4. Finances

GOAL: Diversify the School’s revenue base and ensure a long-term financial model that supports the School’s mission and goals.

Lake Forest Country Day School has always sought to operate on sound financial footing, and our financial condition would be the envy of many private schools. That said, as the School enters the 21st Century, creative financial management will play an increasingly important role. While providing a superior product, we must strive to maintain a competitive tuition that allows us to draw enrollment from the broadest possible pool of prospective families. Although LFCDS enjoys a healthy endowment, we must be vigilant to keep the draw on that endowment as low as possible. Furthermore, we need to diversify our revenue base and reduce our reliance on the generosity of our donors through Annual Giving and the Auction, a model whose long-term sustainability needs to be evaluated as part of a balanced approach to budgeting and fundraising. LFCDS’s challenge for the future will be to examine all of our potential resources, assets and programs to find alternative sources of revenue as a means to enhance the strength and stability of the School and its mission.

IMPLEMENTATION

• Increase financial support through more focused strategic fundraising geared to estate and planned giving and targeted donor opportunities.
  

• Review learning development revenue model.

• Ensure that alternative enrollment initiatives are financially sustainable and increase revenue.
  

• Evaluate fixed assets so as to maximize financial benefit.
  

• Examine sustainability of auction model.