Selborne Schools USA Foundation .Inc
The Selborne Schools USA Foundation is a Section 501(c)(3) registered Not for Profit which has been created to facilitate the raising of funds in the USA for the benefit of the Selborne Schools. We are hoping to raise donations from Old Selbornians, and other benevolent individuals and corporates in the USA where the donations can be claimed against taxation.
The Primary campus is on Crewe Road and caters for boys from Grade 00 to Grade 7. Mr Riaan Bisschoff is the Headmaster, and the school has 735 students. The College campus straddles Dawson and Lukin Roads and Mr Andrew Dewar (class of 1988) is Headmaster. He is the first Old Selbornian to be appointed Headmaster of the College, and the school has 758 students.
The schools receive funding from the Department of Education however this does not even cover the staff salaries. As a result, the school charges annual fees, which by South African, and East London standards are not small. They are in line with other local schools and a lot less than equivalent private schools.
The Foundation
The Selborne Foundation Trust in East London was founded to raise money to assist in the provision of new facilities and for other expenditure and capital items. The USA Foundation supports this Foundation.
The Selborne Schools USA Foundation. Inc. is a Georgia registered Not for Profit corporation and has been granted Section 501(C) status by the IRS. This allows it to receive donations from donors in the USA who can claim tax relief for these donations. This feature can be used as part of general tax planning for all taxpayers.
All donations are provided with documented acknowledgement and provide an annual tax certificate to all donors.
The Objectives
The objectives of the Foundation are very simple – it is to secure the future for both schools. This will primarily be financial, and we are hoping that the Old Boys and others will be kind and generous in donating to this cause. A dollar goes a long way in South Africa, and many dollars go a very long way.
In addition to the primary objective, we also hope to raise the awareness of the schools in the USA, as it is providing a very valuable service in the education of young men from all backgrounds for the future of that country.
We also wish to foster the Old Selbornian spirit here in the USA. The data we have indicates that we are very widespread, which makes meetings complicated. Even so, we are hoping that with enough interest, we will be able to bring the Headmasters to a USA meeting. This happened in London last year and it was a great success.
United States of America | TRUSTEES
Foundation Funds
The Foundation raises donations, and these are placed into Funds. Currently we have three funds:
- Endowment & General Fund
- Founders Day Class Gift Fund
- Working Fund
All donations for the immediate future will be allocated to the Endowment & General Fund which is the neediest of the Schools’ requirements or the Founders’ Day Class Gift Fund. The Working Fund is used for donations, usually made in kind by the Trustees to pay for accounting and other managerial systems to run the Foundation.
Depending on the success of the initial and on-going initiatives, further funds will be opened to which donors can contribute. These will be advised in the future.
How to Give
Most donations will be in the form of cash or similar, however we are also looking for volunteers to assist with expanding the donor base well beyond the Old Boy community. It is very early days and will take a few months and years before we can make sense of the opportunity here in the USA.
Via the Internet
Payments can be made by credit card / debit cards, or ACH transfer, and such payments are subject to a small collection charge levied by the provider of the service. There is a facility to add a percentage to offset this charge. It is very easy to use, and updates the Foundation’ database automatically.The donations can be of any amount and can be flagged as recurring per the system. The Foundation does not hold these details, only items such as addresses, phone numbers etc.
Direct transfers can be made to the following bank detail :
Bank of America, Routing # : 063100277 Account # 8981 4016 4623. Donations using this method do not incur collection charges.
Note – we incur charges for donations made via the site (2.9% for cards and 1.9% for ACH and 30 cents per transaction) for the service; we offer an optional facility to add 2.5% to your donation to assist in covering them.
Cash, including credit / debit cards and ACH transfers can be made via our Donor Management System secure page which can be found below:
Acknowledgements
All donations will be acknowledged individually, and annually you will be provided with paperwork to use to complete your tax return indicating the total value of all donations to the Foundation during the year.
Check Payments
If you would prefer to donate using a check, please make it out to “Selborne Schools USA Foundation.Inc” and send it to: The Treasurer, Selborne Schools USA Foundation, Inc. 1180 Gulf Blvd, Apt 102, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767 USA.
If you would prefer to make a transfer, please contact Mike Francis at mike@frazconsult.com for details. The donations made in this way do not incur charges.
Donations of Investments
The Foundation can also accept donations of investments. This is a very efficient way of making investments with a capital gain content.
The donation is valued at the average of the opening and closing market values for donations tax relief, and there is no capital gains tax on such donation.
To make such donations, contact either the Treasurer – Mike Francis (mike@frazconsult.com) or Bill Dodge (bidodge@outlook.com) for guidance and instructions.
Stocks & Shares
Donating stocks and shares can be a very efficient way of making a charitable donation. The investment you donate is valued at the average of the highest and lowest price of the investment on the day of transfer. This is the amount which will be available for tax deduction. No Capital Gains Taxes are applicable.
It is obvious that you only transfer such investments (with Capital Gains); those with losses you would liquidate before transfer to get the CGT and charitable allowances.
Should you wish to wish to use this method of donation, please contact Trustee Bill Dodge (bidodge@outlook.com)