Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions and answers will introduce you to charitable giving at CFS.

Q. Tuition is expensive. Why must CFS ask for additional money?

Tuition covers about 84% of the full cost of educating a CFS student each year. We depend upon charitable contributions to supplement tuition income and cover operating expenses including faculty and staff salaries and benefits, professional development, building maintenance, and tuition assistance. Without this additional support, tuition would be higher. In addition, unlike tuition payments, contributions are tax-deductible.

Q. What is the Annual Fund?

The CFS Annual Fund is an indispensable source of unrestricted income and an important part of the annual operating budget. Gifts to the Annual Fund help to close the gap between the income received from tuition and the total cost of a CFS education. Each year, the CFS Annual Fund must increase in order to keep pace with inflation and the increased budgetary needs of the school.

Q. How much should we give to the CFS Annual Fund?

CFS needs and appreciates gifts of every size. Last year Annual Fund gifts ranged from $10 to $25,000. We encourage parents to give at a level that is proportionate to their giving ability; we hope that parents and guardians will make CFS their highest philanthropic priority while their children are students here.

In recent years, the participation rate among current families has been extraordinary—100% in 2004 and 99% in 2005 and 2006 —the highest of any independent school in our area. Our goal for FY 2008 is $250,000 and 100% participation from current families.

Q. Who supports the Annual Fund?

Parents, alumni/ae and alumni/ae parents, trustees, faculty and staff, members of Friends Meeting at Cambridge and other Quakers, grandparents and significant elders, and many other friends of CFS give to the Annual Fund. The success of the Annual Fund depends on the participation of the entire community.