Investing in St. Edmund's Academy

The Most Effective Way to Give

The St. Edmund’s Academy Annual Fund campaign, held in the fall, is our school’s largest, most important fundraising effort , devoted to raising the money necessary to maintain its level of excellence and meet both parental expectations and professional standards.

In practical terms, the Annual Fund functions like a checking account to help our school accomplish its goals by providing essential items such as:

• Financial aid to one-third of the student population
• Teacher salaries, benefits, and continuing professional education
• Athletic equipment, books and computers

• Facility maintenance and renovations
• General operating expenses, from desks & chairs, printers & copiers, to carpeting, HVAC, napkins and lightbulbs

• Quality musical and dramatic productions
• Enriching field trips
• Visiting guest speakers
• Parties, fairs, sporting and athletic competitions

Easy Ways to Increase the Value of a Gift

For one day each October, the Pittsburgh Foundation sponsors a Day of Giving, on which it will match (at a rate of approximately 20%) charitable contributions made to approved area organizations. St. Edmund’s Academy is one such approved entity.

All donations must be made online at www.pittsburghgives.org and are 100% tax-deductible.

Minimum gift size of $25

Easy Ways to Increase the Value of a Gift

Many employers will match charitable contributions made by their employees, sometimes doubling or even tripling the amount of gift.

Participating employers in the area include:

• Citizens Bank, EQT (Equitable), Google, Medtronic, PNC and Wachovia
  

To find out if your company has a matching gift policy, please enter your employer′s name below.

If your company matches, you may be able to access the forms directly through the search. Follow the set procedure, and St. Edmund’s Academy will be happy to assist you. Some companies match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses.

Easy Ways to Increase the Value of a Gift

Established by members of the Class of 1985 on the occasion of their 25th reunion, the 25th Reunion Stewardship Fund provides annual, unrestricted support to the Annual Fund by matching gifts made by alumni and their parents in the 25th-reunion year.

All members of the St. Edmund’s Academy community are welcome to contribute to this fund in order to increase its principal.

Let Your Business Do the Giving

The State of Pennsylvania’s EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) program allows tax credits of 75%-90% to businesses that make scholarship and financial-aid contributions to approved educational institutions such as St. Edmund’s Academy.

This program has brought St. Edmund’s Academy as much as $120,000 a year, which directly benefits our scholarship programs, creating an environment rich in cultural diversity and ensuring that bright, talented students are able to benefit from the school’s resources.

Those eligible to participate in this program are companies authorized to do business in Pennsylvania that are subject to one or more of the following taxes:

• Corporate net income tax; capital stock franchise tax; bank and trust company shares tax; title insurance companies shares tax; insurance premiums tax; mutual thrift institution tax; personal income tax of S corporation shareholders or Partnership partners
  

How to Apply: Contact ra-eitc@pa.gov or phone (717) 787-7120. You may also contact the St. Edmund’s Academy Development Office for a conversation about your business’s eligibility and gift planning.

EITC Information & Application

New applications and renewals are due on July 1st. Applications are approved on a first-come, first-served basis.

Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits (OSTC)

The program provides tax credits to eligible businesses contributing to an Opportunity Scholarship Organization. Business contributions are then used by Opportunity Scholarship Organizations to provide tuition assistance in the form of scholarships to eligible students residing within the boundaries of a low-achieving school to attend a nonpublic school or another public school outside of their district. A low-achieving school is defined as a public elementary or secondary school ranking in the bottom 15 percent of their designation as an elementary or secondary school based upon combined math and reading PSSA scores.

For more information, visit www.newpa.com

Scholarship Support

Adopt-a-Scholar is a program for donors motivated to give directly to the tuition account of a student of qualified need in the Upper School (grades 5-8), rather than the general financial-aid pool under the umbrella of the Annual Fund.

Ideally, the sponsor supports the student through graduation, provided the family’s financial need continues and the student continues to meet the school’s performance standards.

Confidentiality is observed on all sides. However, the donor may follow the progress of his or her sponsored student, if desired.

Scholarship Support

The Class of '92 Memorial Scholarship is a monetary award given annually in memory of three members of the Class of '92 by their classmates. It is presented to the boy or girl in seventh grade who demonstrates “an enthusiasm for learning while striving to be the best that he or she can be; a genuine interest in the well-being of people in and outside of St. Edmund’s Academy; the ability to lead and encourage others in leadership roles; and active participation in activities both inside and outside of St. Edmund’s Academy,” regardless of need.

Although the scholarship is stewarded by the surviving members of the Class of '92, contributions are welcomed from all sectors.

Scholarship Support

Two partial scholarships are presented each year in memory of C.P. Stewart, an early supporter of St. Edmund’s Academy, to students in the Upper School who demonstrate “high academic standards, personal potential, and qualification for the appropriate level of financial aid.”

Although endowed by the Stewart family, contributions are welcomed from all sectors.

Faculty & Staff Appreciation

One of the hallmarks of our school’s excellence is the lengthy tenure of its fine faculty and staff. The St. Edmund’s Academy Quarter Century Stewardship Award is a monetary award presented to those members of the faculty and staff with 25 years or more of service, in grateful recognition of their commitment to the school and its values.

Contributions from all sectors are welcomed in support of this remarkable milestone. Your contributions to this fund will help increase the size of the gifts awarded.

Fundraising Events

Once a year, with the support of the PTA and a parent-based committee, the Development Office hosts a popular party for St. Edmund’s Academy’s entire adult community (parents, grandparents, alumni, faculty, staff and friends) to strengthen social ties and, of course, raise funds. Although the party’s theme changes each year, it frequently includes an auction and a raffle.

Fundraising Events

• Remainder interest in property
• Income interests
• Life insurance
• Bequests

In addition to cash, checks and credit card contributions, St. Edmund’s Academy accepts the following gift types (many of which are often used in planned bequests):

• Marketable securities in any amount, which are sold for cash
• Tangible personal property, contingent upon a professional appraisal
• Real estate valued at least $25,000
• Remainder interest in property, approved by a qualified appraiser. The income tax deduction or estate tax deduction shall serve as fair market value for the gift.
  

When considering gifts of either the outright or planned variety, please consult with an attorney or financial advisor, as well as the St. Edmund’s Academy Development Office.

A Capital Campaign is a major endeavor spanning several years whose purpose is to raise substantial funds for long-lasting investments in the school. The goals of capital campaigns are to raise monies for new buildings, renovations, or major equipment, or to raise funds to increase the school's endowment. Capital campaigns build the long-term financial health of St. Edmund's Academy. Gifts to capital campaigns can be restricted to specific uses, such as new facilities, renovations, scholarships, and/or the general endowment. Previous Capital Campaigns for the school have created the Field House, the middle school wing, the library, the dining hall and the athletic field. The 50th Anniversary Campaign of 1997 was our most recent Capital Campaign.