Donations to Private Schools
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Anonymous
| I'm just curious and definitely naive. I applied to a few well known private schools for my children this year. I know many of the applications asked for our professions, but nowhere did I list our income. People talk all the time about donations to schools. At what point in the process does this come up? Do people actually mention they would be willing to give during their parent interviews? Do people actually give with the hope of getting a spot? (That seems pretty risky to me - you probably can't get your money back!) What's the real deal? I can't imagine when I would have felt bold enough to mention making a donation if I was able (which I am not!). |
Anonymous
| They never ask if you are willing to give and people don't say they will. It's just expected that everyone will when the time comes! |
Anonymous
| Are private school donations tax deductible? |
Anonymous
| If you have to ask that question..you most likely can't give enough to make any difference in how your ap would be viewed. |
Anonymous
| That's a stupid answer. You can still wonder. |
Anonymous
Yes, they are non profits. Donations will absolutely not come up int he admissions process. That is a function of the development office, which you will hear from in the fall after school has started. There is usually an expectation that families will donate to the school but it can be anywhere from $25 to $25,000 (or more if it's a capital campaign). Some schools will say they'd like the school to be your primary philanthropic priority during your time there. |
Anonymous
| Donations to charities, including most not-for-profit private schools, are deductible. N.B.: Not all not-for-profits are charities. |
Anonymous
If the school is non-profit. There are schools in the area that are "for profit" and donations aren't deductible for them. |
Anonymous
| Monetary and time donations are mentioned in the application process and the PPs on DCUM who continually say they aren’t are only assuming their limited experience applies to everyone. |
Anonymous
I am one of those PPs and I guess I can only speak to it from the perspective of having been through the process 4 times over the last 10 years covering about 10-12 schools. It just hasn't been our experience that this comes up in the open houses or interviews (if there even are parent interviews - at least at the high school level that was about a 50/50 thing). Frankly I wouldn't have minded if it had come up since we've been major donors to the schools our kids have attended and maybe that would have given us an edge but it really didn't come up. Shockingly the ADs seemed mostly interested in the kid. |
Anonymous
| It's hard for me to imagine that any school claiming to offer need blind admissions would have an AD asking about monetary donations during interviews. Maybe that's overly optimistic of me, but if you're asking about annual giving at interview, you're not really blind to need after that person answers. |
Anonymous
| Only donations to 501(3)(c) non -profits are tax-deductible under IRS rules. Must check with the school if you are unsure. |