FUNDRAISINGNEWS 2016
I have always felt that it is a fundamental part of my job as a headmaster to keep a weather eye on fresh trends in the world of education generally and recognise new initiatives that can be adapted for our own ends at Arnold House. Particular areas of school life where I am certain we can continue to lead the way are fundraising and bursaries. On average, I visit five or six senior schools each term, and attend numerous conferences and seminars on a wide range of subjects. The people I meet,
whether from senior independent schools or prep schools, are genuinely surprised and impressed to hear about the scope and success of our own fundraising efforts. To raise in excess of ÂŁ680,000 over the past seven years for the Bursary and Annual Funds is a phenomenal amount for a prep school of our size, and says much about the outward looking and philanthropic nature of the School community here at Arnold House. It also reflects well on the Development Office, run so effectively by Stephanie Miller, and the support she receives from governors,
the Board of Friends and the Bursary Ambassadors. Rather than rest on our laurels, however, I believe that the time is right to take a fresh look at what is possible and explore new ways of securing funds to benefit our current boys and the bursary boys of the future. Viv Thomas Headmaster
FUNDRAISING: MOVING FORWARD Fundraising for the Arnold House bursary scheme started in earnest in May 2011 with a Bursary Fund Gala. Since then, twelve boys have benefited from an education at Arnold House due to the generosity of our parents, past and present, and the wider Arnold House community.
Friends and the Bursary Ambassadors a number of areas have been identified as having potential to enrich the School’s fundraising capability.
Moving ahead, we believe the time is right to start exploring other avenues of fundraising to ensure the continued success of the scheme well into the future. With the help of the Board of
Many organisations have a match funding policy, whereby a donation made to a charity by an employee could be matched by their employer. Companies may also match the fundraising total
These include: Corporate Fundraising & Match Funding
(or a percentage of it) for an event. We understand that large corporations are likely to do match funding, but these schemes are not exclusive to the major corporate giants. Independent companies are also known to be interested in charitable giving through match funding too. With the help of our parent body we hope to compile a list of companies that have a match funding scheme or who may be willing to match fund any of our events.
Charitable Grant Making Trusts
wish to leave a gift to Arnold House in their will.
The Association of Charitable Foundations suggest that there are some 10,000 charitable trusts and foundations in the UK distributing £2 billion in grants annually. With a few exceptions, many charitable trusts and foundations derive their income from an endowment. Trusts and foundations are extremely varied, can be institutional or family-based, and give grants for a wide variety of causes. Some are focused on particular geographical areas while others restrict donations to certain types of organisation, well-defined community or area of interest such as education.
Since then a number of changes in legacy giving have taken place and the details of the George Smart Society have been updated. This year, we plan to raise greater awareness of the School’s legacy programme to our alumni. Former Parents
Local Businesses
The School’s role now is to research and identify those who focus on education and may be interested in supporting a prep-school bursary programme. We are already aware of a few trusts that work with senior schools which gives us a good starting point, however, comprehensive research before applying to a trust is vital and time spent on this will be key to our success.
There have been many examples of local businesses and communities coming together to support development in schools. St John’s Wood is a vibrant part of London, with the presence of many businesses, hospital trusts, Lord’s cricket ground and continuous land redevelopment; it would appear that there are a range of possibilities for raising funds within our local community. Arnold House has always been well supported by the high street in terms of fundraising events and we believe this can be extended further in the future.
Former parents of Arnold House are always encouraged to stay in touch with the School, although, inevitably as the boys move onto their senior schools, parents form new relationships and move on themselves. That being said, Arnold House will always be the school where a boy has spent the better part of his education; all the way from a boy wearing a cap and short trousers to the beginnings of a young man. It may be the case that former parents would like to be kept abreast of developments at Arnold House and contribute further to the School’s success.
Legacies In 1966, after twenty seven years as Headmaster, George Smart established Arnold House as a Charitable Educational Trust. In 2008 in recognition of his outstanding contribution and to honour his memory, the School founded The George Smart Society for those who
Parents or old boys who have some expertise in any of these areas outlined above and may be able to help or advise the Development Office are encouraged to get in touch with the Director of Development, Stephanie Miller at smiller@arnoldhouse.co.uk or on 020 7266 6989.
ANNUAL FUND The Annual Fund 2016 has been a success with the majority of items from the list being funded. These have included 10 new keyboards and an electronic drum kit for the music suite, 30 new Chapel Choir music folders, a phonics set for Learning Support, a portable cricket scoreboard for Canons Park and six football goals for the playground. In addition, the Parents’ Association made a generous donation allowing the art department to hire a new Artist in Residence for the year. Tom Berry is an exhibiting artist and commercial illustrator. He will specialise in screen printing at Arnold House and is already working with Year 7 boys on a digital design project. The 2016 appeal continues with a few items left to fund including a number of items for the science and sports departments for which we hope to secure funding before the end of the year. We are most grateful to those parents and old boys who have supported these projects which directly enhance teaching and learning and the boys’ enjoyment of their school days.
GIVE AS YOU LIVE Give as you Live is a fundraising platform that works with over 4,000+ leading online retailers so a percentage of every purchase is donated to charity, without costing the charity or the shopper a penny extra. Online shops include Amazon, eBay, Apple, The White Company, John Lewis, Selfridges, House of Fraser, Sports Direct, Moonpig, British Airways, Waitrose and Boots, to name but a few! Arnold House is a registered charity and has qualified to join the Give as you Live scheme. We already have a number of supporters raising money for the School’s bursary fund which we hope will become common practice amongst school community before too long. In order to start raising money through Give as you Live please visit:
www.giveasyoulive.com/join/ arnoldhouseschool Select ‘Sign up as a shopper’ - it takes less than a minute to set up and start shopping at all the stores. You can also download a link to your toolbar to make it easy to access each time you shop – select option ‘Download Donation Reminder’ in order to do this. Each time you want to shop, go through the Give as you Live link, select the shop which will then direct you to the website and then shop as normal. In addition, you will be able to see exactly how much you have raised for the School both individually and as a whole community. There is also a very easy to use app which you can download on your phone so that you can shop through it whilst on the move!
RAISE FUNDS FOR US JUST BY SHOPPING ONLINE Did you know...
Thousands of stores will donate to us a percentage of every pound you spend online when you shop through
www.giveasyoulive.com/join/arnoldhouseschool On mobile & desktop You can now shop via the Website; by installing the desktop Shopping Bar and on the go with the new Mobile App.
w Shop no & ile on mobtop desk
Give as you Live® Stay in touch Join our 60,000+ Give as you Live community
CHARITY During the past year boys, staff and parents have continued to support a number of worthy causes through various activities and events, raising a total of £10,966. Locally, we raised £3,452 for the St John’s Hospice from a Yellow and Blue themed charity day and the annual Chapel Choir Concert in the Chapel at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth. The international charity chosen by the boys was Mercy Ships. £5,924 was raised which will go towards
much needed medical equipment on board the African Mercy – the world’s largest charitable floating hospital. A further £1,620 was raised for national charities including the Poppy Appeal, Marie Curie, the Royal Life Boats and Crisis. This academic year, the boys have chosen to support international charity Plan who work with communities around the globe to tackle childrens’ rights. They work across a range of sectors including
education, health, child protection, economic security and water and sanitation. More recently their focus has been on the rights of girls through their ‘because I am a girl’ campaign. £2,300 has already been raised for Plan following a Book Character themed charity day in October as well as a successful sale of Second Hand Uniform at the beginning of term. During the spring term, there will be a focus on supporting the St John’s Hospice.
HOW TO DONATE Donations to the Bursary and Annual Funds can be made by cheque or bank transfer directly to their dedicated bank accounts as follows: Arnold House School Bursary Fund Royal Bank of Scotland Sort Code 16-00-83 Account Number 00126570
Arnold House School Annual Fund Royal Bank of Scotland Sort code: 16-00-83 Account Number: 00134514
Charity vouchers are also accepted. Please contact Stephanie Miller, Director of Development, for further details at smiller@arnoldhouse.co.uk or on 020 7266 6989. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Arnold House School 1 Loudoun Road St. John’s Wood, London NW8 0LH Telephone: 020 7266 4840 Email: office@arnoldhouse.co.uk Website: www.arnoldhouse.co.uk Arnold House School Ltd (Limited by Guarantee). Registered in London Number 889424. Educational Charitable Trust Number 312725