Annual Fund

The Annual Fund enables Epiphany School to make meaningful and historic investments in its campus, staffing, professional development opportunities, and academic program. In recent years, the Annual Fund directly impacted the school's ability to onboard key curricular and programmatic improvements, including Math in Focus, Responsive Classroom (our schoolwide social-emotional learning framework), and teachers' Professional Learning Community work. 

The success of past Annual Fund campaigns also enabled Epiphany School to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into our ongoing COVID-19 response. These investments included:

• Facility upgrades focused on health and safety, such as hiring a school nurse and buying the critical sanitizing and ventilation equipment needed to open campus
   
• Hiring additional instructional staff to allow for small-group cohorts spread across campus to mitigate the risk of transmission and provide increased student support
   
• Providing professional development for every teacher in technology, collaboration tools, and teaching methodology
   
• Buying iPads and laptops for every student and outfitting every classroom with the tools needed to simultaneously instruct students in-person and remotely

The success of this year's Annual Fund campaign will allow our school to keep making the strategic investments that align with its strategic plan—and to do everything in its power to help keep our campus as safe as possible and our learning environment optimized for student success.

Tuition revenue alone is not enough to sustain the quality of an Epiphany School education. In fact, tuition currently covers only 82% of the per student cost. Epiphany School relies primarily on the Annual Fund and our spring fundraising event to ensure we have the additional resources necessary to sustain our mission and vision and make critical investments responsive to present-moment needs. It is because of our community’s long history of philanthropy and generosity that we have no school debt, excellent facilities, the highest quality teachers, and were able to reopen campus to students, faculty, and staff this fall. These funds are the margin of excellence at Epiphany School.

As part of Epiphany School’s commitment to making a superior educational experience available to as many qualified students as possible, the school seeks to maintain an affordable tuition. Raising tuition to meet all costs would mean that many current and prospective families would be unable to send their children here.

Yes. The entire Epiphany School community is asked to participate in the Annual Fund. Contributions of all sizes demonstrate community support for Epiphany School’s vision, mission, and values.

We need both sources of revenue to sustain our mission and to support the operating budget. Our spring fundraising events solely support financial aid at Epiphany School.  

Annual Fund contributions are spent in the current school year. We ask Epiphany School parents, trustees, and staff to give or pledge by December 31. This allows the school to make informed spending decisions knowing the funds will follow.

No. Even if you make a pledge now, you have until May 31 to pay in full. Payments may be made in installments—monthly, quarterly, or on an ad hoc basis—as long as the pledge is paid in full by May 31. 

We hope that you consider Epiphany School as one of your top priorities for philanthropic support. We ask everyone in our community to participate, and to be as generous as they’re able—understanding that looks different for every family. Every contribution truly makes a difference. The average gift to the Annual Fund last year was $1,096. If you’re able to give at a leadership level, you can join others at the Leadership Circle level ($3,000-$14,999) or Visionary Circle level ($15,000-$25,000+).

Yes! Matching gifts count toward your family’s Annual Fund contribution and are a wonderful way to leverage your gift. Visit your organization's HR department and ask if they match charitable gifts or simply email us at development@epiphanyschool.org or call us at 206-720-7667 and we can assist. Matching gifts count toward our donor recognition categories!

All Annual Fund donors will be listed in the Annual Report unless you request anonymity. Leadership donors are honored at a yearly spring reception, recognizing the significant impact they have on Epiphany School in helping the school achieve its mission.