<p>My daughter was just accepted to a "hidden gem" school with significant financial aid which we are v. grateful for. We still have a substantial "parent portion" and would like to budget for our school contribution, as I suspect there really isn't going to be a convenient time to write another check. Financial fortune cookie predicts ramen-bake, ramen-fry and ramen-fricasee for the forseeable future. Are fund solicitations generally annual or sort of ongoing? A particular time of the year? I know the amount of donation a family gives is an intensely personal decision based on numerous factors, siblings in bs, etc.; however, can anyone provide a baseline recommendation? A certain percentage of your FA award, perhaps? grazie mille!</p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>There is usually an annual fund solicitation. The school’s overall rate of participation is important. If your child received significant financial aid, the school would appreciate a very modest donation.</p>
<p>Wait until they ask - next winter probably. And then donate whatever you feel comfortable with. Although the amount obviously matters, 100% parent participation matters even more!</p>
<p>P.S. Please post recipe for “ramen-fricasee.”</p>
<p>I will jump in on this one, though I am not sure how helpful I will be. We recieve a considerable amount of aid and have for the past two years given to the annual fund (that is the only time we have been asked to give). I have always been slightly embaressed by how little we can give considering how much aid we get, but I have always felt what ever we have given has been appreciated by the school. </p>
<p>I am a strong believer in giving what you can. Even though it might not be much now, I hope that in the years to come when my children have graduated from the school I can still give a small amount to them. I doubt this really answers your question, but I do believe (maybe naively so) that most schools do understand that not evey family can give as much as they would like to and that something is better than nothing.</p>
<p>Is the 100% participation important because it confirms that everyone supports the school’s mission? Are results published somewhere and 100% conveys a prestige of sorts?</p>
<p>Most, if not all, schools go out and try to get “matching funds” from corporations to match the donations from alumni and current families. That plea for matching funds just sounds a lot better if the school can say that 100% of alumni (or 100% of current families) contributed. Think about it . . . why would corporation X want to donate if only 27% of current families care enough to make a donation?</p>
<p>I’m one of those people that call and ask for money and I can assure you I’m looking for participation. The amount does not matter. Whatever you can afford is appreciated and the school is truly grateful to receive. I am not going to say how much, there are ways to figure that out. Some schools even provide an amount, I don’t. I’m happy with 20 dollars from some of my old classmates. When going for the big bucks it’s a different process. Don’t sweat and it certainly is not expected of you until next school year.</p>
<p>Taft told an audience that included some parents on Full Aid that they were happy with $1 if that was what someone could give without creating a financial hardship. I think most schools feel that way and also give you the option of not being listed in the annual fund listing. But even if you want to be in the list - the category ranges allow for parents who can only afford a little to be in the same category as parents who gave much more.</p>
<p>So no pressure. As @Ops said - the goal is participation. Getting close to 100% gives schools a lot of bragging rights with their peers.</p>
<p>BTW - @Dodgersmom is right - send recipe for ramen fricasee. When I was solicited I made a joke that I would pledge an amount and just eat ramen for the rest of the year and the person on the phone gasped and took me seriously and said “Oh, no - don’t do that. Please, you can give a smaller amount.” I laughed and said I was kidding but he seemed so flustered. It’s a hard job to ask for money - but the tuition, even for full pays, only covers 2/3rds to 3/4 of the true cost so they are grateful if you give anything at all. No amount will go unappreciated. And if you need more flexibility, you can always pledge and pay in installments (even if it’s $10) or charge it. But yes - some parents have given a dollar because it’s all they had and wanted to feel like they were pitching in.</p>
<p>Thanks for donation input, everyone. Well, I can’t divulge my highly-coveted recipe for ramen-fricasee- but here’s a hint: it involves wine and is so fail-proof it doesn’t matter if wine is in the dish or just resting happily in your glass. I do love ramen with freshly grated parmesan- tant pis it is so fattening. I spend an obscene amount of money on food at Trader Joe’s. I don’t mind driving an old Volvo, shopping at the goodwill and forgoing plays and vacations for the sake of my daughter’s education. Giving up my pre-washed lettuce and veggies, imported cheese and expensive fruit, already cooked carnitas that just need seasoning? Ah, this is hard… At 49, I am not inclined to start buying in bulk, menu planning, freezing and coupon clipping. It’s bad enough I have to go to like 5 different markets- one has the right brand of peanut butter but not compactor bags, one has decent produce but exorbitant meat prices, etc. I told my husband once our sweet girl leaves for school he may find that cereal and fruit is a very healthful alternative to traditional dinners. I also plan on opening a bag of Pita chips to serve with deli hummus and tabouleh.</p>
<p>SaraCreweMumsy, you are my kinda gal! ;)</p>
<p>I’m made hundreds of those solicitation calls. The main goal is participation. The development office usually told us callers how much to ask. If it’s a successful medical specialist or lawyer, the first call the amount we asked varied between $5k~$10k. But at the other end of the spectrum, we asked for $25. This particular school crossed off all FA recipients from the ‘call’ list (so yes, we knew who were on FA). However, I believe many schools make calls to FA recipients.
The bottom line is that we were glad to get any dollar amount. Participation was the goal.</p>
<p>The really big donors didn’t get calls from us parents. The head of school usually took care of that, and they were wined and dined.</p>
<p>Respond to the first request you get for the annual fund (sent by mail at my child’s school) and you won’t get a follow-up call. We give $50-100 because that’s what we can afford right now. Contributions are tax-deductible.</p>
<p>The 100% participation rate is the goal of every development office (and seldom reached). The rate for each class is usually printed in the annual report. I try to teach my child that you give back to those who have given to you–even if it’s a token amount now.</p>
<p>@SaraCreweMumsy</p>
<p>Welcome to the forums! You’ll fit right in here! 
(And I just got dragged to a thrift store by a friend where I snagged a new designer sweater (with tags) for 25 cents. At that price I might survive the BS tuition after all. But can’t quite give up the Trader Joe’s triple ginger cookies and green tea mints yet. That’s my substitute for the empty “vacation” section of the PFS form!</p>
<p>Exie: Very funny. It reminded me of the first time I dragged my grumbling pre-teen son into Plato’s Closet two years ago… took him about 10 minutes to realize that they had exactly the clothes he liked and that he’d be able to talk me into buying him 5 things for the price of one at the mall. Now it’s the only place he wants to shop-- for him it’s like having a personal shopper.</p>
<p>Back to the OP…ditto on the donation. When it comes to us small potatoes donors, I think the fact that we donate is more important than the amount that we donate. That said, we try to up ours each year a bit if we can in symbolic appreciation for what the school is giving our son.</p>