FAQs

List of 6 frequently asked questions.

• How do gifts to the Sierra Canyon Fund impact the students?

  Your gift to the Sierra Canyon Fund supports all of the programs that make our school unique: experienced and dedicated teachers who are passionate about teaching; an engaging curriculum; individualized attention and a low student-teacher ratio; state-of-the-art technology and equipment; outstanding facilities, including visual arts studios, an engineering lab, and classrooms for scientific investigations; stellar athletic programs; library resources; and exclusive programs for experiential learning.

• Why not just raise tuition?

  We keep tuition as low as possible for an independent school of our stature, in order to ensure the diverse character of the School. The Sierra Canyon Fund helps to keep tuition manageable, and unlike tuition, philanthropic gifts to Sierra Canyon are 100% tax-deductible.

• I give to the School’s events and in other ways. Do I still need to make a gift to the Sierra Canyon Fund?

  The Sierra Canyon Fund is the only fundraising effort that measures parent participation on a yearly basis. This information is published in our annual report, and it’s tracked by funders as an indicator of commitment from our community. It is the single most important measure of how strongly the School’s constituents believe in our mission and in what the School has done for their children’s academic progress, character development, and growth in the arts and athletics. So even if you do participate in school life in other ways, your gift to the Sierra Canyon Fund is important.

• How much should I give to the Sierra Canyon Fund?

  Each year, we ask each family to make a meaningful gift to the School. Meaningful is commensurate with your family’s giving capacity. Every donation makes an immediate impact, and each gift is deeply appreciated. All families, regardless of any financial assistance they may receive, will be asked to make their gift to the Sierra Canyon Fund. Each contribution makes a difference in the life of Sierra Canyon School, and the quality of education that your child receives.

• When do I make my annual gift?

  The Sierra Canyon Fund launches in the fall, and we encourage gifts and pledges to be made in the first 100 days of school. However, donations can be made throughout the academic year, up until the end of the School’s fiscal year on June 30.

• What should I consider when trying to maximize my deductions?

   

  Maximizing Deductions for Donations to Sierra Canyon School 

  Sierra Canyon School is a fully qualified section 501(c)(3) charitable organization. As a result, you will receive the maximum value for your charitable donation to the School.  

   

  Cash Donations 

  • Your cash donation is fully deductible as a charitable contribution, subject to certain limitations on the percentage of taxable income you may deduct in a single taxable year (see below for details). 
    
    Publicly Traded Securities 

  • Your donation of publicly traded securities (for example, publicly traded stocks and bonds) is also in most cases fully deductible up to the current fair market value of the securities on the date of donation and will have the added benefit of avoiding any capital gains taxes on the accumulated appreciation. 
    
    Tangible Personal Property 

  • The School welcomes donations of property we can readily use in our educational mission, such as books we can add to our library. Your donation of such tangible personal property is in most cases fully deductible to the extent of its fair market value. 
  • For other tangible personal property, we welcome such donations if we have the ability to readily convert the property to cash that the School can use in its educational mission. Please contact Jaime Armendariz, Associate Director of Annual Giving, to discuss. In these cases, your deduction is limited to your adjusted tax basis (generally, the amount you paid). The deduction can never exceed the fair market value. 
    
    Please contact Jaime Armendariz, Associate Director of Annual Giving, for additional information if you desire to donate any of these types of property or have other questions. 
    
    Qualified Charitable Distribution 

  • If you have a regular IRA and are over 70½, you must withdraw a “required minimum distribution” (RMD) which is generally taxable at ordinary income rates to the extent previously untaxed. However, for many IRAs you can direct your IRA trustee to take up to $100,000 of your annual RMD and donate it directly to the School as a “qualified charitable distribution” (QCD). You will not be taxed on the amount of the QCD that would have been included in your income. The nontaxable portion of the QCD is not only the equivalent of a deduction of the same amount (note that you will not receive a separate charitable deduction for this portion of the QCD), but by lowering your adjusted gross income, may allow you to avoid losing tax benefits that are phased out at higher adjusted gross income levels. 
    
    Receipts and Proof of Your Donation 

  • The School will provide a receipt for your donation that meets IRS requirements. For donations in which a benefit is provided to you (such as for our gala), we will provide an acknowledgment if your payment is greater than $75 that specifies the value of the benefit and that only the amount of the payment in excess of the benefit is deductible. 

  For property donations, the School will provide a written acknowledgment that meets IRS requirements. For donations over $500, you must maintain certain other information to obtain the deduction and, with certain exceptions for publicly traded securities and other securities, generally such donations over $5,000 require a “qualified appraisal” of the property. 
  
  Important Notice 
  
  This deduction summary is intended to provide general guidance only, does not cover all situations, and is not tax advice. The School will separately provide any receipt or acknowledgment as required by law. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of any donation to the School.