The 2024-25 SLA Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is essential to sustaining SLA鈥檚 vibrant educational experience.
The breadth of an SLA education鈥攊ts trailblazing programs in academics, the arts, and service and justice鈥攁s well as its facilities and campus life are made possible by your financial support.
As with all independent schools, the price of tuition alone does not cover the costs of the full student experience SLA provides. The Annual Fund makes up an essential portion of our operating budget. Your tax-deductible gift immediately supports all students鈥� daily experience; it is a direct investment in our faculty, innovative curricula, growing facilities, and all the many ways our students are able to use the city as their classroom鈥攁nd as a young, growing school focused on hands-on, project-based learning, we make every dollar count. If you are a currently enrolled family, a gift of just $500 may fund your student鈥檚 favorite club for an entire academic year.
The Annual Fund also supports our unique commitment to Tuition Assistance, which is the foundation for our school鈥檚 mission and ethos. Gifts from alumni and alumni families are directed toward our Tuition Assistance program鈥攕o that all those who have helped us grow this community and have benefitted from an SLA education can pay forward the opportunities and experiences they cherished.
For currently enrolled and alumni families, we recommend establishing a recurring monthly gift at a rate that feels both generous and comfortable. If you have any questions, don鈥檛 hesitate to reach out to Will Litton, Director of External Relations, at litton@school.la.
Your Gifts Fund our Students鈥� Favorite Programming
$20,000
Funds all five days of City Week programming across all grades, including trips, retreats, transportation, stipends, materials, and meals.
$12,000
Purchases a full new class set of Macbooks for STEM courses, e.g. Epidemiology and Computer Science.
$9,000
Covers visual arts materials for a year across all grades and all media.
$7,000
Funded all tech and furnishings for SLA鈥檚 new broadcast journalism studio.
$4,000
Fully funds an SLA theatre production, including personnel, stage rental, props, a live band for musicals, and promotional materials.
$2,000
Funds visiting authors for literature & writing courses and all-school events during Commons block.
$500
Funds the publication of The Lillian, SLA鈥檚 student-led literary and arts magazine.
$100
Funds new uniforms and athletic gear for an SLA student-athlete.
Does My Gift Make an Impact?
While we steward six- and seven-figure support from philanthropists outside our immediate community in order to fund our commitment to tuition assistance, it鈥檚 actually the three-, four-, and five-figure gifts from our currently enrolled families that most affect our programming year to year. We are still a relatively small, growing endeavor, and our emphasis on small class sizes and inquiry-driven, experiential learning means that every dollar goes a very long way. Gifts that other independent schools may consider 鈥渕odest鈥� can have a truly transformative impact on SLA programming. In fact, a large portion of our arts, STEM, service, athletics, and after-school programming is made possible by Annual Fund giving every year.
What Makes SLA鈥檚 Approach to Fundraising Unique?
Most independent schools raise something like ~95% of their annual gifts from inside their own communities鈥攖rustees, currently enrolled families, and alumni. At the School of Los Angeles, we too very much depend on the generosity of our community members鈥�and, in order to support our unique commitment to tuition assistance and grow programming that benefits every member of our student body, we actually raise about ten times more money from outside our immediate community every year, especially from major philanthropists and foundations interested in supporting equity and education. This is an enormous effort that requires everyone鈥檚 participation and support, and it is the bedrock of SLA鈥檚 mission.
What If I Can Only Give $10, or $1?
When we are cultivating a major gift or applying for a grant, one of the very first questions every benefactor or foundation asks us is: What鈥檚 the parent & caregiver participation rate in your Annual Fund? Participation rate in the Annual Fund is a straightforward metric that demonstrates our community鈥檚 investment in our mission, as well as our shared understanding of the importance of giving. When major benefactors see that everyone in our community gives generously according to their means, they see a successful fundraising effort and are also inspired to give generously.
Simply put, your participation in the Annual Fund, no matter the size of your gift, is what unlocks our ability to cultivate the major gifts from benefactors and foundations that sustain our School鈥檚 programmatic growth and its unique commitment to tuition assistance.
How Else Can I Support SLA鈥檚 Fundraising Efforts?
Many major studios, talent agencies, banks, law firms, etc., are involved in corporate giving or are attached in some way to their own philanthropic foundations, and opportunities to apply for funds are largely cultivated by friends and employees. With our unique mission and ethos, the School of Los Angeles is very well positioned to make a compelling case for support across a wide range of philanthropic interests. If you have a connection you think may be beneficial to the School, please reach out to Will Litton, Director of External Relations, at litton@school.la.
In addition, many large companies across different industries maintain programs designed to maximize the effect of employees' charitable giving, whether through investments in tax-deductible donor advised funds or with matching donations, and SLA is eligible to receive gifts through such programs. Thank you for your generosity!