As Saint Vincent’s Day Home celebrates our first century serving Oakland’s children, we look forward to the next 100 years with hope, optimism, and a sense of duty. It is clear that a new model of sustainability is needed in order to plan for a financially uncertain future. The most secure non‐profit organizations in tough times are those that can rely on their own sound management and financial reserves. It is unusual for early childhood education agencies to have a diverse base of private donors, especially individual donors. Fortunately, the Day Home established an annual fund 25 years ago, but it is still relatively modest, especially in comparison to the overall budget. Saint Vincent’s must increase its independent financial sustainability apart from the government. It will also use the occasion of its 100th Anniversary to launch a comprehensive Centennial Campaign.
A $6.5 Million Goal
The Centennial Campaign will provide funds to support students, family literacy, teachers, an education continuum, and energy-saving capital projects that will carry the Day Home into a second century of success. Our goal is to raise $6.5 million
The campaign will be three years in length, with five‐year pledges accepted. The comprehensive campaign will give donors the option of directing their gifts to specific purposes and time frames: donations for immediate use, over a specified period of time, or placed in the board‐restricted reserve fund. (At the board’s direction, earnings or corpus from this reserve fund can be allocated to the organization’s annual needs, reserved to grow the fund, and/or distributed for immediate use.)
For example, a donor giving a $50,000 gift could designate $10,000 for Day Home scholarships over 5 years, $10,000 to support immediate Educational Continuum scholarships, and a $30,000 endowment named for her mother to go into the restricted reserves. A look at the simple power of compounding illustrated in the chart demonstrates how prudent reserves create long‐term sustainability.
Centennial Campaign Components
The Children’s Fund: $2 Million
The Children’s Fund is the heart and soul of Saint Vincent’s plans for the next century. The Children’s Fund provides the Day Home with maximum flexibility to use funds where they are most needed, whether for daily school costs, health, or emergency services for family crises.
Home for the Next Century: $1 Million
This fund will launch our 148‐year‐old Victorian home into its next 100 years. The Day Home is already at the limit of its electricity allocation. This fund will allow Saint Vincent’s to install a solar energy system, lighting retrofits, high‐ efficiency windows, a rainwater harvest system, a “smart” irrigation system, greywater recycling, low‐flow retrofit kits, insulation and other energy‐saving strategies that are both environmentally responsible and fiscally wise.
Educational Continuum: $1 Million
After receiving a solid educational foundation at the Day Home, children entering the Oakland school system often have great difficulty maintaining the gains and momentum achieved while at Saint Vincent’s. The goal is to raise $1 million for scholarship awards so that Day Home graduates can continue their educations at local private or charter elementary schools. The awards would also assist with the purchase of books, uniforms and other costs that families cannot afford.
The Master Teacher Fund: $1 Million
Society tends to compensate teachers by the age of the children they teach, and the younger the children, the less the teacher earns, even with the same qualifications. A pre‐school teacher with a BA degree in Alameda County earns about $34,153 for a full year. The mean public school salary in Oakland is $54,328 for an academic year of 9‐10 months. Saint Vincent’s believes that younger children deserve the best possible teachers and that an investment made when students are young achieves the highest return. The Master Teacher Fund would provide professional development opportunities and competitive benefits that will help increase retention rates, education levels, and the professional quality and effectiveness of our teachers.
The Family Literacy Fund: $500,000
The family literacy project is crucial to the success of both children and their families. Invested at 4%, this fund would immediately produce $20,000 annually to undergird the family literacy project.
Contribute What You Can
It will take the efforts of everyone who believes in the mission of the Day Home to ensure our Centennial Campaign is a success. Please do what you can and contribute. We have a secure online donation process, can accept securities, stock, and real estate, review our giving options and choose one that works with your financial plans.