Statement On Giving
The approaching season of giving and generosity is an opportunity to make the lives of our students and those in our greater community better. LFS asks you to give directly to us -- and organizations like ours -- that value social justice in action, not just words or platitudes. We run a tight ship with a huge amount of generous volunteer contribution, and we rely on continued financial support from our community to make our beautiful little school happen. If you have the resources to give, consider donating to LFS this season.
We live in complicated times, but giving doesn’t have to be complicated. We encourage our community to scrutinize the organizations they support for actions that align with inclusion, human rights, and fairness. We try to live up to these principles as an organization. We don’t always succeed, but we do try hard to listen to concerns from the community, and remain open to hearing about ways we can better serve our mission. Here are a few questions we ask ourselves that you might also use this giving season. Does the organization:
Avoid harm to vulnerable members of its community through intolerant actions or words?
Show clearly its values and priorities and work towards them diligently?
Actively welcome LGBTQ+, BIPOC, immigrant, people of all faiths or no faith, and other historically marginalized groups?
Collaborate with legitimate and beneficial partners in the community?
Fairly compensate staff and keep executive compensation to less than 5 times that of the average non-executive employee?
Use funds for programs that help people in need, not enriching the already well off?
Need donations now because it does not have a paid fundraising staff working the rest of the year?
As a commitment to our school’s values, our staff will provide $2,000 in matching funds if the community can raise $10,000 this month. Will you help by targeting your donations to LFS this season?