Giving Getting Involved A Parent’s Guide to

and

Generous

A Community Supports Gill St. Bernard’s Mission GSB’s mission drives all that we do: To provide a balanced, diverse, and secure community that prepares students academically, socially, and ethically for college and a meaningful life. A tall order, to be sure, but one that GSB continues to meet each year—due to the generous support and partnership of parents like you. Since the school’s inception, every generation of parents has taken up the charge set forth by our founding institutions: to support the school with gifts of time, treasure, and talent. Your commitment to GSB ensures an exceptional experience for your sons and daughters because we can do so much more for each student. This brochure outlines the many ways in which you can become more involved in the life of this special place. Your participation and generosity will make a difference, not only for our students, but for our entire school community. We look forward to partnering with you.

To thrive, every school needs an active volunteer network and strong financial support. Historically, GSB has been the benefactor of an engaged and generous parent body, and we warmly welcome your participation. So, how can you get involved? The answer is threefold.

How Can

You

Get Involved?

Engaged Parenting

Staying involved in the small and large events in your child’s school life helps your child and our school succeed. We encourage you to talk with your child about homework and friends, ask about his/her school day, participate in your child’s course selection, communicate with your child’s advisors, attend college counseling sessions for parents, and visit the website on a regular basis, to name a few. There are many ways to stay connected to GSB through your child’s school experience.

Active Participation

Opportunities abound for you to play an active role in your child’s education at GSB. Active participation takes on many different forms, including: volunteering on campus, in the classroom, selling concessions in Emmitt Lodge during a game, helping with special events such as Homecoming/Family Day and our Parents’ Association (PA) Fashion Event, supporting PA Faculty Appreciation Week, and cheering for our students on stage and on the playing fields. We encourage every GSB parent to become an active member of the GSB community and in their child’s school life—because that will not only enrich your child’s experience, but yours as well!

Financial Support

Everything we do at GSB depends on tuition income and generous contributions from people like you. We hope that being part of the GSB community will help you feel fully invested in the life and work of our school. Along with being fully engaged in school activities, we hope you will choose to support our financial endeavors by contributing to the GSB Fund.

Since the school’s inception, every generation of parents has taken up the charge set forth by our founding institutions: to support the school with gifts of time, treasure, and talent.

Parents Association

Ways to

Volunteer

There are definite benefits to being part of the GSB Parents’ Association. Throughout the school year, the PA hosts numerous events and activities, from guest speakers to a fabulous fashion show. All serve to build school community and lasting friendships. Whether you attend an occasional meeting, or want to make a greater commitment through volunteering on one of the PA committees, the PA offers opportunities to suit every talent and schedule. To learn more, join us at the PA Welcome Breakfast in September. Your efforts are important and are truly appreciated! For more information, contact: Director of Parent Relations & Special Events Jen Doherty at 908.234.1611, x219 or jdoherty@gsbschool.org.

Parent

Admission Network

Help us use our most powerful marketing tool—word of mouth—to support GSB’s Admission Office. Our Parent Ambassadors are some of our most passionate advocates. Leading efforts in communicating our vision, they share their own GSB experiences with prospective parents during admission receptions, Open Houses, and while conducting family tours throughout the year. For more information, contact: Director of Admission & Financial Aid Sarah Rowland at 908.234.1611, x247 or srowland@gsbschool.org.

Athletics Booster Club

Get closer to the action, and channel your athletic spirit! The GSB Boosters assist coaches through the team parent program, with team coordination, photography, concessions, school-wide spirit days, post-season celebrations, and so much more. The Booster Club is instrumental in raising school spirit and awareness of our teams’ efforts throughout the entire community. We invite you to learn more. For more information, contact: Director of Athletics Will Taylor at 908.234.1611, x223 or wtaylor@gsbschool.org.

The

Arts

Get your backstage pass by supporting all of our arts programs—from the fall play to the spring musical, the Annual Art Show, and the myriad of concerts across all divisions—the arts are a vital part of a GSB education—enriching the student experience and the life of the school. There are so many ways to support the arts at GSB—building sets, painting scenery, sewing costumes, designing programs, assisting with rehearsals, and more. Come on out and join the fun! For more information, contact: Assistant Director/Producer of the Performing Arts Todd Ross at 908.234.1611, x432 or tross@gsbschool.org.

Alumni Connections

Alumni connections are a meaningful way in which the world truly becomes our classroom. Alumni are encouraged to return to campus to serve as guest speakers, host internships, and participate in the Upper School Career Panel so that students can benefit from their knowledge and experience. Alumni are also encouraged to connect with each other through activities, such as regional events and alumni weekend festivities. As we continue to grow our alumni program, we encourage alumni and parents to consider helping students and young alumni explore a variety of career opportunities. For more information on how you can help, contact: Director of Alumni Relations Chanelle Walker at 908.234.1611, ext. 292 or cwalker@gsbschool.org.

The GSB Fund

Opportunities to

Give

As an independent school, GSB is truly self-supporting. The GSB Fund is the fundamental foundation upon which our strong financial health is built, while it continues to provide timely resources for enriching today’s programs and curriculum. To facilitate annual giving at GSB, specific funding areas now are identified. These opportunities to invest in your child’s education, in ways that are meaningful to you and your philanthropic goals, also inform what your gift makes possible for our school. With this, your gift becomes visible, tangible, and transparent in supporting everyday life at GSB. The funding designations are: Academic and Program Development; Arts; Athletics; Faculty Development; Home Winds; Scholarship/Financial Aid; Technology; and Area of Greatest Need. It is your gift that ensures the GSB experience for our current students continues to be transformative in growth and expansion. It is also your gift that paves the way for a vibrant, strong, and solid GSB future.

Capital Campaigns

Major Gifts

Building the Performing Arts and Community Center (PACC), renovating the former theater into the St. Bernard’s School (SBS) Pavilion, and constructing the majestic globe which brings to life the school’s motto, “The World is Our Classroom,” represent the school’s magnificent progress in fulfilling GSB’s long-range campus master plan. Through the generosity of the GSB community, our school is now a bucolic collegiate-like showcase whose prestigious buildings and grounds have come to mirror the strength and quality of the academic programs we provide. These improvements were from designated gifts made by many generous supporters over the years. We are proud to celebrate the recent completion of our Delivering the Future Campaign, wherein we raised over $20M and, in fact, over the past 15 years, GSB raised an impressive $45M in meeting its goals. And, as we continue looking toward the future and planning innovative and exciting ways to grow our school, we know that our work is not yet done.

The GSB Major Gifts program is an ongoing effort to raise funds for capital projects and endowment. One of this year’s fundraising goals is to increase the school’s endowment, which currently provides approximately $520,000 (through interest income earned) to the annual operating budget. As the endowment grows, GSB will be able to rely less on tuition, and this enables us to secure for future generations of GSB students the opportunities that today’s students enjoy. Named, endowed funds may be established to support scholarships and financial aid, specific programs, and faculty chairs. Outright gifts made over several years, gifts of appreciated securities or trust arrangements, or planned gifts, such as bequests, insurance policies, and other gift vehicles may be established. For more information on the school’s endowment investment and spending policies, and for creative ways to make major gifts to the school, contact: Director of Institutional Advancement Meredith Marks or 908.234.1611, x 210 or mmarks@gsbschool.org.

Why does GSB need to raise money?

Simply put, as with most independent schools, tuition does not cover the cost of a GSB education. This year, 89% of the School’s operating budget is funded with tuition dollars. The rest is funded through tax-deductible giving and investment income. A gap of $4,000 per child is not covered by tuition. That difference must be met through fundraising for the GSB Fund. Additionally, expenses such as construction and improvement of facilities and capital assets are not funded by tuition.

Are you saying that tuition doesn’t cover everything?

That’s right. Tuition does not cover the cost of running Gill St. Bernard’s School. The cost of a GSB education—the majority of which is comprised of the salaries and benefits of our faculty and staff—is higher than what the school charges for tuition. So, in a sense, each GSB student receives “partial tuition financial aid”—paid for, in part, by the GSB Fund.

Tuition is expensive – why not just charge a little more & cover your costs?

Frequently Asked

Questions

If tuition were the only source of school funding, it would cost an average of around $4,000 more per student. We understand how challenging this could be for many of our families and, for some, prohibitive. That is why the school depends on the generosity of families like yours to help meet our commitments and serve all our students. Gifts to the GSB Fund and to the endowment keep tuition increases manageable for all our families.

Who is asked to contribute to the GSB Fund?

Everyone in the GSB school community—trustees, faculty and staff, alumni, parents, grandparents, parents of alumni, and friends of the school—is asked to contribute. Each fall we appeal to our community members to make a gift or pledge payable by June 30. The Annual Report on Philanthropy, published in November, provides recognition acknowledgments and a visible report on the impact of these generous gifts.

How much does GSB expect me to give?

Each gift supports current year programming. We ask our community members to participate in a way that is meaningful for their family. Last year the GSB Fund raised approximately $1,000,000. The average parent gift was $1,750, and parent contributions accounted for 52% of the GSB Fund total. Gifts of all sizes are appreciated, for every gift serves to amplify the next. Remember, a gift of $25 pays for an online subscription to National Geographic Magazine, or a gift of $5 buys a teacher a set of white-board markers. GSB is truly grateful for every gift.

What is considered Leadership Giving?

Contributions of $1,000 or more to the GSB Fund are considered Leadership Gifts and donors at that level become members of the *Vita Society, recognizing members of the GSB community who have made an extraordinary commitment to the school. Such gifts made up 90% of the GSB Fund last year.

How can I make a gift?

Cash and Pledges – Gifts and pledge payments can be made by cash, check, credit card, and/or through the transfer of stocks and securities. Payment online is convenient and accessible through the “Support” section of the GSB website at www.gsbschool.org/give. Once there, you can make your gift via our secure server. The GSB Fund annually runs July 1 through June 30. Gifts-in-Kind – Tangible items, such as equipment and supplies are considered gifts-in-kind when given to the school or sold to the school at a discount. Every year, numerous gifts, small and large, fall into this category. Gifts-in-kind are tax deductible and donors are recognized in the Annual Report. For questions, please contact Meredith Marks, 908.234.1611, x210 or mmarks@gsbschool.org.

Does the GSB Fund really benefit students?

It really does. In some way, every aspect of school life is backed by the GSB Fund. Everything from salaries to scholarships, from team equipment to test-tubes, is provided in part by gifts to the GSB Fund. Financially speaking, the generosity of GSB Fund donors supports every student. Every gift, every year, makes the difference.

*Vita Society – The open book with the Latin word Vita in GSB’s crest represents the search for truth through study.

Gladstone, NJ Preschool – Grade 12 • gsbschool.org

For more information, contact: Director of Institutional Advancement Meredith Marks at 908.234.1611, x 210 or mmarks@gsbschool.org.