The fundraising campaign for Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders today has just ended its 4th month and I think it is appropriate to send a “state of the campaign” to donors, interested parties and generally to Old Boys, Corporates and Friends of the School.
To date, pledges and donations received total just over R4 million and with some amounts that came in before the formal start of the campaign just over R4 million will be transferred into the attractive investment vehicle which has been set up by Investec. The intention here is to grow this investment sum to ensure sustainability of the campaign for the years ahead. In addition to this, there are currently 57 boys on bursaries totalling close to R5.5 million. The intention of these donors is to ensure financing for the remainder of the recipients’ school careers.
Apart from the straight pledges and donations, a significant number of those approached have requested that their donation be deferred to later in the year and next year. A number have indicated that they have made provision in their wills to support this project while the sale of a Sea Point apartment and a valuable art collection are amongst other forms of support. Another interesting form of support has been from a number of Old Boys who had existing debit orders about which they had forgotten and who have increased them significantly and pledged for 120 months, i.e. 10 years.
Those who have responded thus far have been donors that I identified from the previous campaign a decade ago and who have received personal letters from me. I intend to continue this personal approach over the next few years but there is no need to wait for me. Accompanying this letter is the generic version of my campaign letter with a pledge form attached should you wish to support the campaign on receipt of this. I have not contacted any overseas donors at this stage as we are currently busy establishing tax beneficial conduits for the United Kingdom, the United States and hopefully Australia which we believe may be an added incentive to contribute.
I am excited and encouraged by the response I have had and the understanding of the importance of this campaign. Thank you to all who have supported to date, please continue to spread the message and do be assured that no donation is too small.
With gratitude and warm good wishes
Bill
Generic-letter-to-donors-SchroderPretorian-Trust-pledge-form-2022-fillable
