SMS Annual Appeal FALL 2022

If you have found yourself on this page of our site, it means that you are a giver, one who responds to a call to action, someone who seeks to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. We sincerely thank you for considering Saint Michael School as the place to make that difference !

The SMS Annual Appeal is vital to the daily operating costs of Saint Michel School. Our operating budget is funded from three separate, but important sources: student tuition, fundraising efforts by our families, and the generous donations of supporters like you. The Annual Appeal helps us to pay our staff, heat our building and turn on the lights each morning, it gives us the resources we need to buy materials for a new student, or extend some tuition assistance to a family after an unexpected life change. These small but meaningful expenses bring our school to life and allow our students access to Catholic education each year.

Below is a digital version of our Fall 2022 Annual Appeal. In it, we share some of the ways our donors have made a difference through their giving, most notably by ensuring we had the financial viability to welcome many new families eager to enroll their children with us. We were also able to make some major improvements to the school itself.

If you are not currently on our mailing list, and would like to be added, please contact Lindsay at (802)254-6320 or email lindsayoneil@smsvt.info.

Thank you for believing in our mission and ensuring our financial sustainability for the year ahead.
All sponsorships and in-kind donations are tax-deductible. 

While the annual appeal donations are earmarked for our general operating funds, we have three specific areas of urgent concern for the 2022/2023 school year:

• For the safety of our students and the security of our building, we need to replace our 3 primary doors. They are old and the locking mechanisms are worn out. The anticipated cost to replace all three doors is $10,000- $12,000.
• Winter is coming, and like so many small non-profits, we set a budget last year that grossly underestimated the dramatic increase in heating costs for the months ahead. Our finance committee has always been extremely conservative with financial planning, but through no fault of their own, our budget of $16,000 in heating expenses is now projected to cost $38,000!
• With the roof replacement complete, our next step is installation of solar panels. A very generous alumna and supporter of the school has pledged $60,000 in seed money and our bids indicate we need another $20,000 to finish the project. Once complete, it will provide energy for the school, the church, the rectory, and St. Brigid's Kitchen, eliminating this significant expense from our operating budgets over time.
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Our goal is very ambitious: $52,000 to help advance each of these concerns this year. Our needs are all about the longterm sustainability and financial stability of the school. If you would like to discuss ways you can help, please feel free to call at 802.254.6320 and ask to speak with Lindsay O'Neil.