Annual Fund
Each year, Atlantic Christian asks all school parents, grandparents, alumni, alumni parents, faculty and staff, Board members, and friends in the community to support our ministry by making a gift to the ACS Annual Fund.
A gift to the ACS Annual Fund has an immediate impact. A student’s tuition covers only two-thirds of the total cost of his or her education. A donation to the Annual Fund helps close the gap between tuition income and the actual cost of educating students at Atlantic Christian.
Annual Fund gifts go toward meeting current needs, including classroom and library resources, athletics, the music program, art supplies, spiritual life programs, maintenance of the school facilities, and faculty development that inspires creative instructional strategies.
A number of churches in our community are also regular supporters of the ACS Annual Fund, providing monthly or quarterly gifts to support the school’s operating needs.
Gifts to the ACS Annual Fund are not targeted for a particular purpose, but instead go to support every area of the school. However, donors may elect to give a designated gift to a specific area that is close to their heart.
Employers can match charitable gifts that donors make to Atlantic Christian. In doing so, not only do these donors receive credit for their actual gift, but they also receive associated credit for the corporate matching gift that they have helped Atlantic Christian secure.
Legacy Partners
A donor who makes an Annual Fund gift of $1,000 or more becomes a Legacy Partner. A gift of $1,000 closes the gap for one student. With a gift of $10,000, a donor sponsors 10 students and a Granite Bench with dedication wording will be placed in our Memorial Garden. A gift of $25,000 sponsors 25 students or the donor may choose to establish an Endowment Fund. With a gift of $40,000, a donor becomes a “Classroom Donor.” A plaque will be placed by a classroom of the donor’s choice.
All Legacy Partners will have free admission to ACS athletic games and fine arts productions. Legacy Partners are also recognized on the school’s website.
Thank you to our 2019-2020 Legacy Partners
Dr. Salaam & Lauren Alobeidy – John C. Allen Charitable Trust – AtlantiCare Foundation – Kathy Breunig – Todd & Sarah Chamberlain – Ralph & Dolores Clayton – Bob & Mary Jane Dye – Lisa Dye – Tom & Polly Ellison – J. Michael & Kelly Flynn – Barbara Freeman – Friendship Bible Church – Greentree Church – Hammonton Baptist Church – Jim & Marlene Hardock – Peter & Carole Karabashian – Licensee Services – Linwood Community Church – Darryl & Mary Mack – Amy McLoy-Miles – The Messner Foundation – Mission Point Church – George & Marian Newell – Ed & Sue Paone – John & Susan Shirk – Mark & Heidi Sray – Sykora Family Charitable Foundation – Warren and Ruth Thomas – Paul & Terry Vogel – William & Ida Winkel, Sr.Tuition Assistance
Many families desire to provide their children with a Christian school education, but find that goal difficult to achieve due to the cost of tuition. Generous charitable gifting enabled ACS to establish a Tuition Assistance Fund in 2017 to provide needs-based tuition grants to qualified new and returning families with students in kindergarten through the 12th grade. We welcome new gifts to this Fund to help us maintain and expand this important financial aid program that makes a Christian education accessible and affordable to families in need.
Sara Smiles
The Sara Smiles Fund provides emergency, short-term tuition assistance to parents and guardians that have suffered a temporary financial setback. The fund was established in 1995 by Ben and Barb Cordova who made a gift to ACS in memory of their daughter Sara who died in her mother’s womb.
How are Sara Smiles Funds Awarded?
ACS awards assistance from this fund based on Board of Directors’ criterion and an application submitted by the family in need. A maximum of three months of tuition for the current school year may be awarded, except for special circumstances. Awards are made in cases of extreme financial hardship, such as death of a spouse, severe illness or injury, loss of employment, business failure, or a major catastrophe (i.e. home fire, flood). Early Education and Preschool students are not eligible for aid from the Sara Smiles Fund. Families who receive Sara Smiles assistance are encouraged to volunteer a minimum of 20 hourse of their time and talents to the school.
How Much Money is in the Sara Smiles Fund?
The amount of money in the Sara Smiles Fund varies from year to year, depending on donor participation. Students may support the fund by donating to the school’s weekly chapel collection plate. Parents, grandparents, and friends of ACS may support the Fund by making a donation designated for Sara Smiles. From time to time, the administration may make a direct appeal for contributions to the Sara Smiles Fund to meet the needs of certain families who are facing hardship.
Naming Opportunities
God has blessed Atlantic Christian School with a beautiful campus that will serve generations of students desiring a quality Christian school education. We are grateful for God’s provision of this campus and for the donors that have helped make it possible.
Atlantic Christian School is pleased to offer Naming Opportunities as a way for donors to support ACS by making a gift to dedicate a room, area, or facility on the school campus. The gift can be given in honor or memory of an individual, such as a teacher, pastor, community leader, or family member, whose life has been an inspiration to others.
Gifting Locations for Naming
Gymnasium – $1,000,000 Multi-Purpose Room – $500,000 Early Education Center – $200,000 Library – $150,000 Computer Labs (2) – $60,000 (per lab) Band/Chorale Room – $60,000 Science Lecture/Lab – $60,000 (per room) Classrooms – EE, Elem, MS, or HS (19) – $40,000 (per classroom) Administrative Offices (7) – $10,000 (per office) Entry Ways (3) – $10,000 – (per entryway) Teacher Work Rooms, Elementary and MS/HS – $10,000 (per room) Outdoor Garden Granite Bench – $10,000Endowment Funds
An Endowment Fund is a fund established in perpetuity, with a portion of the income from the fund used each year to support a designated purpose. An Endowment Fund provides a lasting legacy of a donor’s generosity and reflects the donor’s intentions and wishes. A donor can be assured that the organization will honor his/her original intent when the income is disbursed each year. Gifts of $25,000 or more may be designated to start an endowment fund.
Cassell Endowment for Teaching
Currently, Atlantic Christian School has one Endowment Fund – the Cassell Endowment for Teaching. The fund was
established in 2007 in honor of Mrs. Patricia Cassell, a veteran teacher who served God at ACS for 29 years. The purpose of this fund is to support faculty salaries, teacher training and development, and provide technology to assist faculty in the classroom. ACS welcomes donors who support the purpose of this fund to make gifts to the Cassell Endowment for Teaching.
What Other Types of Endowment Funds Can Be Established?
Atlantic Christian School is seeking donors interested in setting up endowment funds to support several areas of need:
- Retiring the Mortgage – Since moving into our new facility in 2004, one of our primary financial goals is to retire our mortgage. We seek to be a debt-free school and to have the necessary funds to grow our programs. Retiring the mortgage will provide several thousand dollars per year for student programs.
- Athletics – Promoting physical fitness, teamwork, and exemplary Christian character and sportsmanship is the mission of our athletic program. Some 80 percent of ACS boys and girls in grades 6-12 compete in interscholastic competition in soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, track and field, and cheerleading. An intramural program teaches basic skills to students in grades 1-6. An endowment fund to support our athletic programs would help offset such costs as bus transportation for athletes to games, tournament travel and fees, purchasing new uniforms and athletic equipment, and paying for referees.
- Fine Arts – Art, choral and instrumental music, and drama classes are offered to students in elementary through high school. An endowment fund for fine arts will support and expand opportunities for our students to discover their God-given talents.
- Technology – Equipping classrooms and teachers with up-to-date technology is an essential part of an education in the 21st century. An endowment fund for technology will ensure that our students are well-trained in the use of technology as a vehicle to improve learning and to prepare them for college and the workforce.