Last year, the entire Burke's community came together at a historic time, to raise more than $1.9 million dollars. We achieved an incredible 99% parent participation, as well 100% participation from our Board of Trustees and our Alumnae Board. Thank you for all of your support and your resilience and commitment through a challenging, but wonderful year!
In this 2021-22 school year, things are still very uncertain. We continue to pivot to meet whatever challenges arise, and Burke’s still faces immense and critical needs for support. So we need to keep our goals lofty. Our financial goal is to match last year’s efforts and raise $1.9 million for this year's Annual Fund and, once again, we are aiming to achieve 100% Parent Participation by November Break.
Every year, the Annual Fund delivers nearly 10% of the school’s annual operating budget and supports a wide range of experiences at Burke’s. Among these annually are academic programs, teacher professional development, student financial assistance, and the maintenance of our classrooms and beloved 3.5-acre campus. And this year, the Annual Fund remains essential to our focused efforts around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and crucial to the funding of the innovation and initiatives necessitated by an on-going global pandemic. With continued health and safety measures and a focus on improving ventilation systems to manage both Covid-19 and fire season concerns, your support is again more important than ever. The broad reach of the Annual Fund at this time means that each student, family, and faculty member benefits from the dollars we raise.
The Annual Fund continues to make Burke’s accessible to a broader group of families, some who may not have needed financial assistance before the pandemic and some who require more support than past years. As a community, we believe that a diverse group of students in the classroom provides a complete and outstanding education for our girls. Each year, tuition is intentionally set at a level below the actual cost of educating a Burke’s girl, and we ask our community to help bridge this difference with a gift to the Annual Fund. The Bridge per child for the 2021-22 school year is just over $5,400, and we hope families who can contribute this amount or more without hardship will stretch to give generously.
That said, gifts of all sizes are welcome and appreciated! Please donate online to the Annual Fund or download and mail this Annual Fund form with your contribution. For gifts of securities, email Yukiko Meadows, Director of Advancement. To make a pledge, use this online form or email Yukiko Meadows, Director of Advancement.