TCA Annual Fund

What is the Annual Fund?

The Annual Fund is some of the most focused fundraising you will ever see. 

• The Annual Fund supplies staff members a "returning staff bonus" each fall, starting in their second year. 
   
• The Annual Fund also provides our President and Principals a modest budget for building staff culture, which is crucial in retaining great staff members. 
   
• Six percent or less of Annual Fund giving covers the direct costs of fundraising. 

That's it. Over 90% of your gifts go directly to honor and support our staff in very tangible ways. This is TCA's biggest need, and it's the place where the TCA community can make the most difference. TCA is a registered 501(c)(3), so gifts are tax-deductible in accordance with applicable law.

TCA directs all intentional Annual Fund donations and all undesignated giving to this fund. TCA also asks that every student's family commit to making a monthly gift to the Annual Fund.

But why is the Annual Fund needed, if TCA receives public funds? The answer lies in some unique challenges TCA has as a charter school committed to small class size.

Financial Challenges of a Charter School

The wonderful thing about being a charter school is TCA's freedom to self-govern and to shape an extraordinary learning environment.

The challenge with being a charter school—especially one dedicated to small class size—is taking on financial constraints that traditional public schools don't have.

Like all public charter schools, TCA receives the same state, federal, and local educational funding that every school in our district receives. But in a charter school, those funds stretch to cover more needs than they do in other D20 schools:

• At its founding, TCA provided its own facilities, and the payments on those facilities make up approximately 8% of the current annual budget. Traditional public schools do not provide their own facilities.
• TCA has more educators per child in every classroom, so there are fewer students' funding supporting each educator. 

TCA educators are the heart and soul of our learning environment. Annual Fund giving empowers TCA to recruit and retain the very best, and to compensate educators fairly while operating within these constraints.

Support the Annual Fund While Honoring a Loved One

You can donate to the Annual Fund in any amount at any time throughout the year. But if you would like to make your gift commemorative, consider sponsoring a Brown Center Legacy Seat with a donation of $500 or more to the Annual Fund. We'll place an engraved plaque on a seat in the Brown Center auditorium in honor of a person you choose.