Gifts & Giving
A Tradition of Voluntary Support
Through the years, Breck families and friends have made voluntary financial support of the school a priority and an important tradition. Tuition and fees alone do not cover the full expense of a Breck education, nor do they provide the substantial funds needed for strategic new projects and goals identified by the Board of Trustees.
Therefore, the Breck community — parents, present and past, alumni, faculty, staff, grandparents and friends — generously make financial gifts to the school each year. Voluntary giving or philanthropy creates a partnership between the school and the Breck community to provide the best educational opportunities for our students today and tomorrow.
The four main components of philanthropy at Breck School are the Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Applause and Planned Gifts.
All gifts to Breck School are tax-deductible as allowable by law.
The Slocums: Passionate Belief in a Breck Education
When Helene and Jeff Slocum were looking at schools for daughter Hadley, now a sixth grader (and later for her brother Jefferson, now in fourth grade), they especially appreciated Breck’s service program. “We were looking for a school that offered not just terrific academics and small class sizes but a basis in values and an emphasis on giving back,” they say. It’s only natural that giving back is important to them as parents as well.
They’ve been active volunteers, in both fundraising and classroom capacities. In fact, some of Helene’s best volunteer experiences have been with decidedly un-glamorous jobs. “When I’m in the building doing something I get such pleasure out of watching the interaction between the teachers and the students,” she observes. “When I’m in the background cleaning bookshelves, they forget that I’m there and I get a really good sense of what everyday life is like. There’s such a great sense of connection. I’m so glad I get to be a part of it.”
Jeff says that their financial support of Breck in the form of a planned gift comes from three main motivations. First, there’s “pure, unadulterated self-interest,” as he puts it. “The value of our estate gift is in large extent a reflection of Breck’s quality. The fact that our kids can be beneficiaries at the same time is a real bonus.”
Second, he says, there’s a sense of obligation. “Our kids today are benefiting from the alumni and former parents and everyone else who generously supported the endowment in the past. They cared enough to want to provide for Breck’s future, and so do we.”
Finally, the Slocums truly believe that a gift to Breck is an opportunity to work for an institution that betters society as a whole. “When you read the newspaper it’s not hard to conclude that the world is a mess,” Jeff observes. “There are so many challenges facing us, and education is such a source of amelioration. We believe passionately in the value of education for my family, and we want to make sure it’s available for other families too.”
The future is also on their minds when they talk about their family life. “We understand that our kids won’t always want to spend so much time with us,” the Slocums say, “so we’re trying to seize opportunities wherever we can.” They’re an active family who enjoy traveling and smaller rituals like starting each family dinner with a poem and enjoying movie-and-hot-chocolate nights whenever they can.
And the parents are also enjoying what they know will be a brief window of opportunity to understand what Hadley and Jefferson are talking about. With both children studying Chinese at Breck, Helene says she knows it’s just a matter of time. “We have a real nagging sense that one of these days they’re going to talk to each other right in front of us and we’ll have absolutely no idea what they’re saying,” she laughs.
It’s a chance they’re all too happy to take.
