Annual Fund FAQs

 

Annual Fund FAQs

What does the Annual Fund make possible?

Your Annual Fund support goes directly to this school-year’s budget. Your charitable investment helps CAIS go beyond the basics to be extraordinary. Some examples from previous school years include: 

  • 5th, 6th, and 8th Grade Invention Convention

  • ECD Messy Art Day

  • Field trips to the Asian Art Museum, California Academy of Sciences, and SFMOMA

  • Visit from author/illustrator Chen Jiang Hong

  • Publishing parties

  • CAIS LEGO robotics team

For the 2020-2021 school year, gifts to the Uplift Fund helped to support CAIS’s health and risk mitigation measures, which include:

  • Facility improvements necessitated by the pandemic, such as additional play space for Preschool students and sinks across all campuses

  • Additional staff members to support small cohorts and personal protective equipment (PPE)

  • Technology enhancements to support students’ learning experiences, including iPads/Chromebooks for all students, Swivl cameras, and Zoom accounts

What do others give? How much am I expected to give?

There is no single metric; your philanthropy is a very individual decision. Know that everyone’s support for the Annual Fund helps set the table for the school’s greatness. Gifts of any size are valued and all are vital for making it a success!

 

It would be easier for me to make my Annual Fund gift in the spring. What should I do?

It’s perfectly fine to make your actual gift in the spring. Please pledge your support during the Annual Fund, which ends December 31, 2021. You’re welcome to take until June 1, 2022 to pay it off (the Advancement Office will even send you a reminder), but the sooner you make your donation the sooner we can put your gift to work. 

 

Doesn’t tuition cover costs?

Tuition does not fully cover the operating budget. Fundraising through the Annual Fund and ShowCAIS provides roughly 9% of the funds needed each year to balance the budget. 

 

Why doesn’t CAIS just charge the full amount as tuition and not bother with the Annual Fund?

CAIS is committed to socioeconomic diversity, and the school strives to keep tuition within the reach of as many families as possible. Additionally, fundraising allows all members of the CAIS community to contribute to our students’ educations with a tax-deductible donation. This is a practice adopted by all our peer schools.

 

 
Annual Fund 2019-2020