Funding and Giving Priorities

Erskine Academy is fortunate to receive tuition funds from eight sending towns. Once the state-mandated educational consolidation is complete, families will continue to have the choice of sending their children to Erskine Academy as defined in the current legal statutes.

Tuition alone, however, does not cover the entire cost of educating a student at Erskine, and therefore we ask our constituents to consider making additional gifts of support to help preserve the quality of the Erskine experience for all students.

Funding priorities at Erskine range from the Annual Fund, to special initiatives, to endowment.

Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is made up of hundreds of donations of all sizes that are a direct investment in the every day functioning of Erskine Academy. These gifts ensure that our school has sufficient funds to immediately address various unexpected needs such as the purchase of textbooks, equipment for a biology lab, or art room materials. Because Annual Fund gifts have “no strings attached”, they are some of the most valuable gifts to our school.

Designation Options
Each year, donors have the option of designating their Annual Fund gifts to one particular area of need in keeping with the particular priorities of the Annual Fund for that academic year. In 2007-2008 Annual Fund gifts can be designated to any one of three areas:

Unrestricted Support
Scholarships for Incoming Students
Academic Program Support

Gifts of Distinction
Donors who wish to make a more significant impact on the Annual Fund can do so by making a Gift of Distinction of $250 or more. By naming our Distinction categories after the first six Erskine principals, we honor not only their memory but also the standard of academic excellence that they established so many years ago. Donors who are able to give a Gift of Distinction will be listed in our annual Report of Contributions by the following levels:

Matching Gifts
Many businesses and corporations will partner with the charitable organizations in their regions by matching their employees’ (and sometimes their retirees) philanthropic gifts. This is typically accomplished by filling out a form provided by your employer and sending it to Erskine with your gift. To find out if your employer participates in a matching gift program, contact your personnel or human resources office.

Contact Us
For more information about giving to the Annual Fund, please contact the Development Office.

Special Initiatives
Erskine Academy relies on private support from donors to assist in funding special initiatives. These initiatives are developed through careful planning by the administration and trustees and require resources over and above the everyday needs of the school that depend on funding from tuition. Such initiatives typically take the form of a major equipment purchase, building renovation or construction, a new academic program, or growth of the endowed scholarship fund.

Existing Initiative
Ridgeway Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund
This fund was established to honor the memory of Don Ridgeway P’08, a beloved teacher who was killed in a tragic automobile accident on June 1, 2006, just prior to completing his 12th year teaching at Erskine. Proceeds from this fund will provide tuition assistance for needy students who reside in non-sending towns. Gifts of any amount are sought to augment this existing fund.

Contact us
For more information about special initiatives, please contact the Development Office.

Endowment
An endowment is a fund made up of donations that carry a stipulation that they must be invested and that the principal must remain permanently intact. A portion of the fund’s annual investment earnings (typically four to six percent) can be spent on a restricted basis, and thus becomes an annual source of income for the organization. This allows the fund to grow and have a much greater impact over time than if it were spent all at once.

The purpose of the Erskine endowment is to uphold our school’s academic excellence and to provide enduring financial benefits to students, faculty, staff, programs, and facilities.

Active endowment funds at Erskine include:
Ridgeway Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund
This memorial fund was established to honor the memory of Don Ridgeway P’08, a beloved teacher who was killed in a tragic automobile accident on June 1, 2006, just prior to completing his 12th year teaching at Erskine. Proceeds from this fund will provide tuition assistance for needy students who reside in non-sending towns. Gifts of any amount are sought to augment this existing fund.

Contact Us
For more information about endowments, please contact the Development Office.

1883 Society
One hundred twenty-five years later, our school still benefits from Mary Erskine’s foresight and has established the 1883 Society to provide individuals with additional gift-giving vehicles while ensuring long-term financial benefits to the school.

Membership in the 1883 Society is accorded to those who have named or who intend to name the school in their estate plans through a bequest, deferred gift, or a trust instrument, or who are making gifts as part of their overall financial plan. 1883 Society members will have the knowledge that they have made an important contribution to the future of the youth in our community.

Bequest
Most planned gifts to Erskine will come in the form of a bequest. With a bequest, a donor may be able to accomplish something more significant than one would be able to achieve during his or her lifetime.

Donors can add revocable or irrevocable bequest language benefiting Erskine to a new or existing testamentary document. This is done through an attorney, and a copy of the final language can be shared with Erskine.

Donors can add Erskine as a revocable “percentage” beneficiary on a new or existing retirement plan or insurance policy. This is done by the donor him/herself simply by filling out a form provided by the retirement plan or insurance policy parent company and sending it back to the parent company through the mail. The donor then notifies Erskine of the beneficiary status.

There are no current tax benefits for a donor making a bequest.

Other Planned Giving Vehicles
Other planned giving vehicles include charitable trusts, annuities, and gifts of real estate. A representative of the school can work with you and your financial advisor to plan a gift that is both appropriate to your assets and that meets the spirit of your wishes.

Contact us
For more information about planned giving, please contact the Development Office.

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309 Windsor Road
South China, ME 04358
(207) 445 - 2962