Why does St. Benedict's need my money?

St. Benedict's needs contributions, large and small, mainly for two reasons. First, the majority of the students that we want to educate and who need us most cannot afford to pay what it costs us to give them good teachers, lots of extra-curricular activities (which we feel are critical to their success) and good facilities. If you look at our budget, all of the operating expenses, not including debt service, total about $9.2 million each year, and we had 550 students; that means it costs us about $16,800 per student, a cost we could not possibly charge each student. Instead, we charge about $8000 for tuition, and about 65% of the students received financial aid from us to pay that. In the end, we collected about $4.5 million in tuition each year, so we need to obtain the other $4.5 million from other sources. The second impact any gift makes, no matter the size, is it tells us that we have supporters now and will have supporters in the future who believe in what we are doing and who are willing to help us accomplish it, and that alumni feel that St. Benedict's helped them and continues to be an institution worth supporting.

Why can't St. Benedict's largest donors, such as corporations and foundations, give the school all the money it needs?

St. Benedict's is supported tremendously by corporations and foundations (in the 2008-2009 school year, they contributed about $2.1 million out of the $10 million St. Benedict's needed to operate). However, corporations and foundations are more interested in helping those who help themselves. They like to see proof that the people at the school and those who graduated from it believe in the school themselves. The financial contributions of alumni provide that proof, and St. Benedict's is blessed to have grateful alumni.

Here is a breakdown of how St. Benedict's obtained the $10 million that it needed to operate the school in 2008-2009:

Shouldn't I wait until I'm in my 40's and at the top of my career to give a large donation?

What helps St. Benedict's most is knowing that its graduates stand behind their Alma Mater. Any gift, from $1 to $1 million communicates the same message. We ask alumni not to wait until they feel they can make a "respectable" gift. To continue this work day-to-day, we need the morale boost that your support gives us. Giving is always a sacrifice, and we ask alumni to proudly contribute whatever their present income allows.

Why wasn't I listed as a donor in the Annual Report when I sent $20 in to the Alumni Association?

The Alumni Association is a separate entity from St. Benedict's. Though they use St. Benedict's mailing address and work closely with us, the dues that they collect do not go directly to St. Benedict's. Instead, the Alumni Association uses them to pay for the publication of an Alumni Directory every few years and to sponsor such events as reunions at sporting events. Some of the money does go to St. Benedict's, as the Alumni Association often responds to requests from the St. Benedict's teams and clubs for funding for equipment and trips. Paying your annual dues to the Alumni Association makes you an "active" member of the Association, entitling you to a free copy of the Alumni Directory, and other benefits.

Please explain why, if I sent a gift in July, I was not listed in the Annual Report I received the following January?

A "fund year" at St. Benedict's runs from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the next. The Annual Report that you receive in the fall or winter of one year is actually a report on the previous "fund year" which ended June 30. So, if you send a gift in July, your gift will count toward the current " fund year." You will be listed in the Annual Report published the following fall or winter.

Example:
A Gift sent in August 2009 is a gift for the 2009-2010 school year.
The Annual Report for 2008-2009 school year published in November 2009 will not include an August 2009 gift.
A Gift will be reported in Annual Report for 2009-2010, which will be published in November 2010.