Annual Fund

• We will use a variety of tools - both high-tech and low-tech - that help students engage more fully in class, whether at DVFriends or at home. Funds will be spent on subscriptions and software purchases, individual kits for students with materials and tools that will be only be touched by them, and more. See photos below for a few examples.
• We will help all students to understand what COVID-19 is, how the virus works and spreads, and how we can keep ourselves and others around us safe. Science classes in every division will study aspects of the virus.
• When we're at school, we will keep students learning safely through enhanced health and safety protocols. Funds are being used to set up safe, socially-distanced classrooms, install touchless fixtures for doors, faucets and more, purchase cleaning and sanitizing supplies and equipment, and provide outdoor spaces under tents for learning, eating and meeting in groups. 

• We will send more students to a greater variety of conferences that develop student diversity leaders and enhance DV's ability to explore the multiple identities in our community. Funding will support registration fees and travel to national and regional conferences, including the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, People of Color Conference, Mid-Atlantic Regional Diversity Conference, SCHout Conference at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, and others.
• We will support students to bring back reflections and ideas from these conferences, share them with the DVFriends community in a structured, action-oriented way, and support the initiatives that may arise.
• We will help teachers develop new lenses through which to deliver curriculum, so students benefit from hearing history and perspectives from traditionally marginalized voices. We are planning for a wide variety of professional development opportunities, including conferences, workshops, and on-campus speakers.
• We will support diversity-focused student clubs, including the Black Student Union, Gay Straight Alliance (formerly SAFE), and LatinX, as well as the Diversity committee of our student government, and will also support the formation of affinity groups. We hope to be able to support initiatives that these groups may identify (eg. trips to museums)

• DVFriends makes a significant commitment to extend financial aid to students. 42% of the student body receives financial aid from DVFriends, and last year, 92% of all families who applied for financial aid received an award. 
• The school funds financial aid awards from its operating budget. The operating budget is a largely a function of the number of students enrolled and the school's fundraising. In 2019-20, gifts and grants contributed 18% of DV's total revenue. 
• The Annual Fund provides general operating monies for the school, and as such, a portion of all monies raised through the Annual Fund is directed to financial aid.
• Other important sources of financial aid support are individual and corporate giving through PA's tax credit programs, which return 90% of the contribution back to participants in the form of a dollar-for-dollar reduction of state taxes, and private scholarships funded by donors.
• Head of School Kirk Smothers says that having robust financial aid resources "means that we can cast a wider net to be able to support the broadest range of students possible.”

All gifts are important to the school, so make a gift of whatever size is comfortable for you. For all parents and grandparents who are new to the school, there is a suggested amount in the first Annual Fund letter you receive from us. However, you may be more comfortable with a smaller gift, or perhaps you can afford to make a larger gift. Last year, Annual Fund gifts ranged from $20 to $25,000.