Loomis Chaffee hosted its 13th annual Philanthropy Day on February 27th to have the ability to fund the rest of the school year. Considering that tuition covers about 73% of Loomis’ expenses, the school relies on philanthropic sources to support and maintain students’ education and sustain the school as a whole.
“We work with parent volunteers, class agents, and alumni celebrating reunions to try to get them engaged in the work that we're doing with the goal of trying to keep everybody connected and coming together to have [a] collective effort,” Ms Deidre Swords, Director of the Annual Fund, explained.
Many components must work together cohesively for Loomis to function and run smoothly, contributing to all students’ experience and quality of education.
“This is a day for all of the different constituents that the school engages with on an annual basis to come together and do something at the same time. It's definitely the single most important fundraising day of the year for the school,” Ms. Swords said, “this year, we are trying to get $1,500 in donations in a 24-hour period. And if we reach that goal, we have a trustee who is going to donate $200,000 to the school…[showing] the role that philanthropy has…it's kind of a fun, collective way to come together and have the campaign happen at once.”
Although meeting a substantial goal may seem daunting, a common misconception about Philanthropy Day is that you can only make a difference if you donate significant money. This, however, is not the case.
“Gifts of all sizes make a difference and help us reach our goal. So, somebody who gives two dollars [or] 100,000 dollars [both count] as a donor towards our goal. So, we focus on broad participation instead of how much we raise, but we're also fortunate to have a generous community,” Ms Swords said.
However, donating isn’t the only way to help with Philanthropy Day. Students and clubs like the Pelican Service Organization play a critical role in emphasizing the event's importance and fostering an understanding of donations.
“PSO has made posters to excite the student body about Philanthropy Day,” said Ms. Heather Henderson, Director of Community Engagement, “PSO members [spearheaded] the thank you card initiative that the development office always runs on this day…[and] pick up a bunch of thank you cards, write their message to alumni and other donors and then bring them back to the development office.”
Implementing different methods to engage with the student population, the development office contacted sophomore seminars, giving them a brief overview of Philanthropy Days and ways to participate. The involvement of the student population is crucial in making Philanthropy Day a success and strengthening the school community.
“We were lucky enough to partner with the Norton Center this year and visit all of the sophomore seminar classes…[in this website], you can easily text [or] email the link. It generates a unique link for each advocate, and [we] can see who's helping spread the word and where the gifts are coming from. [It] is a way to “gameify” what we're doing…to earn prizes,” said Ms Shields.
These interactive methods of publicizing Philanthropy Day have curried favor with students, increasing interest throughout the school.
“The visits from [the development office] talking about Philanthropy Day made me realize how impactful donations have on our school community, and has made me more inclined to participate and give back to Loomis [through donations] when I become an alum,” says Madi Cuenca ’27.