Giving & Service
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Giving and Service
“Philanthropy – the act of giving money and time to help make life better for other people.” (Merriam-Webster)
Giving
Saint John Preparatory School, is committed to providing a developmentally appropriate learning environment for young children respectful of the individual needs, cultural heritage and identity of each child. In SPJS’s core values it states that we “EVERYONE HAS A CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE TO SOCIETY AND HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO DO SO”.
Both tuition dollars and fundraising help fund SJPS’s mission. We are also supported by Saint John Baptist Church, which helps us to operate our school through many in-kind contributions – including our wonderful building.
It is always our goal to keep our tuition as low as possible so that families from different income levels can enroll their children. Fundraising dollars help us in achieving the highest quality program we can provide, by supporting teachers, families, children, and the overall program with additional and necessary funds beyond our operating budget.
Our parents are wonderful role models to our students by showing their spirit of philanthropy. They tirelessly donate their time to our school community through the volunteer efforts organized by the Board of Directors, Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), our classrooms, and staff.
How are fundraising dollars spent?
- Teacher support: Each year fundraising dollars support the professional development of our staff, classroom enrichment and recruitment of highly educated and qualified teachers.
- Capital Improvements: In the past year this has included new doors with windows for each classroom, cubbies for backpacks and coats, painting of the school, carpets, and tablets for the educators to keep the family updated.
Ways to support our Blue Jays
- Annual Giving Campaign – Families, alumni and friends of SJPS are invited to contribute any amount they can to help support our school through a giving campaign each year. Letters requesting donations are mailed in October so that you may make your gift before year end, but contributions are accepted at any time.
- Parent Teacher Organization Fundraising Activities – Our active and dedicated Family Involvement Committee leads many fundraising activities throughout the year. In the past these have included: dine and donate, cookie dough sales, scholastic book fairs, school pictures, Smith’s Earn and Learn, Box Tops for Education and others.
- Sponsor An Event – Many generous businesses and individuals step forward each year to sponsor events such as our “May Day” and “Thanksgiving Dinner”. We rely on these contributions to make these events a success. These may be in-kind donations or actual monetary gifts. They may also include sponsoring events for our children during the school day like a music or dance performance, underwriting a fitness program, or any other ideas you may have.
Annual Fund
In addition, the spirit of philanthropy is evident by our parents’ support of SPJS’s Annual Fund. Each year we are fortunate to use financial donations to enhance and enrich our programs at SJPS. The Annual Fund has been used to update our playgrounds, enrich curriculum initiatives such as STEM and to provide professional development opportunities for our faculty.
SJPS relies on tuition revenue to support its operating budget. Donations to the Annual Fund help us to bridge the gap between tuition and the cost of delivering a robust program to our children. This tax deductible gift is important regardless of its size and helps us to reach our goal of 100% participation. In addition many companies offer a matching gift program, thus increasing donations to SJPS.
Participation in the Annual Fund is also important when the school applies for grants. Foundations that award grant monies look at a school’s rate of participation in the Annual Fund and they look favorably upon a school when they see full support from its community. Our goal is to achieve 100% participation from our faculty, staff, Board of Directors and parents.
FYGI (For Your Giving Information)
- To make a gift or contribution please contact the Director at (803) 256-8542 or saintjohnprek@gmail.com.
- Donations can be made in person or mailed to: Saint John Preparatory School, 3404 W Beltline Blvd. Columbia, SC 29203.
- Donations can be made with cash, check or credit card.
- Donors are recognized with a letter upon receipt of a gift. Saint John Preparatory School is a non-profit organization, all gifts are tax deductible through IRS regulations.
- Donations made without designation will be used at the discretion of our director and board of directors. If you would like to make a designated gift (i.e. to teacher support or capital improvements) please indicate your designation along with your donation. We also welcome gifts that honor a child or loved one, please include that information as well and we will happily send a letter to that person or family acknowledging your gift.
- AT YOUR FINGERTIPS