A Letter from MKA's Director of Development
Dear MKA Parents,
I am delighted to announce that the 2011-2012 Annual Fund Campaign has reached its overall goal of 90% participation among current parents. Thank you to all of the volunteers and generous donors who transformed parent giving and moved the Annual Fund to unprecedented levels.
At the beginning of the fiscal year, a group of determined parent volunteers and staff gathered together to challenge the School community to meet the participation rates set by Faculty and Staff. Never before had parent participation exceeded 55% overall and a jump of 35 percentage points was viewed as an impossible dream! Under the excellent leadership of Annual Giving Co-Chairs Denise Wagner and Jim Leitner, and through an organized communication effort that included letters, emails and periodic mini phonathons, these preconceptions fell swiftly to the wayside, and an entirely new environment of philanthropy emerged.
Why was this year so remarkable? Among the factors motivating current parents were two separate challenge gifts of $12,000 each. The first one involved a group of generous parents of seniors who volunteered to provide additional funds once the entire cohort of 12th grade parents met the 90% goal. The second incentive was provided by Annual Fund leadership and was timed to coincide with the final weeks of our campaign, matching new and increased gifts on a 1:1 basis up to $12,000. These two strategies combined to produce $24,000 in additional support to MKA, and they stimulated hundreds of new gifts. In all, the 2011-2012 Annual Fund will easily exceed its budgeted revenue goal of $1.2 million.
After such a concentrated push to increase participation in the Annual Fund one might ask what is its impact on our students? Independent schools like MKA are evaluated among their peers, and parent participation in annual giving is a key indicator of organizational health. The Annual Fund provides broad-based, undesignated support for the School’s current operations, and it closes the gap between tuition revenues and operating expenses. This year alone, the Annual Fund has provided support for key academic initiatives, athletics, the arts, faculty development and campus maintenance.
Moving forward, it becomes our responsibility to maintain robust participation in annual giving from all sources – parents, faculty and employees, and alumni. At the same time, we must demonstrate that we are good stewards of these gifts, and show everyone that Montclair Kimberley Academy has the talent and resources to compete among the top ranks of independent schools nationwide.
Thank you again for your generosity and positive spirit!
With warmest regards,
Geoffrey Branigan
Director of Development and External Affairs