Community Giving

ROOTED IN Giving

COMMUNITY is Felt Through Support for the Students on De La Salle Giving Day and Giving Tuesday

Fall 2021 was a collective celebration as De La Salle was able to start the school year in person after over a year and a half of virtual and hybrid learning. It was a joy for faculty, staff, and students alike to be 100 percent on campus while still navigating through the challenges of COVID-19.

A new school year brings our every year, operational challenges of running a school like De La Salle. With the increasing need for tuition assistance (now more than $4 million) for families in need, the continued investment in innovation and resources for our faculty, and the ever-growing interest in co-curricular programming for students - the need for continued support for the Annual Fund is imperative. Thankfully, the De La Salle COMMUNITY continues to answer the call for support, and this past fall was no different. On Tuesday, October 12, 2021, parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends poured in support and love for our students on De La Salle Giving Day. Thanks to a wonderful Challenge Grant from Steve ‘83 and Kellie Abreu and 350+ donors, together, more than $200,000 was raised to benefit our students, a new record for De La Salle Giving Day!

#GI INGTUESDAY

On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, De La Salle celebrated Giving Tuesday, a day recognized by organizations globally to encourage 11.30.2021 philanthropic giving during the holiday season. For Giving Tuesday this year, De La Salle focused efforts to raise awareness and funds for a program near and dear to our hearts - the Bishop John S. Cummins Scholarship Program. During Giving Tuesday, messages from Bishop Cummins Program Coordinator, Roberto Martinez, and program staff member, Terry Eidson, shared personal reflections about the importance and impact of the program on the Bishop Cummins Scholars who are recipients of the support. You can visit dlshs.org/givingtuesday and view video testimonials from our Bishop Cummins Scholars. De La Salle’s mission is to “serve and embrace students with varied academic needs and diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.” For a population of our student body, the economic need is great. Some students don’t have the money to purchase a meal, a BART or bus ticket, clothes for Liturgy, or even a ticket to the dance, let alone pay tuition. Some come from homes torn by drugs or parents facing unemployment, they may be bouncing from one home to the next, or have even experienced homelessness. At De La Salle you might think that our families are immune to these challenges, but you would be surprised. To our Bishop Cummins Scholars, these challenges are a reality. Thanks to the De La Salle COMMUNITY, more than $90,000 was raised through our #GivingTuesday effort and into December, from individual donations, as well as three significant foundation grants specifically awarded to support the Bishop Cummins Scholarship Program.

While the school is thrilled with the success, the need is still very great as De La Salle continues to make the gift of a Lasallian Catholic education available to the students. Thank you to our community who make investing in the school and our young men a philanthropic priority throughout the year. Contact Vice President for Advancement, Mark Chiarucci at (925) 288-8106 or chiaruccim@dlshs.org to learn more about how your gifts can make a tremendous impact on our school and students.

Leadership Giving

De La Salle High School is built on a foundation of generosity. Today, De La Salle philanthropists are vital members of this community of support, with a unique perspective on the power of a De La Salle education. The De La Salle Annual Fund is one of the most important ways our community of parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends equip our students with exceptional resources. Annual Fund gifts have an immediate impact on every current student, through unrestricted support for De La Salle’s co-curricular activities, faculty development, and financial aid.

When you make a leadership gift to the De La Salle Annual Fund, you help create exceptional experiences for today’s students. Through your generosity, you open doors of opportunity to students from the widest possible range of backgrounds. In turn, each student brings to De La Salle different passions and perspectives, talents, and backgrounds.

Your gift also helps make it possible for the school to meet its mission to educate all qualified students. Leadership gifts play a critical role in filling the gap between the amount of financial aid that’s available from endowed scholarship funds, budgeted financial aid, and the total need of today’s students.

The impact of your annual leadership gift is immediate and significant.

Leadership Giving at De La Salle makes the remarkable achievements of our school possible and ensures that students are given every opportunity to succeed in the classroom. De La Salle appreciates the generous support of parents, alumni, and friends - at all levels of giving. Membership is given to those families who commit gifts of $1,965 or more annually. The Leadership Giving is recognized based on annual giving to De La Salle from July 1 - June 30 each school year. Your gift, along with your corporate match, will be combined for inclusion in the highest annual recognition society.

1965 DE LA SALLE’S MOST LOYAL DONORS DE LA SALLE’S MOST LOYAL DONORS

THE CLUB

The 1965 Club recognizes investments in the De La Salle Annual Fund totaling over $1,965 annually. Benefits include an exclusive invitation to our annual 1965 Club Reception and special quarterly communications from De La Salle Leadership so you may see the results of your investments in action. The Lasallian Society recognizes investments in the De La Salle Annual Fund totaling over $5,000 annually. In addition to benefits received at the 1965 Club level, exclusive benefits for the Lasallian Society include a special Leadership Round Table reception and a comprehensive Annual Impact Report from the President. The Founder’s Circle recognizes cumulative investments totaling over $100,000 at De La Salle. In addition to benefits received at the 1965 Club and Lasallian Society levels.

WHY SHOULD I INCREASE MY GIFTS? THE MARGIN OF EXCELLENCE.

If you have been making Annual Fund gifts of $500 or $1,000, please consider upgrading your gift to the 1965 Club level of $1,965 or the Lasallian Society level of $5,000. Why? De La Salle High School strives for excellence in all that we do and we are intentional with every step that we take - our academics, our co-curriculars, and all of our programming. The support of our leadership donors affords us the opportunity to sustain that excellence, by providing significant resources for each of the school’s priorities.

By becoming a leadership giving investor at De La Salle, it will give you the satisfaction of knowing that you have led the way toward ensuring the standard of excellence and phenomenal achievements that have been a tradition for our school, and are maintained for years to come. For more information on Leadership Giving at De La Salle High School, please contact Vice President for Advancement, Mark Chiarucci at (925) 288-8106 or chiaruccim@dlshs.org or Director of Development, Karla Wiese at (925) 288-8195 or wiesek@dlshs.org. SPRING 2022 | 18