Home > Giving > Annual Fund
Annual Fund
A group of high school students walked into the chambers of the Wilmington City Council last winter. The session was already in progress; however, all paused and turned their eyes to admire the neatly dressed, well-poised and confident young men as they took their seats. These were the Salesianum student-athletes, about to be honored for Salesianum’s Triple Crown of fall sports championships – cross country, football and soccer. Their school patron, Francis de Sales, wrote about another triple crown almost four hundred years earlier: “We must march on as a band of brothers and companions united in gentleness, peace and love.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part Three)
Underpinning these numerous victories in athletic and non-athletic competitions, the obvious achievement in academic pursuits, and the noticeable growth in personal maturity rests our school’s primary goal: to educate and to develop the whole person as a Salesian gentleman.
This year through the Salesianum Annual Fund, I ask you to invest a part of yourself in this band of gentlemen. With an educational tradition dating back 103 years, first at 8th and West Streets, and now for 50 years at 18th and Broom Streets, our strength has come through the support of generation upon generation men and women who recognized a valuable product worthy of their investments. I invite you to make a gift to continue the numerous successes of Salesianum, and I promise that your investment will produce dividends beyond your imagination.
Your gift to the Annual Fund will provide financial assistance for students whose families would not otherwise have the option of sending their sons to Salesianum. In 2006-07, we have committed $500,000 to provide grants in aid and another $230,000 to provide academic scholarships. Without you these goals are unattainable.
With a fifty-year-old building comes fifty-year-old classrooms, thus each classroom has received an infrastructure upgrade to allow for ceiling-mounted digital projectors and network connectivity. Each of our faculty was provided with a personal instructional laptop computer to offer our students a heightened learning experience. At an expense of $1.5 million over two years, our friends, parents, local foundations and alums displayed an overwhelming level of support in amounts from $10 to $450,000.
I invite you to band together with us and let us focus on the students who benefit from your involvement, not upon the needs of an institution. Unrestricted gifts are extremely helpful as they allow Salesianum flexibility in directing gifts to areas and programs most in need. Your gift to the 2006-07 Annual Fund joins with the fibers of others to gain a combined Strength in Numbers.
May the Lord bless you, keep you in his favor and grant you his peace.
Sincerely,

(Rev.) James E. Dalton, OSFS
President
Donor Giving Levels
Presidential Circle ($10,000+)
The Salesianum Society ($5,000-$9,999)
Gold & White ($2,500-$4,999)
DeSales Society ($1,000-$2,499)
Coat & Tie ($500-$999)
8th & West ($250-$499)
Century Club ($100-$249)
Annual Giving FAQs
Question
What is The Annual Fund?
Answer
The Annual Fund is comprised of gifts from a dedicated group of alumni, parents, and friends that are generally unrestricted and are used by the school where thay are needed most: in supporting the school's day-to-day operations. Academic programs, need-based financial aid & scholarships, campus technology, and library resources are a few of the many areas that benefit from your gift.
Question
What does a gift to Salesianum’s Annual Fund do?
Answer
Your gift helps to bridge the gap between what the school receives in tuition and what it actually costs to educate each student. Your annual gift helps Salesianum School support vital programs at the school and helps ensure that no deserving student be denied a Salesianum education due to an inability to pay. As an unrestricted fund, it provides the school flexibility to absorb unexpected costs and maintenance throughout the campus without increasing the tuition rates.
Question
Why should I contribute?
Answer
Your gift to the Annual Fund helps keep tuition increases to a minimum by providing much-needed financial aid to ensure that these increases do not become a burden to those students who most need it. It also supports the budgets for many valuable programs on campus that make the Salesianum School experience unique. We invite you to take part in this important tradition, by helping the current generation of students benefit from the Catholic education that Salesianum provides.
Question
How important is my participation?
Answer
Your support is vital to the financial health and reputation of the school. The participation rate of those who contribute to the school's annual fundraising effort is an important measure used by foundations and other grant-giving institutions in dispensing grant funding. It is also a good tool to measure how pleased alumni are with their high school experience and how happy parents are with the education and guidance that Salesianum School has provided for their sons.
Question
How will I be contacted?
Answer
We will contact you about Salesianum School Annual Fund through mail, through our phonathons and by e-mail.
Alumni Giving
Alumni Participation - It's not how much, but how many
The rate at which alumni give is an important statistic and a barometer of an institution's relevance. The participation rate is an important measure used by foundations and other grant-giving institutions in dispensing grant funding. Making a gift to Salesianum School is a gauge of the value alumni place on their educational experience and is an affirmation of the good work we continue to do today.
(Our Annual Giving fiscal year runs from July 1 - June 30)
Thank you for your continued support of Salesianum School!
Parent Giving
Welcome to the parent giving Web site. We hope you find this site informative.
Salesianum School recognizes that the greatest gift we can give, as parents, is the responsibility of educating our sons in their formidable years. Salesianum understands the importance of family and we are blessed to call our family all who share a common bond - the Salesianum School experience. This includes the bright and motivated students, a skilled and caring faculty, and generous alumni, parents, and friends who support the mission of the school.
Because tuition only covers 88 percent of the actual cost of educating each student, these contributions make a significant impact on the daily experiences of current students. For more information about the Annual Fund (link to annual fund page).
No matter how much you decide to give to Salesianum, know that it is your participation that matters. Every gift helps offset the school's current operating expenses and makes up the difference between what tuition covers and the actual cost of running the school. |