Give to Make an Impact

Waldorf students change the world through their ingenuity, creativity, generosity, brilliance, and good deeds. In this way, your gifts are not only a gift to the school but a gift to the world. In support of the Annual Giving Campaign 2024-2025, please consider donating today!

To learn more about how you can give, please contact development@sacwaldorf.org

Why give? Dunja Popovic, SWS High School Humanities Teacher, says it best: "I feel that this school has a special mission that is not like that of many other educational institutions. It’s a place where we are all coming together to work out what it means to be a human being in the world as opposed to cramming students full of information. It’s a place for students to get to be themselves, to be seen. It’s a space where we can face together everything that is going on in our world. And it’s a warm space in which people feel the bonds of community and caring. When we ask you to donate, we are asking you to make an investment in the world you want to live in, in the world you want your children and grandchildren to live in – a world in which people can be cared for in community and be who they are, bringing their unique gifts to the world to help all beings on this planet flourish.”

Your gifts support

  • recruiting and supporting our outstanding faculty.

  • financial aid, which increases socioeconomic diversity and access at our programs.

  • our beautiful campus and facilities.

  • the long-term sustainability of Sacramento Waldorf School to live its social mission into the future.

Ways to Give

Annual Giving - October thru December

SWS’s biggest fundraiser of the year is Annual Giving. Your gift supports the unrestricted operating costs of SWS, beyond tuition revenue, including our sports and arts programs, our beautiful campus, and much more.

Campus Stewardship Fund - ongoing throughout the year

Funds are currently being raised to go towards:

  • Upgrades to the SWS Track and Field

  • Driveway Hill Asphalt Improvements

  • Additional long-term/future projects of the Campus Stewardship Fund

Endowment Fund - supported by the Waldorf Cup

You can strengthen and sustain our community by giving to the Endowment Fund. The fund has now reached its initial goal of $1 million, which means that we are able to begin drawing on the interest and provide long-term sustainable resources for the school. Gifts to the Sacramento Waldorf School Endowment Fund give forever, providing a solid financial foundation for the school and supporting current and future generations of students and faculty. A robust Endowment is a major factor in our school's ability to continue providing an inspired education to students, while supporting faculty salaries.

Planned Giving

Planned giving and bequests secure a gift for the future. SWS welcomes planned gifts such as stocks, bequests, retirement assets, personal property, real estate, and estate remainder. Typical planned gifts are often decided upon within the context of individual financial planning. Contact the Development Department for more information.

Thank you for all you do to support Sacramento Waldorf School—your gift of financial support makes it possible for us to continue our mission so that future generations of leaders may bring the fruits of a Sacramento Waldorf Education to bear on the world. Please don’t hesitate to contact the Development Department with questions and suggestions: development@sacwaldorf.org

There are many ways to give to Sacramento Waldorf School, and every gift makes a difference. Below are descriptions of the many avenues individuals, families, and organizations can take to help sustain our school for generations to come.

Giving Glossary

  • If SWS is named as a sole and irrevocable owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy, the market value (usually the cash surrender value) of the policy is deductible as a charitable gift. (Bequest intentions established by individuals who are 72 years of age and older and who provided written confirmation of their specific bequest provisions for SWS will be counted toward the campaign’s total. Life income gifts unitrusts, annuity trusts, pooled income fund contributions, and gift annuities will be counted towards a campaign’s total at a present value of the reminder interest allowable to the donor as a deduction by the IRS.)

  • Gifts of cash can be one-time gifts, recurring gifts (pledges), or employer-matching gifts to Annual Giving, all of which directly support the school’s operating budget. Gifts of cash can also support capital campaigns, memorial funds, the school’s endowment, or other restricted funds. All cash gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed under IRS regulations.

  • Our endowment was established to support both current and future generations of students and faculty and will last in perpetuity, with only the payout from the fund spent each year. Gifts to the endowment keep giving forever, providing a solid financial foundation for our future. The endowment combines the gratification of helping secure the school’s future with the joy of honoring a child, grandchild, or teacher in a meaningful way. Gifts can also celebrate a milestone or honor a memory. In addition, endowing assets often provides tax savings and other financial benefits that enable donors to give more than they might have thought possible.

  • Sacramento Waldorf School deeply appreciates that families, volunteers, alum, and community members share their valuable time, diverse interests, and incredible talents with our school. Individuals from a wide range of professions such as accountants, architects, artists, attorneys, builders, chefs, consultants, designers, printers, and a host of other crafts- and trades-people donate goods and services. While in-kind gifts most often support our silent auction, alternatives are most welcome and appreciated. 

  • Many companies will match or multiply donations made by employees. Those who wish to significantly enhance the value of their gift are encouraged to contact their employer’s personnel office about matching-gift opportunities.

  • Contributions of tangible personal property - including real estate, rare books, works of art, and antiques — may provide immediate tax advantages. Gifts of real estate and personal property will be credited at the appraised value at the time of the gift, provided there are no restrictions on the sale of the property.

  • Commitments made to campaigns as pledges can be paid on a schedule established by the donor over a period of months or years.

  • A gift of appreciated securities, either publicly traded or from a private company, may provide greater tax advantages than gifts of cash. Donors can deduct the current fair market value as a charitable gift and completely avoid capital gains tax on appreciation.