Your gift advances the mission of the School, supports our culture of diversity and inclusion, ensures the best academic experience for each student, and helps us bridge the gap between tuition and the cost of a Parker education. Your support matters!

Parents, students, alumni, grandparents, parents of alumni, and faculty and staff give generously each year, along with friends of the School. A senior-class campaign educates our students on the importance of supporting their soon-to-be alma mater. We also do a special drive among faculty and staff, and their participation rates are among the highest. Both campaigns are met with excitement, and participation has grown steadily over the years.

We urge you to make Parker your philanthropic priority. Strong parent and alumni participation makes a powerful statement to our internal and external community. Please give what you can.

Yes! The School values every gift. This collective investment ensures excellence in the educational program.

The School's policy is to keep tuition increases low so a Parker education is accessible to a broad range of families. The School's financial discipline and award-winning governance ensure an exceptional education. But tuition falls short of the true cost of a Parker education, covering 91 percent. Every student at Parker is subsidized, even students who do not receive financial assistance. The gap between revenues and full cost is approximately $2,450 a student. Enhancements to educational offerings, facilities, and financial assistance expand the gap.

Our annual goal is to raise more than $2.5 million to support Parker's endowment and current-use funds through the Gala, Day of Giving, and Alumni Giving Day. Additionally, our goal is 100 percent giving participation by current families, and faculty and staff. We are also focused on increasing support from alumni and grandparents.

• Twice during the first half of the fiscal year (July-December), once for annual giving for endowment and once for the current-use fund for faculty professional development through the Day of Giving. For those who haven't yet contributed by mid-Spring, they will be asked again in the last quarter of the fiscal year (May-June). We seek 100 percent parent giving participation. Each family is asked to make a gift of any amount.
• Another ask occurs during the second half of the fiscal year (January-June) to support the current-use fund for student financial assistance through the Gala. Those who attend the Gala or seek to support it in other ways, such as corporate sponsorships or buying an auction item, are encouraged to take part.

If you are an alumnus/na, you will be asked during Alumni Giving Day to support the greatest needs of the School. 

The fiscal year is July 1 to June 30. The annual giving campaign coincides with the School's fiscal year; solicitations begin in August and continue throughout the fiscal year.

A strong culture of philanthropy is essential to Parker's success in its second century and beyond. This means the entire Parker community — including families receiving financial assistance — understands and acts on their responsibility to support Parker through giving.

The 2011-2012 accreditation by the California Association of Independent Schools/Western Association of Schools and Colleges urged Parker to increase philanthropic support. In our recent accreditation in 2020, the visiting team acknowledged that Parker had met this strategic goal and encouraged the School to continue to advance the culture of philanthropy by raising the number of loyal donors and increasing alumni giving participation. 

A donation can be recognized as either a gift or enrichment. A donation is a gift when it is recognized by the Advancement Office with a tax receipt (Gifts to Parker below). A donation is an enrichment when it enhances the Parker experience and program but is not recognized by the Advancement Office with a tax receipt (Enrichments to Parker below). For more information, visit ways to give.

• Cash/credit card (to Advancement Office)
• Stock/wire transfer (to Advancement Office)
• Irrevocable planned gift (complying with the School's Gift Acceptance Policy)
• Fund a scholarship (current-use fund for student financial assistance/Gala)
• Fund a fellowship (current-use fund for faculty professional development/Day of Giving)
• Gala event underwriting/sponsorship/unrestricted support

• Silent/live auction Item (donated or bought)
• Athletic/program goods
• Used uniforms for Parent Association sale
• Community service project goods
• Hosted event (at home, work or dedicated space)
• Classroom goods

The easiest and quickest way is to go through our website: www.francisparker.org/givenow. For more details, including how to make gifts of stock or where to learn more about putting Parker in your will, please visit Ways to Give. If you prefer to write a check, make it out to "Francis Parker School," and in the memo section indicate where you want your gift to go. Send gifts to the Advancement Office, Francis Parker School, 6501 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111. Parker's tax ID number is 95-1696720.

Named endowed funds, which add to the power of Parker’s growing endowment, reflect investment levels of $50,000 and above. Your gift to establish a named fund will help Parker continue to offer a balanced, challenging, and integrated educational program from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. Please contact the Advancement Office at 858-569-7900 if you are interested in creating a giving legacy at the School.

Many corporations and organizations match charitable gifts made by their employees. If your employer offers a matching gift program, you may be able to double or even triple your gift to Parker! Contact your human resources office to see if your organization matches charitable gifts, or use our search engine here. Please send the forms they provide to the Advancement Office, Francis Parker School, 6501 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111.

Email advancement@francisparker.org. Volunteers team up with the Advancement Office to encourage parents, grandparents, alumni, parents of alumni, and friends to support the School.

Gifts of $2,500-$4,999 or more can be pledged over a period of up to three years and gifts of $5,000 and above can be pledged over a period of up to five years; all pledges must have a fully executed gift agreement between the School and donor(s). The School has a Gift Acceptance Policy that details pledges and other gifts to Parker.

Endowment gifts provide a source of perpetual support for Parker. All funds held in the endowment are invested in accordance with Parker's Investment Policy Statement (IPS), which is approved annually by the Board of Trustees. The accumulated investment earnings from these investments are available to support Parker's operating needs, subject to the purposes specified by donors. Without the donor's consent, the original value of an endowed gift may not be depleted. Included in the IPS is Parker's spending rate, the amount of investment earnings Parker is authorized to release each year from the endowment to support its operating needs. The spending rate is currently 3.5 percent of the endowment fund's average value at the end of December in each of the three preceding calendar years. This means an endowment with a $40 million average balance over a three-year period provides $700,000 of funding support each year.

• Support long-term financial health;
• Sustain educational excellence;
• Honor our commitment to make Parker accessible and affordable through financial assistance;
• Help minimize tuition increases;
• Attract and retain the very best faculty and students;
• Increase the total amount in the endowment fund on a per-student basis. Parker's ratio is well below many of our Best in California (BIC) peer schools. At the end of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Parker's ratio was about $39,000 per student compared to a peer group average of $16,000 per student; and
• Preserve and develop programs that meet the needs of our students, now and in the future.

The annual funding from the endowment spending rate is not the same as the return on investments held in the endowment. Investment earnings in excess of the spending rate (3.5-percent) are kept in the endowment to preserve its purchasing power against inflation, to provide a cushion for periods of poor market performance, and to accelerate growth over time. Most importantly, gifts to the endowment provide a reliable financial base that Parker can count on when planning for future programs, regardless of how the market is performing.

In July 2013, Parker adopted a more passive investment management approach under which its endowment assets are invested in broadly diversified funds across different asset classes guided by the Investment Policy Statement (IPS). The focus is to grow the endowment and that focus has been realized both in the addition of assets and the realization of considerable growth of retained earnings. Asset allocation decisions are made by the Investment Committee, a subcommittee of the Finance Committee, within ranges set forth in Parker's IPS. This approach allows Parker to focus on endowment growth while also ensuring that the endowment is appropriately diversified across different asset classes.   

Primary oversight of the endowment portfolio comes from the Investment Committee. In addition to monitoring the endowment portfolio, the Investment Committee reviews the performance of the endowment annually with the Finance Committee and Board of Trustees. In July 2013, as part of a decision to adopt a more passive investment management approach, Parker transferred its endowment portfolio to Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm with more than $660 billion under management. As a result of this decision, investment fees are about 21 basis points compared to 67 basis points before this change.

At the end of June 2013, the balance in Parker's endowment fund was approximately $16 million. At the end of June 2021, the balance was more than $43.3 million. Investment returns over the past five years averaged approximately 8.7 percent per year compared to 9.4% of the index comparison.

Yes. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, funding from the endowment spend rate contributed about 2.3% to Parker's spending. In 2021-2022 the endowment is expected to contribute 2.6% of the budget.  The endowment has proven an important stable and growing source of income, supporting Parker’s commitment to financial assistance and innovative programs. As the endowment grows, so will Parker's ability to sustain exceptional programs while mitigating tuition increases.