Ways to Give
ANNUAL FUND TRIBUTES/MEMORIALS SCHOLARSHIP OUTREACH MATCHING GIFTS GIVING LEVELS PLANNED GIVING GIFTS OF STOCK/SECURITIES DONOR ADVISED FUNDS ENDOWMENT BRICK PROGRAM
Annual Fund
What is Annual Fund?
Tuition alone does not cover the cost of a Churchill Center & School education. The Annual Fund touches everything you love about Churchill, supporting everyday expenses not covered by tuition. Your tax-deductible, unrestricted gifts provide a direct and immediate impact, keeping Churchill Center & School one of the top educational institutions for learning disabilities in the country and a national leader for educators, administrators and schools in the field.
How will my gift make a difference?
Annual Fund participation at any level ensures Churchill Center & School will continue to provide excellence in our facility, child-centered curriculum, academic resources and technology so that each Churchill student receives the best educational experience to help them thrive in and out of the classroom.
- Our transformative academic program and highly individualized curriculum
- Recruitment and retention of distinguished and specialized faculty
- Enhancing and sustaining innovative technology
- Creative growth through Visual & Performing Arts and Motor Skills
- Educational outreach programs throughout the community for educators, parents and students
- Scholarship aid for families in need
TRIBUTES/MEMORIALS
Tribute gifts provide a way for parents, grandparents, and friends to honor someone on a special occasion or as a memorial to a loved one. If you wish to make such a gift in memory of or in honor of a friend (graduation, new baby, birthday, new job, promotion, anniversary, etc.) you may choose the “I would like to dedicate this gift” checkbox through our online giving form or secure a Tribute Fund envelope from the Advancement Office.
A letter is sent to the person or family being honored indicating that the gift has been received. The donor also receives a confirmation for use at tax preparation time.
Scholarship
Gifts of Scholarship help make a Churchill education accessible to any child who is academically eligible and accepted. Churchill continues to work to ensure no student is turned away because of their inability to afford tuition.
Scholarship aid continues to be a growing need for our Churchill families. In the 2024-2025 school year, scholarship monies awarded totaled more than $500,000.
Gifts to the General Scholarship Fund can be made at any time throughout the year. Donations to Churchill’s Annual Fund also benefit scholarship aid in addition to operating expenses.
The following fundraisers’ proceeds are specifically designated to our General Scholarship Fund:
- DeDe Almonds Fall Fundraiser
- Sip & Savor Event
- Biennial Churchill Center & School Starfish Soiree Dinner & Auction
- Biennial Churchill Center & School Golf Tournament
SANDRA K. GILLIGAN SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS & OUTREACH PROGRAM
Churchill Center & School’s Sandra K. Gilligan School Partnerships & Outreach Program is essential in strengthening our mission of fostering greater understanding and support for all people with learning disabilities by training other educators, supporting families, and enlightening the community.
Since the inception of our Community Outreach Program in 1990, more than 37,500 educators, parents, students, and other supporters have been given the opportunity to experience and broaden their understanding of learning disabilities.
We offer Teacher Workshops, Parent Workshops, Student Workshops, Community Service Events, and a Speaker Series. Each one of these programs offers our community a variety of services to recognize learning disabilities and to then equip the participants with strategies and knowledge to offer further assistance.
Matching Gifts
Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Contact your Human Resources Office for eligibility requirements and to obtain a Matching Gift form.
Giving Levels
Planned Giving – 1978 LEGACY SOCIETY
A planned gift is a wonderful way to make a positive and lasting impact in the lives of our Churchill students for many years to come. The 1978 Legacy Society has been established to recognize and honor those individuals who have included Churchill as a beneficiary in their overall financial or estate plans. Planned gifts can also be an excellent way to minimize one’s tax burden. Please check with your own legal or financial advisor for the benefits and cost to you and your family.
Examples of planned gifts include:
- Bequest: This can be done quite simply in your will. It is appropriate to state: “I hereby give the sum of $_______ to Churchill Center & School. A variation may be to provide a bequest measured in a percentage of the estate. For example: “I hereby give five percent of my gross estate to Churchill Center & School.”
- Charitable Remainder Trust: Sometimes called a Unitrust or an Annuity Trust, this trust provides income for you, your spouse, your children, or any other beneficiary, and significant tax incentives.
- Charitable Lead Trust: Churchill Center & School may use the income from this trust for a specific number of years and then the principal is returned to the donor or another beneficiary.
- Gift of Life Insurance
- Gift of Pension or Retirement Plan
For more information, contact Christina Weyers, Director of Advancement at cweyers@churchillstl.org.
Gifts of Stock/Securities
Donating appreciated stocks or securities to Churchill Center & School offers a powerful way to support our mission while providing significant financial advantages to the donor.
Please download our Gift of Stock Instructions HERE!.
IMPORTANT: If you plan to make a gift of stock to Churchill, please notify us of your intention first. This will assist the school in identifying and recognizing your gift properly in a timely manner. For tax benefits before year-end please note a gift of appreciated securities must be in the possession of Churchill on or before December 31st.
DONOR ADVISED FUNDS
Giving to Churchill Center & School through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) offers a highly flexible and tax-efficient way to support our mission. By contributing cash, appreciated securities, or other assets to a DAF, you receive an immediate tax deduction in the year of your contribution, even if you recommend grants to Churchill at a later date. This allows you to “bunch” your charitable giving for maximum tax benefit in high-income years. Furthermore, the assets within your DAF can grow tax-free, potentially increasing the amount available for future grants to Churchill and other charities you support. A DAF also simplifies your record-keeping by consolidating all your charitable contributions into one account, providing a single tax receipt, and offering the convenience of recommending grants online at your own pace. This strategic giving vehicle empowers you to plan your philanthropy thoughtfully, ensuring sustained support for Churchill while optimizing your financial planning.
Endowment FUND
Supporting the Endowment Fund for Churchill Center & School for Learning Disabilities is an investment in the future of our impactful and critical mission. As a nationally recognized leader in educating students with learning disabilities, Churchill provides individualized, evidence-based instruction that empowers students to succeed both academically and personally. An endowment ensures long-term financial stability, protects our transformative academic program and highly individualized curriculum, attracts and retains our specialized and distinguished educators, offers financial aid to families in need, and continuously enhances our outreach programs to better educate the greater community.
By contributing to the endowment, donors help safeguard Churchill’s mission and ensure that generations to come of students with learning disabilities continue to thrive in an environment designed specifically for their success, while also securing the school’s ability to remain a vital resource for students, families, and educators in the field of learning disabilities.
Brick Program
Become a part of Churchill’s history in a lasting way through the purchase of a personalized engraved brick.
Share your legacy and welcome future students, alumni, parents, educators who visit Churchill Center & School’s campus. Submit three or five lines of text to be sandblasted. Your message will then be placed on a brick in the outside entry of the school, where it will be a part of Churchill forever!
For questions, further information and to submit your brick form, please contact Steph Slonka in the Advancement Office at sslonka@churchillstl.org.
