February 2011 ~ Capital Campaign Newsletter
by Lucy Valentine Wurtz, WSP Development Director

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Neighborhood Gatherings a Huge Success

"The neighborhood gathering was wonderful. Not only did my husband and I get to know some great new people in our community, but the presentation opened our eyes to the larger vision for the school's future. "It's exciting to play a role in reaching the dream!" ~ Sandra Welch WSP Parent Nursery and 2nd Grade students

During this past fall and early winter, nearly half of our community came to "Neighborhood Gatherings" to learn about the Campaign for the Future. We held fourteen gatherings that ranged in size from eight to thirty people and included 105 families and 154 people overall.

Although these events all followed the same format— social time, introduction, presentation about the campaign and sharing—each was different and reflected the personal experiences and unique configuration of both the hosts and guests.

Attending all of the gatherings gave me an opportunity to appreciate the depth, wisdom and diversity of parents who have chosen Waldorf School of the Peninsula for their children's education. It was immensely gratifying for me to see families, who have been at the school for 10+ years, mixing with new parents from Nursery through 12th grade. Faculty members describing their calling to Waldorf education and our school inspired us all. The overwhelming enthusiasm for our plans to solidify the high school, move both the high school and middle school, expand early childhood, and improve employee compensation signaled that we are clearly on the right path towards the school's future.

Susan Luhrs and Sharon Lindsay at a gathering hosted by Sharon and Kevin Lindsay.

The Campaign Committee would like to thank the following families for hosting the Neighborhood Gatherings in their homes: Miko Yamaguchi and Dan O'Leary, Martha and Bill Perry, Kerstin and Michael Pintus, Wai and Curtis Mo, Jan and Ron Smith, Julie and Ivan Humphreys, Hagit and Oren Zeev, Cathy and Muneer Waheed, Bonnie and Jim Keller, Kelly Leahy McKeown and Andy McKeown, Amanda Oakson and Randy Salim, and Sharon and Kevin Lindsay.

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Campaign for the Future Fund Update

Our Campaign for the Future fund now stands at $1,343,000, or 67% of our campaign goal of $2,000,000. THANK YOU to the over 60 current and former WSP families and friends, who have pledged or given to our first-ever capital campaign.

As a reminder, $1,700,000 of the total will be used to complete the pioneering phase of the high school, execute the move to a new campus for the middle and high schools and bring all programs to a new level of sustainability. The additional $300,000 will be used to augment the endowment for faculty and staff compensation.

Please take time to think about what our school has meant to your family and what it will mean to families to come, and then give generously so we are able to reach or exceed our goal. Now is the time to be a part of our school's history by making a significant contribution to its present and its future.

Pledge forms are available in the office or click here to download.

The early success of the Campaign reflects the commitment, dedication and support of our WSP families. However, our small and modest school cannot accomplish this endeavor alone. We need the help of our entire extended community—including alumni, friends and extended families—to be successful in achieving our goal. I have also received several requests from families for campaign material for their parents, employers or family friends. If you have someone who might be interested in making a contribution to WSP, please contact me.

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Why Multi-Year Pledges?

Many people have asked why we are looking for multi-year pledges. The answer is simple: pledging over a three-to-five-year period magnifies the impact of your gift (see examples in the chart), and allows us to ensure that the long-term objectives of the campaign will be met.

While one-time gifts are essential for our work and always appreciated, multi-year gifts provide WSP with the additional assurance of sustainability that is necessary for the coming move. Pledges may be paid over a period of up to five years. In general, future capital campaigns are not begun until the pledge period is past.

Pledges and payments can be designed to fit your needs and preferences. Gifts can be in the form of cash, securities and realized bequests. Pledge payments can be made monthly, quarterly, or yearly, and in equal or increasing installments. Naming opportunities exist for gifts of $5,000 or more.

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Campaign for the Future is scheduled to end on March 31, 2011. Why this deadline?

As opposed to ongoing fundraising endeavors, capital campaigns have a definitive start and end period. March 31 was selected as the end date for this campaign for several reasons:

First, we need to finalize our budget and staffing plans for next year by mid-Spring, and we need to make sure all of our resources are lined up.

Second, we will need to borrow money to see us through the transition period, and the more money we have pledged, the less we will have to borrow (and the better loan rate we can obtain).

Third, on a practical level—we need to free up the limited human resources we have as a school from focusing intensively on fundraising to marketing and outreach to achieve our new enrollment goals.

Have questions? Want more info or a personal meeting? Please call me at 650/948-8433 or email me at lvwurtz@waldorfpeninsula.org.