What is Capital Giving?
Capital giving is comprised of major gifts to meet building and endowment needs Southfield cannot pay for our of tuition funds. Capital campaigns usually fund new facilities or major renovations - but sometimes fund endowments as well. Southfield usually conducts a major campaign once or twice a decade. Because the needed gifts are large, donors usually pay their pledge over three to five years.
Most recently, in 2001, Board members, alumni, parents, former parents, grandparents, and many friends of Southfield raised more than $5.6 million to build a new middle school. That campaign exceeded its goal and resulted in the addition of not only a new middle school but also a state-of-the art theater, both major enhancements that serve the evolving needs of Southfield students.
What is Endowment Giving?
Major gifts to a fund established to take pressure off the Southfield's operating budget is considered Endowment giving. Endowment principal remains intact as the School only spends a percentage of the interest income. In the independent school community, long-established boarding schools with strong alumni donor bases tend to have larger endowments than day schools, though most day schools like Southfield are working hard to increase their Endowments.
The practical equivalent of an Endowment is a savings account. Most schools have a policy about how much endowment income they'll spend each year so they don't invade the principal. At Southfield, up to 5% of our $2 million Endowment can be spent each year. Southfield's Endowment provides the School with the security to invest in faculty compensation or new faculty positions (often called endowed chairs), fund for professional development, enriched academic programs and resources, and financial aid. One example of an endowed fund at Southfield is the Bill and Ruth Atkins Endowment for Faculty Professional Development. Up to 5% of the endowment's income is used to provide continuing education opportunities for our faculty each year. In the past this fund has supported an educational trip along the trail followed by Lewis and Clark as they mapped the land west of the Mississippi.
The financial assets in the Endowment are managed by the School's Foundation Board.
How can I make a gift?
You can support Southfield School by making a gift of cash, appreciated assets, or bequests. To make a gift today, please call Southfield's Development Office at 318.868.8773. To make a gift online, go to our secure online gift form.