List of 7 items.

• Does my gift make a difference?

  Every gift to Lakefield makes a difference. Our tagline for the Hepburn Alumni Challenge is “Strength in Numbers,” which has a terrific double meaning: first, the strength in numbers we have when we come together as alumni and collectively increase our giving, and second, strength in numbers as reflected by the power of the Hepburn incentive to leverage a smaller gift into something larger. 
  
  Many of our leadership donors are passionate about alumni donor participation – when they see that more alumni are giving back as best they can, they are also inspired to give back to Lakefield.

• Why is alumni donor participation important?

  One of Lakefield College School’s former board chairs has said the Hepburn Challenge is the most important thing the LCS Foundation has ever done. Having quadrupled our alumni donor participation rate from 10% to 40% provides essential benefits to the school:
  
  

  • Engagement: the Hepburn Challenge alumni-driven leadership structure offers an amazing opportunity to reach out and reconnect with lost alumni and encourage them to get involved in all aspects of the LCS alumni community.
  • Admissions: the passion of our alumni as signalled by high donor participation helps to demonstrate the strength of our alumni community, which in turn, provides a major recruitment advantage for LCS.
  • Fundraising: the Hepburn Challenge will help to raise more money through our Annual Appeal, and help build a habit of giving within our community. Equally important, our increased participation will help inspire our leadership donors.

• How much do I need to give to be eligible?

  Any alumni gift of $20 or more per year during the five year program period is eligible. While $20 is the minimum, we hope that each of our alumni will make a gift that is meaningful to them. For some alumni, $20 per year will be a meaningful gift, while for others, a larger gift will be meaningful.

• Can I make one gift now to cover five years and recieve the full Hepburn incentive?

  One of John’s key objectives with this program is to encourage alumni to get into the habit of giving back to LCS every year – a habit we hope they will maintain their entire lives. As a result, we really want alumni to make a gift during each of the five years of the Hepburn Challenge, and consequently, participants will only be eligible to receive the gift incentive for years in which they make a gift.

• How will the new alumni children/grandchildren bursary work?

  Assuming we reach our program goal, the Hepburn Challenge Bursary will exceed $3 million by the end of five years. The bursary will pay out upwards of $120,000 per year in perpetuity to support the children and grandchildren of LCS alumni. This would be enough to support roughly 3 – 8 students attending LCS on a partial bursary at any given time. And the bursary will continue to grow!

  
  All financial assistance at LCS is awarded on the basis of financial need, and this bursary will be no exception. Recipients of the bursary will go through Lakefield College School’s standard process for assessing their family’s financial circumstances.

• Where do my gift dollars go?

  While all of John’s contribution will go towards the bursary supporting children and grandchildren of alumni, you can designate that your gift go towards any area of need at LCS. You can of course contribute to the Hepburn Challenge Bursary if you so choose. If you don’t specify where you want your gift to go, it will be allocated to the area of greatest need.

• Is the Hepburn Challenge separate from the Annual Appeal?

  The Hepburn Alumni Challenge is Lakefield College School’s Annual Appeal for alumni for the duration of the program. As a Hepburn Alumni Challenge participant, you will not receive a separate LCS Annual Appeal solicitation over the duration of your pledge commitment.