I am excited this week to introduce our 2022-23 Annual Fund campaign, Power of Participation. You should be receiving a campaign brochure in your mailbox soon, and I encourage you to watch our video.
Each year, we launch this campaign to enhance the experience of students at our school in ways that are important to all of us, from the purchase of an electric bus and laptops to program enhancements such as our Indigenous Scholar program, to ensuring a robust financial aid program so that access to an excellent education is possible for all deserving students. This campaign makes a difference to the experience of each student who walks through our doors, and just like any sports team, production or class, the experience is more powerful when we all participate.
Annual fundraising is essential to providing all the elements of what you expect from a SMUS education, and we ask that each family participates in a way that is meaningful to them. As a SMUS parent for the past 12 years, I discuss with my family what areas of the school need our help the most, and we choose a fundraising priority that feels generous, important, and impactful. This conversation and choice provide us with the opportunities to give back to an institution that gives so generously to our children, and to make a powerful difference in everyone’s education.
This is a special year for SMUS as we are also one year into our $50-million Journey for Life capital campaign. This campaign will allow us to continue building facilities that support 21st-century learning and keep our place as a leading independent school in Canada. The Junior School Annex project is the first of these transformational capital needs before we start on the Campus Master Plan, and we are just past 50% of our goal of $10 million. The urgency of this project is necessary to educate our youngest SMUS students, who set the stage for the joy of learning in the rest of our school, as we have been bursting at the seams of a school that was in much need of an upgrade. With our community’s help, we will be opening our Annex doors in September 2023.
Launching an Annual Fund campaign alongside our capital campaign may seem daunting; however, we know great schools have great philanthropy programs. We ask our entire community of parents, teachers, staff and alumni to join us in our efforts. A gift to the Annual Fund is an investment in our current students; no matter the size of the gift, it collectively contributes to our school's overall success. A contribution to our Junior School Annex project is an investment in both our current students and the many generations of SMUS students to come.
Our goals this year are to raise $1.2 million in our Annual Fund Campaign and $5 million in support of our Junior School Annex project. Our participation goal is to garner support from 750 donors across both campaigns. You have the power to make a difference through your participation! All eligible gifts will receive a tax-deductible tax receipt. Please visit our Annual Fund webpage today to see a complete list of fundraising priorities, and visit our Junior School Annex page to learn more about this exciting project. To make your donation, visit our secure online donation form. To meet with me directly, please email me at [email protected].
