Support St. Mary's

List of 5 items.

• Get Involved - Parent Teacher Fellowship

  One of St. Mary’s strengths is a continued sense of community among students, families, faculty, and staff. We foster an inclusive campus culture, which supports and encourages family engagement. Our students, as well as our IB curriculum, are enhanced when our parents are actively involved in school and community-based activities and events.
  
  

  Our Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) is a volunteer organization that highlights the value placed on the community at St. Mary’s. Our PTF provides and builds community-based experiences through all-school events, service-learning, and parent education. There are many ways to support our children and impact the St. Mary’s community with your time and talents. Participating in these activities makes your St. Mary’s journey that much more rewarding and contributes to the success of our community.
  
  

  Volunteering at St. Mary's gives our families more opportunities to be a part of the Falcon community. There are many opportunities throughout the year and we encourage all families to get involved. Our school cannot be successful without you!
  
  

  Volunteer Opportunities are posted on our PTF page which you can find through MyFalcon.

   

• St. Mary's Fund

  The St. Mary’s Fund is the single most important philanthropic priority for our school. This Fund supports our community by providing substantial financial support, separate of tuition, to develop and advance our programs. Contributions to the St. Mary’s Fund are directed toward our school’s highest priorities while augmenting the difference between tuition and necessary programming to cultivate world-sized hearts and world-class minds. This funding is imperative to the health of our school. Healthy funds represent the difference between a solid education and a truly exemplary one, where innovative ideas and state-of-the-art resources for teaching and learning practices are not held back by operating budget constraints.
  
  

  Like tuition, the St. Mary’s Fund supports the daily operations of our school. Your donation supports low student-to-faculty ratios and our ability to hire exceptional faculty to carry out our mission of developing world-sized hearts and world-class minds. Unlike tuition, gifts to the St. Mary’s Fund are tax-deductible.
  
  

  St. Mary’s relies on contributions to the St. Mary’s Fund every year from Trustees, parents, grandparents, parents of alumni, faculty and staff. It is our expectation that 100% of our families will partner with us in providing our students with an exceptional educational experience by contributing to the St. Mary’s Fund. How much each family contributes is a personal decision. Our hope is that every family is able to be as generous as possible given their financial circumstances. Gifts range from under $1,000 to over $25,000. Every gift, of any size, has a direct impact on all St. Mary’s School students.

   

  Programs Enhanced by the St. Mary’s Fund

   

  The St. Mary’s Fund strengthens and sustains the educational experience of a St. Mary’s student each and every day. The following six areas represent the core elements of our unique curriculum. Every donor has the ability to choose where to direct his/her gift.

  • Academic Programs
  • Athletics
  • Fine Arts
  • Science
  • Technology and Innovation
  • Faculty Professional Development

   

  Giving Levels

  • Visionaries Circle: $25,000+
  • Millennium Circle: $10,000 – $24,999
  • Head of School Circle: $5,000 – $9,999
  • Sustainers Circle: $3,000 – $4,999
  • Benefactors: $1,500 – $2,999
  • Patrons: $1,000 – $1,499
  • Supporters: $500 – $999
  • Friends: Up to $499

  To support the St. Mary's Fund please click one of the following links:
  Give a Gift - Make a Difference
  Make a Pledge - Make a Difference
  
  (All donors are recognized in the Annual Report on Philanthropy and are invited to the Donor Appreciation Breakfast. Donors who give $3,000 or more are invited to the Leadership Reception the following Fall.) 

   

• St. Mary's Scholar Program

  Enhancing Learning Through Diversity
  
  

  Our mission is to cultivate all of our students’ world sized hearts and world-class minds. Because of this, St. Mary’s is more than its curriculum and facilities. A major tenet of a St. Mary’s education is our community. We value and encourage inclusiveness and believe a diverse community equals a stronger one.

  
  To wholly bring diversity and inclusivity to our school, we established the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. This program provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified students and funds and supports their engagement in student life. Through these scholarships, not only will the life of these children and their families be changed, but the entire St. Mary’s community will be changed for the better.

  
  The goal of the St. Mary’s Scholar Program is to further develop a learning environment that prepares students to thrive within a diverse, interconnected world. This program enables us to provide our students with opportunities to learn from and build relationships with people whose experiences, beliefs and perspectives are different from their own.
  
  

  We currently have two outstanding students enrolled and supported by the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. We are fortunate that a very generous St. Mary’s family helped start our program by underwriting a student’s entire Middle School experience, while we are launching support for the St. Mary’s Scholar Program this spring: we are fully committed to making this a continual giving opportunity for families that share our passion for the program.
  
  To support this program, please click here.

   

• Spring Gala 2023

  Save-the-Date for St. Mary’s 2023 Gala on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at the Balboa Bay Club Resort. This is an opportunity to come together as a community for a night of fellowship, celebration and an opportunity for us to raise significant contributions toward key programs that enhance our school.

• Ways to Give

  There are many ways to speed your gift to support St. Mary’s. If you don’t see an option below that best fits with your family’s needs and tax circumstances, we will be happy to discuss other alternatives with you. As a 501c3 corporation, your gifts to St. Mary’s are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.

  Cash or Check

  The majority of families choose to make their gift to St. Mary’s by check either as a single donation or as payments towards a pledge. Simply make your check payable to St. Mary’s and deliver or mail it to the Advancement Office.

  Credit Card

  Make your donation or pay your pledge with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express card online (click here!) or visit the Advancement Office.

  Pledges

  Pledges are a popular way for families to demonstrate their commitment to support St. Mary’s early in the campaign, yet delay payment for a later date that works better for their family or maximizes a tax deduction. Pledges can be fulfilled by cash, check, credit card or securities in one installment or monthly installments before a specified pledge payment period. Pledges can be made online. (Click here!) 

  Matching Gifts

  Many corporations demonstrate their support to St. Mary’s by matching their employees’ donations to our school. Matching gifts can double your contribution to St. Mary’s. Donors are recognized for the total of the combined amount of their gift plus their employer matching gift. Please consult your company’s human resource to inquire about a matching program or the Advancement Office so we can research that information for you.

  Restricted Gifts

  These contributions are restricted by the donor for a particular project or program that has been identified by the school as an area of need.

  Gifts of Securities

  Gifts of appreciated stock and/or securities represent a two-fold savings opportunity. Donors avoid paying capital gains taxes on the increased values of their stocks. In addition, donors receive a tax deduction for the full market value of the stock on the date of the gift.

  Planned Giving

  Planned gifts are made now and distributed in the future. Including St. Mary’s in an estate plan provides for the long-term fiscal health of St. Mary’s and gives donors the opportunity to receive immediate or deferred tax benefits while leaving a legacy. All parents and grandparents are encouraged to consider naming St. Mary’s in their will and making the school aware of their gift.

  Capital Campaign

  To realize goals identified in the school’s Strategic Plan, the Board of Trustees will, when needed, initiate a capital campaign in order to meet facilities, program and endowment needs that the school cannot pay for out of tuition funds. A Capital Campaign will support major projects such as new campus construction and renovations to maintain state-of-the-art facilities. Capital campaign gifts are significantly larger than annual fund contributions and therefore are pledges paid over a multi-year period.

  Corporate and Foundation Giving

  St. Mary’s strives to attain grants and funding from foundations and corporate giving entities for school needs. Because these grants are quite competitive, it is extremely helpful to have a contact within the funding organization. Please let us know if you or your extended family has contacts with philanthropic agencies.

  How to Give

  • Donate Online or Make a Pledge.
  • Bring your donation to the Advancement Office.
  • Mail your donation to: St. Mary’s, Advancement Office, 7 Pursuit, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. 

  Other Ways to Financially Support St. Mary’s School

  • Gifts of tangible personal property
  • Attend fundraising events
  • Event Sponsorship/Underwriting
  • Register your debit and credit cards with eScrip (ID 137122061) and your Ralph's grocery card (#80397); these stores will make contributions to St. Mary’s when you use those cards.
  • Support St. Mary’s when you shop on Amazon at smile.amazon.com. Choose St Mary and All Angels Christian Church as your organization to support and we will receive .5% back on all eligible purchases.

   

  For further information regarding these opportunities, please contact Christine Downie, Director of Development at (949) 448-9027 x324 or christine.downie@smaa.org