September 3, 2014
Dear St. Francis Families,
Welcome back from the holiday weekend. I hope it was enjoyable for you and your loved ones. Now that Labor Day is behind us, it feels like school has officially begun. From the school’s perspective, I am pleased to say that the year could not have opened more seamlessly. Let us pray that we stay the course this year and continue to put children first in all that we do.
This past winter a letter was sent to all families in regard to the 2014-15 tuition rates. The letter delved into detail as to why our costs have increased over the years. With the rising costs of Catholic school education, you are to be commended for remaining committed. Your tuition payments make it possible for us to offer a fair pay scale to our faculty, as well as continue to operate our school programs and maintain our facilities.
The letter also stated the importance of fundraising in Catholic schools. Fundraising serves as the catalyst for advancement and development in Catholic schools. There rarely seems to be a good time asking people to fundraise. The timing always seems to conflict with one thing or another. I respect, appreciate, and understand that. However, it does not change the fact that our school is reliant upon fundraisers to expand and improve our programs. Additionally, it is common to absorb unexpected expenses that were not budgeted, but nonetheless arise during the course of a school year. Fundraisers not only enable us to advance our programs, but also allow us to endure intangible costs. Lastly, successful fundraising in the future will afford our school the opportunity to limit increases in tuition.
As mentioned last winter, our school will have four fundraisers this year. We will have one per quarter. The fundamental purpose of effective fundraising is to raise money. School fundraisers are not necessarily community builders. School community builders are important for intimacy and overall climate. At St. Francis, they are a vibrant part of our school culture. Be assured that there will be a number of community-builder events this year that are not fundraisers, but provide an opportunity to bond as a school community. The FSA always does a tremendous job of facilitating those. There will be no charge for the events planned by the FSA, such as Mother-Son funtacular, Father-Daughter dance, Grandparents day, Trivia night, etc. That will be the school’s way of giving back to a very giving community. Furthermore, we are eliminating all other fundraisers this year so that families are not feeling “nickeled and dimed”. We believe that by focusing solely on four school fundraisers, our participation is going to produce the yield we are seeking.
Two of our fundraisers this year have already been established as Pepperoni Roll sales. Obviously they are not to be considered “community builders”. One of sales will be this month and the other will be in February. The other two fundraisers are still being determined. We do know with certainty that the additional two fundraisers will be more notable events, as opposed to pepperoni roll sales. Our plan is for the not-yet-determined fundraisers to occur in November and April. The expectation this year for our families, as well as faculty and staff, is to participate in each of the school’s four fundraisers. Our net goal for fundraising this year is $100,000. With everyone’s participation this is a very attainable goal.
Our first fundraiser will be a Pepperoni Roll Sale beginning this Friday Sept. 5. The sale will end on Monday Sept. 15. That provides two weekends for us to maximize our sales. This fundraiser is easy to coordinate and manage, yet also produces a terrific net profit for us. With the combined number (276) of families and faculty that we have in our school community, we will profit $20,976 if everyone participates at the minimal level. That is a net of $76 per family/faculty member. This will be a phenomenal gain in only a ten day period.
The fundraising events will be coordinated by our Advancement Director, Mrs. Rita Sokos. She will be sending a packet home this Friday with all the information you need for the fundraiser. In a nutshell, we are expecting each family and faculty member to participate in one of the following ways: 1- sell a case of pepperoni rolls for $108, 2- buy a case of pepperoni rolls for $108, or 3- write a check in the amount of net profit to the school at $76. If anyone chooses to go beyond that, then that is great….but we are simply asking for each family to be responsible for one case of pepperoni rolls in one form or another.
As principal, I am truly grateful for every effort you make to attain this reachable school goal. It is never an easy task asking people for money or to fundraise. Though I am not comfortable asking for more than you already sacrifice, I also recognize the importance that fundraising has for our students. Because of that, I’m hoping to compel and encourage you in our attempt of raising $100,000 this year. The spiritual formation, academic formation, and safety of our students continue to be pillars of our program. By fundraising, they will continue to strengthen and improve. Let us become determined to reach this goal as a community. Thank you for your time. May God bless you and your loved ones.