Giving to MPCS : Mount Paran Christian School

Giving to MPCS

… academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment …

The Need

As an independent school, Mount Paran Christian School, (MPCS), has two forms of operating income: tuition and charitable contributions.

Contrary to popular belief, tuition does not cover the full cost of educating each student. It takes a combination of tuition and charitable donations to provide the distinctives that independent school education offers: small classes, exemplary teachers, resources that many public schools cannot offer, exceptional offerings in exploratory subjects, more personal attention, an unapologetically Christian environment, and so much more.

Paying tuition gives your child access to all of this. Charitable gifts are necessary to help sustain and expand it. In addition, charitable contributions support the Financial Aid Fund, capital projects, special programs, and endowment.

Ways of Giving

Annual Fund Campaign

Designed to kick off each fall, the Annual Fund Campaign raises unrestricted money to support the operating budget, which includes instructional materials, programming, equipment and technology, as well as faculty salaries, faculty development and facility maintenance. The AFC is the primary means to make up the difference between what is paid in tuition and the real cost of educating each student. The Annual Fund is tax-deductible where tuition is not. Gifts to the Annual Fund also help the Financial Aid Fund: 10% of what the Annual Fund raises goes into the Financial Aid Fund.

Click here to learn more about the Annual Fund Campaign.

Major Gifts

Major gift contributions support specific projects, equipment or programs (typically capital needs that are not part of the operating budget). Major gifts may not always be associated with a capital campaign. For more information on major gift opportunities, please contact Jennifer New, MPCS Director of Development, at 770-578-0182 or by e-mail.

Capital Campaign

Held periodically to fund capital projects such as buildings and building expansions, capital campaigns are project-specific three-to-five year endeavors that do not supersede the Annual Fund Campaign; they are held concurrently.

The Building a Future on a Solid Foundation Campaign (2001-2003) was the school's first capital campaign, and allowed construction of the buildings, infrastructure and athletic fields for the new campus, which opened in September 2003. In the first two years on the new campus, enrollment increased dramatically, surpassing original five-year projections in the second year.

MPCS is currently in the early stages of a capital campaign to make critical expansions to our campus.

Financial Aid Fund

Tuition assistance for deserving students is a need at MPCS. A Board approved portion of the MPCS budget combined with 10% of Annual Fund make up the Financial Aid Fund.

Charitable contributions toward this fund are greatly needed and greatly appreciated. However, contributions cannot be designated for specific students. All donations toward this program go into the general Financial Aid Fund. The donations are pooled with existing funds to allocate to students in need who have applied for aid and have met the criteria.

Endowment

An Endowment is a permanent fund that is created for the perpetual upkeep and benefit of an institution. Endowment funds are invested so that a portion of the income is used for operations or other specified purposes, but the majority (or principal) stays intact. Most organizations that have created large endowments have done so over a long period of time and through ongoing work. The largest endowments are usually built through working with donors in the areas of estate planning. For every $1 million in endowment, an organization typically receives $50,000 in annual income.

MPCS does not currently have an endowment fund. For an actively-managed endowment account, the School would need a minimum of $750,000. Thanks to the generosity of a major donor, MPCS has recently begun accumulating donations toward endowment. These funds, along with any other endowment-specific donations that come in, will be kept in a restricted account until an official MPCS Endowment Fund is created.

Gift Categories

Unrestricted gifts: gifts without specific restrictions; use determined by the school
Restricted gifts: gifts where purpose is designated by the donor (restricted gifts are accepted based on their consistency with the school's mission, goals and priorities).
Gifts in Kind: gifts of tangible personal property that are in good condition, useful in educational programming, and/or readily salable. It is the donor's responsibility to place a value on an in-kind gift for tax purposes.
Honor/Memorial gifts: gifts in honor or in memory of an individual(s) or family. The Development Office will notify the honoree(s) and/or the family of those remembered. Efforts involving the physical placement of a plaque, tree, or other items in memorial or tribute of someone must be submitted for approval to the Development Office and be coordinated with the overall campus plan for donor recognition.
Naming Gifts: naming gifts should equal at least 51% of the total construction costs of a facility, and are accepted based on their consistency with the school's mission, goals and priorities. A similar formula is used for the naming of rooms or other sections of a facility.

Gift Management

Acknowledgement of gifts: All donations to MPCS should be submitted to the Development Office. The gift will be entered into the school's donor management system and the check or cash will be given to the Business Office for deposit. The Development Office will acknowledge and thank all donors promptly for their support, either by receipt, letter, telephone call or all three.
Non-cash gifts: Unless otherwise requested by the donor or the Board, all marketable securities will be sold upon receipt. Salable gifts in-kind that cannot be used for educational purposes will be sold as soon as practical.
Pledges: A pledge will be considered a gift to MPCS only if it is documented in writing with a signature, a specific dollar amount, and a fixed payment schedule. A pledge does not provide the donor with an income tax deduction until the year in which it is paid.
Stewardship of gifts: MPCS will use gifts as donors request and will update donors regularly on the usage of their gift. In addition, MPCS will notify donors if we cannot continue to honor the intent of their gift.
Confidentiality: Based upon the donor's preference, the Development Office will ensure privacy and confidentiality regarding any large gifts, anonymous gifts, inability to fulfill a pledge and potential future gifts.

Donor Recognition

Gift clubs of varying levels recognize unrestricted annual gifts, and may involve premium gifts
Special gift societies recognize major donors (i.e. Leadership Donors at $2,500 and above).
Plaques and other permanent tangible acknowledgements will be placed where appropriate and in conjunction with the overall campus plan for donor recognition
An Annual Report will publish donors names, provide a general statement of revenues and expenses and give an overview of institutional accomplishments for the completed year