Annual Giving

The annual fund is a campaign that happens each year with nearly all independent schools across the country. It’s our opportunity to be philanthropic. It’s our opportunity to open our hearts and our pocketbooks to a wonderful cause, the education of our children.

But by using the words “gift” and “philanthropy” and “charity”, we sometimes lose focus on the underlying nuts and bolts of the annual fund. Let’s start with some common misconceptions:

• It’s “rainy day” money. No, in fact it’s money the school counts on each and every year for operations.
• It’s “optional”. While it is “optional”, it is also “expected”. Without being optional, it wouldn’t be tax deductible. What does “expected” mean? We collect 85% of the money needed to operate the school through tuition. If there was zero collected through the annual fund, 15% of services would be cut each year. If there was 50% participation from families, then all families participating would need to give twice as much or there would be a cut in services offered.
• It’s easy to give and it’s easy to ask for. It isn’t. Families already pay a considerable amount of money for their Oak Hill education, and the current state of the economy just adds additional strain to family budgets.
• Oak Hill doesn’t need my contribution. This is a dangerous assumption to make. If the school can’t scramble to make up the difference between tuition collected and operational costs, the school operates in the red, and when in the red, the school is at the mercy of bank loans and credit lines. And borrowing money only increases operational costs.
• There is state or federal government $$ that can make up the difference between collected tuition and operating costs. No, there isn’t. We are an independent school, which means we are responsible for 100% of our operating costs.
• The teachers can take a pay cut to fill the difference, they are probably making more than their peers. Actually, Oak Hill teachers make less money than their peers teaching in public schools. Our teachers give their time and energy because they believe in the mission of Oak Hill School.
• There’s too much “fundraising” already. How can I be expected to participate in all that and give to the annual fund? The primary focus each year is to meet the annual fund goal. Everything else that could be considered “fundraising” is what you would find at every other school, popcorn sales and car washes to help the math club or prom committee. The difference between us and other schools is that our status as an independent school make the annual fund a matter of survival.

So what then is the annual fund?

Oak Hill School determines the $$ needed to continue operating. From this figure the “true cost of tuition”* is calculated. The tuition charged to families amounts to 85% of true tuition cost. The remaining portion of tuition is made optional, but not because the school doesn’t need the balance for operations. The reason is to provide the ability for a portion of the tuition to be tax deductible.

“True Cost of Tuition” (100%) = tuition collected from families (85%) + annual fund contribution (15%)

How to calculate the $$ amount of your tax deductible portion of tuition: the contract that you signed to begin your Oak Hill education suggested $2500 per student as the tax deductible portion, but there is a more accurate way to calculate your responsibility due to various discounts and financial aid in use throughout the student body:

TOTAL AMOUNT YOU ARE BILLED ÷ 0.85 = YOUR TOTAL OBLIGATION

For Example, if you are billed $15,000: 15,000/.85 = $17,647

How to make your tax-deductible payment:

• Call or e-mail using the contact information below to arrange a payment
• Make your payment with credit card through paypal

On behalf of each and every member of the Oak Hill community, thank you for ensuring the long-term health and success of Oak Hill School.