The bottom line is this: Your gift supports the people and programs that make Southfield School so special. This means talented teachers; small class sizes; academic enrichment that many public schools simply can't afford; and exceptional offerings in the arts. While your child is in school, all this translates to more personal attention, increased intellectual stimulation, better discipline and more rigor. In the future, it will mean greater credibility behind the academic credentials your child will possess throughout life.

Gifts are necessary because tuition gives your child access to more than you're paying for. That's why schools like Southfield need an endowment, auxiliary money-making activities such as summer camps, and yes, fund raising. Because Southfield's special resources drive the budget up, the School must turn to parents, grandparents, alumni and friends for financial support.

Its easy to overestimate how affluent schools are. If they charge many thousands of dollars for tuition and enjoy attractive facilities, you may naturally assume that a school must be rich, the teachers are well paid and the financial needs are minimal. But for the vast majority of independent schools, tuition does not cover the full cost of educating a child. At Southfield, like most independent day schools, tuition pays approximately 80% of the costs. That's why administrators often say that to some degree, every independent school student attends on scholarship.

A for-profit business, whose mission is to make money, is not an appropriate model for a school, whose mission is to provide children with a good education. By nature, high quality schools are labor-intensive and people oriented. They cannot get more efficient by combining classrooms or reducing staff. (And they probably wouldn't serve your best interest by "firing" inefficient students.)

What it comes down to is this: Faculty salaries and benefits drive the cost of independent education. Southfield needs to pay its faculty members enough to enjoy a middle-income lifestyle and support their own families. To offer competitive salaries and provide programs you want your children to have, Southfield has to increase tuition each, offer summer camps, and ask for gifts.

Restricted gifts can be spent only for a specific purpose designated by the donor, such as financial aid or a particular academic program. Unrestricted gifts can be spent where Southfield believes the need is greatest. Some consider unrestricted giving as the highest form of philanthropy. It helps the School most because it gives the Board of Trustees the freedom to place the money where it will serve Southfield the best. However, this should not discourage any from giving where their passion lies - if you feel the thing that makes the Southfield experience special is with the arts or a particular community service project, then certainly follow your heart when giving to the School.

Southfield does not currently fund financial aid through donations. Instead, a percentage of expected tuition revenue is allocated each year to provide financial aid. But without donations sufficient to meet operating costs, more tuition dollars would have to go to operations - leaving fewer dollars for financial aid. Your gifts make Southfield affordable to a wider range of students, bringing your child the benefits of social and economic diversity.

Of course. Many people take pride in the recognition that comes with being listed among the school's supporters. Others enjoy being involved in fund-raising activities because it lets them make social contacts. And finally, unlike tuition payments, gifts to Southfield are tax deductible.

Our Southfield community has many fewer supporters than a university or a large charity does. Because the number who will give is small but the need is large, every gift counts more. This reasoning leads many families to make Southfield their philanthropic priority while their children are enrolled. They know their gift really matters.

Regardless of the size of gift, every gift counts. Maximizing participation is not only a testament to our donors' belief in what we are doing, it is a statement to foundations, corporations, and prospective students that Southfield is a community actively involved in the advancement of its mission.