your support enriches the lives of our students

Supporting the Chicago Waldorf School can be done in a variety of ways that fit easily into financial and estate planning. You can give gifts by check or credit card, matching gifts, appreciated securities, gifts of property, charitable lead trust, charitable gift annuity, or charitable remainder trust. For more information please contact Dana Hegedorn at dhegedorn@chicagowaldorf.org or 773-828-8450.

Ways to give

  • The Community Fund is a vital charitable giving program, and is the primary way that our CWS community makes philanthropic gifts to the school. Tuition and class fees only cover a percentage of the actual cost of education at the Chicago Waldorf School; the purpose of the Community Fund is to cover that remaining gap and help to enhance the school’s operating budget.

    Click here to give to the Community Fund online.

  • You may make a check payable to Chicago Waldorf School and submit it at our Main Office or mail to:

    Chicago Waldorf School
    Attn: Advancement Department
    5200 N Ashland Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60640.

  • Do you or your spouse or partner work for an organization or company that matches gifts to non-profit organizations, such as schools? Do you serve on a board of directors of an organization that matches gifts by their directors? Many companies offer matching gifts for employees, employees’ spouses/partners and some retirees. Request a matching gift form from the company’s benefits or personnel office and submit it with your payment. What a wonderful way to increase your gift to Chicago Waldorf School!

  • Donors may transfer appreciated securities as a form of payment.

    - Authorize your broker to transfer shares to Chicago Waldorf School
    - Contact our Advancement Director for information on how to effectively transfer securities

  • Real estate might be a perfect gift to Chicago Waldorf School because normally the sale of appreciated real estate often leads to capital gains taxes, real estate agent and attorney fees, etc. Many of these taxes can be avoided by involving a non-profit organization in your plans. Some donors may even choose to occupy the property for their life, with the asset becoming valuable to Chicago Waldorf School upon death.

  • Can you forgo the earnings from a property or another asset to fund a special gift to Chicago Waldorf School?

    A donor can make a gift over a period of years or over a lifetime by creating a Charitable Lead Trust. Earnings go to Chicago Waldorf School and when the trust terminates, the assets revert back to the donor or to a named beneficiary or loved ones, such as grandchildren.

  • In exchange for cash or securities, Chicago Waldorf School will pay the donor or a loved one a fixed amount annually for the rest of their life or for the lives of two annuitants. A minimum contribution of $25,000 must be made in order for a Charitable Gift Annuity to be established at Chicago Waldorf School. Most donors can expect payout rates from approximately 6 percent to 9.7 percent annually. You can even support Chicago Waldorf School by designating 80 percent of the earnings income to you and 20 percent to Chicago Waldorf School.

  • Would you or a loved one like to receive a fixed annual income for life and help support the school's initiatives?

    By creating an irrevocable Charitable Remainder Trust, you can receive annual income until death when the corpus of the trust is distributed to Chicago Waldorf School. You can even support the school now by designating 80 percent of the earnings income to you and 20 percent to Chicago Waldorf School!

Give-Back Programs

  • Use Good Search for internet inquiries and online research. Upon registering, every time you use this search engine and click through to other websites a 1¢ donation will be made to the Chicago Waldorf School. Register here to activate your Good Search profile.

  • Support a local business while also supporting CWS! MightyNest helps families create a healthy home by making it easier to research and purchase safe, non-toxic alternatives to everyday products. Every purchase at MightyNest donates 15% back to CWS! Sign up for free and shop their website to find a unique selection of natural and organic products.

  • Experience all the affordability and delivery speed of Amazon while supporting your school! When you purchase eligible products at AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price back to CWS! Sign-up for free and register with CWS.

  • Get your friends to donate to a cause you care about by starting a fundraiser on Facebook! It’s easy to do, and no fees are charged for fundraisers supporting non-profits, so 100% of donations go to CWS! Start your fundraiser today!

Endowments

Like other independent schools, we rely on philanthropy and long term financial investments to strengthen and secure our financial operations. For this type of specialized support we rely on endowments. An endowment is a fund whose principal is required to stay intact and is invested to create an ongoing source of income to offset expenses. We are fortunate beneficiaries of three current endowments which have been generously established by members of the Chicago Waldorf School community.

To learn how to contribute to an Endowment Fund, please contact our Advancement Director, Dana Hegedorn.

  • The Lazar Endowment is designed to strengthen the school's ability to provide scholarship support for students in need, for faculty with children attending the school, and for the siblings of currently enrolled students.

  • This special fund has been created to honor Joe Ruscitti’s love of sports and his passion for youth athletics. This endowment supports athletic programming and physical education development for the Chicago Waldorf School.

  • The Elizabeth Lauder Early Fund is designated to receive gifts and bequests to provide uniforms for the high school women’s basketball team.

We welcome your support of the school and can assist you in planning your long term school contributions or work with you to maximize your contributions with corporate matching gift programs.

For more information about our endowments or other gifting programs please contact our Director of Operations and Advancement Dana Hegedorn.