The Office of Advancement: Providing Support for Fay School
Fostering our Growth as a Community
F
ay School’s Office of Advancement helps build and maintain connections within the Fay community among our parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends. We also oversee Fay’s fundraising programs, helping the School to realize its primary goals of providing the best possible educational experience for its students and ensuring Fay’s long-term health and continued growth. We are the stewards of Fay’s most important asset: the people who make up this wonderful school community.
The Role of Philanthropy at Fay Like all independent schools, Fay is a gift-supported institution and relies on the generosity of its community to make its program possible. Many who are new to independent schools are surprised to learn that tuition does not cover the expenses of Fay’s daily operations. Only about two-thirds of all of the costs inherent in each student’s school day at Fay—from teacher salaries and technology to art supplies and campus maintenance—are covered by tuition revenue. For this reason, Fay asks its community members to make philanthropic gifts above and beyond tuition—in support of the operating budget and, from time to time, special initiatives that help to move the School forward in significant ways. Each year, Fay families—as well as faculty and staff, former parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends—give to Fay’s Annual Fund, an effort that raises more than $1 million each year in support of the School’s daily operations. Nearly every current Fay family gives to the Annual Fund each year, and individual contributions, which range from $10 to $100,000, are commensurate with each family’s belief in the School’s mission and ability to give. We strive for 100% participation from all members of our community. At certain times when Fay’s strategic plan requires a major capital investment, the School also asks those who are able to make larger, special gifts to Fay. These gifts may be part of a capital campaign (a targeted, multi-year, large-scale fundraising effort) or simply focused on a timely need. Alumni are asked to include Fay in their estate plans, and the Advancement staff can assist anyone interested in considering a gift of personal property, securities, life insurance, or other customized giving vehicles.
Alumni The Office of Advancement encourages a lifelong connection between Fay and its graduates—and every student who has attended Fay, even if only for one year, is considered an alumnus/a of the year he or she would have completed the ninth grade. Through social and professional networking events, class reunions, social media, and topical presentations held around the United States and the world, the Office helps alumni reconnect with old friends and make new ones. From Fay’s oldest graduates to those still in secondary school, we believe that our alumni are our legacy.
Get Involved: The Alumni Council & Class Agents The Alumni Council sponsors alumni events, advises on alumni communications (especially via Facebook, and LinkedIn, and Fay’s website), and helps build our alumni community. Its board nominates and selects new members annually and meets several times a year on campus or by phone. We are always looking for class agents to help strengthen the connection between the School and members of each graduating class. Class agents work closely with our office on alumni events and communications, and they support reunion planning and fundraising efforts.
Parents A primary goal of the Office of Advancement is to help parents feel connected to the School. To this end, we are delighted to help parents who have questions or feedback and to help new Fay families settle in. The Office of Advancement is also the primary liaison for the Fay Parents’ Association and supports the PA’s initiatives.
Get Involved: Fay’s Parents’ Association (PA) An independent volunteer organization, the Parents’ Association coordinates volunteers for school events and activities, staffs the School Store, and hosts monthly Open Parent Meetings that include updates from administrators and special guests. If your child is currently a student at Fay, you are automatically a member of the PA! For more information on becoming part of the PA’s efforts, please visit www.fayschool.org/pa.
Grandparents We acknowledge the powerful role that grandparents can play in our students’ lives, and a highlight each spring is Grandparents’ Day, a joint initiative of the Parents’ Association, the Grandparents’ Association, and the Office of Advancement. For this event, grandparents visit the School for a day of activities and special performances.
Get Involved: Fay Grandparents’ Association If you are a Fay grandparent, then you are a member of the Grandparents’ Association! Each year, the chairs of the Grandparents’ Association assist in the design of Grandparents’ Day and advise on how Fay can tap into grandparents’ expertise as program resources and volunteers.
Volunteer Leadership Fay relies on the passion, dedication, and expertise of its volunteers to guide the School as it continues to grow and keep pace with the ever-changing needs of our students.
Fay’s Board of Trustees Fay’s volunteer governing body, the Board of Trustees, is open to new members by special invitation and is composed of alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. It oversees the School’s fiscal health and program growth, and it sets the School’s strategic course. New members are nominated to the Board of Trustees annually and elected at the Annual Meeting in May. The Board of Trustees meets three times a year, with some committees meeting as often as every month.
Board of Visitors Established in 2010, Fay’s Board of Visitors is also open to new members by special invitation. Its members become familiar with Fay’s program and advise the Head of School on matters of timely importance. The Board of Visitors is invited to several special events a year, including a spring Annual Meeting. We encourage all members of the Fay community to get involved in the daily life of the School by participating in one of our affinity volunteer groups. Our staff welcomes your questions at advancement@fayschool.org.
About Fay School Fay School is an independent co-educational school serving students in PreKindergarten through grade nine. Fay offers a broad and balanced academic program that provides enduring skills for a changing world. The boarding program, an option for students in grades seven through nine, is an integral part of school life, uniting students from across the United States and around the world in a lively, diverse, and truly multicultural community. Fay School admits students of any race, color, religion or creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic background, age, or with any disability that can be reasonably accommodated by the School, to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at Fay School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of such factors in the administration of its educational policies, employment policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs, athletics, or other school administered programs.
48 Main Street Southborough, MA 01772 508.490.8201 www.fayschool.org