A Guide to Giving & Getting Involved
Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences
“When we joined Crossroads, we were immediately welcomed into a loving community that felt like an extended family. What better way to reciprocate the love than to contribute in return? The gift size matters far less than the act of giving, because together, we’re so impactful! We’re demonstrating the importance of giving back to future generations, and that is truly the gift that keeps on giving.”
Anakela Washington, parent
Why We Ask
For more than 50 years, Crossroads School has provided students with an exceptional education. And for just as long, we’ve partnered with parents to fulfill this vision. By giving your time, talent and treasure, you demonstrate your investment in your children’s education, enhance student learning and help maintain our reputation as one of the finest progressive schools in the nation.
Every year, we ask parents to contribute to Annual Giving initiatives, primarily the Crossroads Annual Fund and K-12 Parent Association fundraising events. These fundraising eforts make up roughly 9% of the School’s operating budget and help ofset the cost of tuition. All donors to our various fundraising initiatives are gratefully acknowledged in our Annual Report.
We also encourage parents to volunteer. The active engagement of our creative and committed parent body enriches our School in countless ways and fosters a sense of belonging in the community.
We invite you to read on and learn all the ways that you can give and get involved at Crossroads!
How to Get Involved
Support from the Crossroads community is instrumental to the ongoing financial health of the School, and ensures that Crossroads can continue providing students with a world-class education and extraordinary learning opportunities. Here are some ways you can make an impact:
1. Time
2. Talent
3. Treasure
Volunteer as a class or gradelevel rep, Parent Association leader, event support, Admission tour guide or Crossroads Annual Fund volunteer.
Help design and execute Party Book activities and community events such as the Alley Party and the K-12 Parent Association Spring Event Fundraiser.
Support fundraising initiatives such as the Crossroads Annual Fund, Campaigns, Endowment, Planned Giving and the Spring Event Fundraiser.
Annual Giving Initiatives
1. The Crossroads Annual Fund
The Crossroads Annual Fund is the fundraising engine that drives the School. Your yearly gift is the most significant and comprehensive way that you can support the School. Every donation helps enhance academic programming, the arts, athletics, technology and the Experiential and Outdoor Education program. The Crossroads Annual Fund also empowers us to hire and retain our distinguished faculty, compensated in the 90th percentile among peer schools. And it bolsters the School’s Afordability Program, which distributes grants to one in four students and makes possible our socially and economically diverse student body. All gifts to this fund are tax deductible.*
The Crossroads Annual Fund launches each fall and runs through the end of the school year. We seek 100% parent participation and ask all families to make the Crossroads Annual Fund their first philanthropic priority each year. For more information, visit xrds.org/giving
Annual Giving Initiatives
2. K-12 Parent Association Fundraising
Proceeds from the annual K-12 Parent Association Spring Event Fundraiser and Party Book gatherings benefit the Afordability Program. By participating, you can help make a Crossroads education afordable for more families. One in four of our students participates in the Afordability Program.
Spring Event Fundraiser
Each year, the Parent Association hosts a Spring Event Fundraiser that brings the extended Crossroads community together for an evening of entertainment, delicious food and drink, and exciting silent auction and rafle items. The theme rotates: Past spring event fundraisers include Rock ‘n’ Roads, Crossroads Cabaret, The Art of the Doodle and Crossroads Night Live. This notto-be-missed “party of the year” raises funds for the Afordability Program via ticket sales, donations, and the auction and rafle.
Party Book
Party Book is a catalog of social events—some for families, some for adults—presented by the Parent Association. These events are fully hosted and funded by Crossroads community members, and all proceeds support the Afordability Program. These parties are a great way to connect with fellow Crossroads community members, make new friends, build community and have fun! There’s something for everyone, from poker nights and wine tastings for adults to bowling and pool parties for kids. And hosting a party is a great way to share your talent, skill or passion with the community.
While the Spring Event Fundraiser and Party Book raise critical funds for the Afordability Program, please note that the cost of a Party Book ticket, rafle ticket or winning auction bid is typically not tax deductible.
Other Fundraising Priorities
Campaigns
Generations of Crossroads families have built the school we know and love today through their vision and philanthropy. For example, the Norton Campus and Sports Center were built as part of the Building the Dream campaign launched in 1994. Periodically, the School undertakes a concerted fundraising efort for capital projects to improve our campuses, as well as to expand our endowment. We look to parents to invest in these important opportunities to transform the School for future generations of students.
The current campaign, Worlds Unimagined, was launched in 2012. The campaign has raised funds for the Financial Aid Endowment, built the Science Education & Research Facility on the 21st Street Campus, and endowed the Equity & Justice Institute. The current fundraising initiative of the campaign is the Bezdek Center for the Performing Arts, designed by renowned architect Zoltan E.Pali of SPF:a and scheduled to open in 2026. Housing state-of-the-art teaching, performance and rehearsal spaces, the facility will bolster the exceptional dance, drama, music and filmmaking programs that Crossroads ofers today. It also will provide a permanent home for the School’s Equity & Justice Institute.
Donors typically fulfill campaign pledges over a three- to five-year period in addition to supporting the Crossroads Annual Fund.
Endowment
Endowment gifts play a critical role in shaping the future of Crossroads. Preserving and growing our endowment provides the foundation for Crossroads’ vision by ensuring long-term financial support
An endowment can be thought of as a savings account or other financial assets that generate income through wise investment of the principal. Currently, Crossroads’ endowment is approximately $25 million, which is relatively modest compared to peer schools.
At independent schools such as Crossroads, building a strong endowment is the most significant way to ensure that we continue to thrive well into the future. Every dollar given strengthens the overall sum invested on behalf of Crossroads and allows the interest generated to flow back into important programs including the operating budget and the Afordability Program. Endowment gifts ensure that Crossroads can continue to provide the same life-changing educational experience for generations to come.
Planned Giving
The Robert Frost Legacy Society recognizes and honors donors who include Crossroads in their estate plans. Their thoughtful philanthropy will ensure that the same remarkable school that educated their children will be available to future generations. Deferred gifts of privately held stock, charitable trusts, life insurance and land are also considered planned gifts.
Architect renderings of the Bezdek Center for the Performing Arts.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a wonderful way for you to get to know the School, meet staf, faculty, administrators and other parents, and support your children’s interests. Over the decades, Crossroads has grown and flourished because of the vision, leadership and commitment of its wonderful and dedicated parent volunteers. We encourage you to choose volunteer opportunities that not only support the School’s needs and goals, but also match your interests and availability. Volunteer positions include:
Event organizers, who work hands-on to help plan and execute events such as Alley Party and Spring Event Fundraiser.
Thought partners, who serve on the Parent Association leadership team, the Crossroads Annual Fund parent leadership team, or on Board committees as non-trustee members.
Community ambassadors, who take on roles such as class reps, Admission Ofice tour guides, afinity group leaders, Crossroads Annual Fund volunteers or Spring Event phonathon callers.
“I often joke that the reason I’ve volunteered at Crossroads over the years is so that I could mortify my daughters by being on campus, but the truth is that there’s no better way to feel connected to the School and the Crossroads community. The parents who give their time as volunteers are all like-minded champions of the School. We all aspire to support its mission, and donating your time is a truly rewarding way to achieve that goal.”
Michael Kadin, parent and parent of alumni
