the Annual Fund as well. Your gift will make a Big Impact – I encourage you to look around at our students and see for yourself who the Annual Fund supports. It’s an investment in the leaders of tomorrow.

If you have questions about the Annual Fund Campaign, why to give, or any other questions about donating to Lakehill, please contact Director of Development and Alumni Relations Lacie Kuhn, at lkuhn@lakehillprep.org.

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Giving

We’re ALL in!

 

By Ray Dent
Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Lakehill Preparatory School

 

I’ve served in a position of Director for educational Development, Advancement and Alumni Relations for just about two decades now. Three quarters of that time was spent in university undergraduate and post-graduate institutions. My experiences in those arenas have given me a unique perspective regarding the special place children, families and educators have in Lakehill Preparatory School.

It is refreshing to be in an environment where the faculty and administrators are not only talented, but also totally committed to the students. This is a place where children actually want to go to school and enjoy learning new things. I’ve never worked at a place where the families, and not just immediate parents, but grandparents and parents of former students, as well, will get involved on so many levels and support the school with their time and their money.

Their solid financial support of the Annual Fund Campaign each year is a major factor in the vitality of this special place. It is so important to Lakehill’s wellbeing that, for the sixth consecutive year, 100% of the Faculty and Staff have already made personal gifts to the Annual Fund.

Thursday, 9.22.16, Lakehill Prep will partner with The Communities Foundation of Texas for North Texas Giving Day to support Lakehill’s Annual Giving Fund. From 6:00 a.m. to Midnight that day, all gifts designated to Lakehill Preparatory School through North Texas Giving Day will go to the Annual Fund Campaign. These tax-deductible gifts will also be eligible for “Bonus Funds” through The Communities Foundation of Texas.

Be part of keeping Lakehill Prep a special place for children, families and educators by giving generously on 9.22.16 at NorthTexasGivingDay.org.

#NTxGivingDay   #WEareALLin

 

LAKEHILL GIVNG HEADERpdf

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Giving Uncategorized

To Which Should I Give? Annual Fund or Capital Campaign?

By Ray Dent
Director of Development and Alumni Relations

Good question! In order to formulate the proper answer, one should understand the difference between the two Campaigns.

The Annual Fund Campaign is vital each year because tuition at Lakehill is insufficient to pay for all of the institution’s educational operating costs. There are four options to overcome this:

1. Raise tuition –

which would put Lakehill at a disadvantage competing with schools that rely on endowment income and/or charitable giving to cover their tuition shortfalls.

2. Year-end financial assessment for families to cover actual costs –

which would have the same effect as 1. above.

3. Rely on large endowment to provide ongoing additional funds, –

unfortunately, Lakehill does not yet have a large endowment.

4. Annual Fund Campaign –

which allows the Lakehill Family to donate money, at whatever level is appropriate for them, to be used where it is most needed for the school’s educational operating costs. A significant factor is that, unlike the tuition or assessment options, donations to the Annual Fund Campaign are tax-deductible.

The Opening Doors Capital Campaign is a specific, one-time effort to raise money for the essential expansion and renovation of the original Lakehill building which, after four and one-half decades, has reached its maximum capacity. For this sorely-needed project, members of the Lakehill Family are asked to make a tax-deductible gift that is in addition to their ongoing support of the Annual Fund Campaign. Generous gifts to this campaign may be paid over a three year period. Because this is an effort to raise capital for construction that will open doors of opportunity for current and future students, there are naming opportunities that will provide permanent donor recognition.

So the proper answer for “To which should I give?” is, of course, BOTH. Each campaign is essential for the wellbeing of this great school. However, it is important to remember that every year Lakehill Prep relies on generous gifts to the Annual Fund Campaign to meet the needs of our students. Therefore, Lakehill Family members should always give to the Annual Fund Campaign FIRST.

 

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Giving

Impact Upon Your Children

By Ray Dent
Director of Development and Alumni Relations
Lakehill Preparatory School

The Fall 2014 issue of Milestones Magazine was released this week entitled Donor Impact  2013-2014 Gratitude Report. In describing this special issue LPS Headmaster, Roger L. Perry, wrote, “It provides an opportunity for us to highlight the positive difference our supporters have made in this great school and in the lives of the children we serve.”

The entire magazine is a series of “Reflections” on the positive impact all the people who supported Lakehill Preparatory School last year had upon the children we educate within these walls. Those who gave so generously their money, time and talents are recognized in articles and pictures throughout the publication.

Some of the best parts of my job are getting to work with our donors and volunteers. I know how much they give to our school and I weigh the direct impact their generosity has upon our students.

However, some of the other best parts of my job are getting to work with our exceptional faculty. There are twenty of them on the cover of Milestones with a banner thanking YOU for having a positive impact upon their students last year. Combined, those twenty faculty members have a total of four hundred years of Lakehill service making a positive impact upon our students. I believe everyone should also give each of them a special Thank YOU!   

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Giving

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

By Ray Dent
Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Lakehill Preparatory School

The first academic class in the USAF Undergraduate Pilot Course is Physiological Training. The object of the curriculum is to teach about the human body and the effects of supersonic, high altitude aviation upon it. On the first day, I looked around at a full classroom and realized that every other new person there was as apprehensive as I.

We snapped to attention when the salty old instructor entered the room. He told us to be seated then presented a concept that I’ve remembered for a long time. He began with the question, “Is it physiologically possible for a human to consume an adult African elephant?”

After receiving no definitive answer, he turned to me and asked, “Lieutenant, how do you eat an elephant!?”

I jumped to attention with the brilliant response, “Sir, I do not know, sir.”

“One bite at a time, Lieutenant!” He barked. “That’s how you do it. It is physically possible for a human to eat an elephant; it’s even possible for a shave-tail lieutenant to get through Pilot Training, if you just take it one bite at a time.”

This lesson came across my mind last week at the Halloween Carnival when a parent, new to Lakehill, was asking me about the Annual Fund Campaign. She had received our request for help in the mail and wanted to participate, but was concerned that she might not be able to make a very meaningful gift before the end of the year.

I suggested that she might consider making a pledge on the form and fulfilling the gift in smaller payments throughout the coming year. She was relieved when I explained that many people are able to make a more significant gift by paying off a pledge in smaller increments quarterly, bi-monthly, monthly or whatever is convenient for their situation. Many of the faculty and I make our Annual Fund Campaign gifts by monthly payroll deduction…one bite at a time.