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The entire ECFS community is asked to join our efforts to honor and advance the mission of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School by making a philanthropic gift and encouraging others to give.

ECFS has one of the largest commitments to financial aid in New York City. We award over $18 million in financial aid per year. Your gifts ensure that the school will remain fiscally strong, economically diverse, and have the financial resources to be on the cutting edge of progressive education, ethical learning, and academic excellence. Learn more about the impact of philanthropy at ECFS.

Click here for more information about how to make your gift.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact us at [email protected].

Orange Fund

The ECFS Orange Fund is vital to the school’s commitment to academic excellence, progressive education, and ethical learning.

We put your gifts to immediate use supporting these areas of our school community: financial aid, professional development for faculty, educational technology, athletics, curriculum innovation, visual and performing arts, and extracurricular activities.

You can give to the Orange Fund here.

Form VI Legacy Gift

The Form VI Legacy Gift, a school tradition, is a meaningful way for parents of graduating students to leave their legacy. Each year, a volunteer committee of senior class parents raises money for this gift in honor of their students.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Rose Turshen, Director of Development, at 212-712-6245 or [email protected].

You can give to the Form VI Legacy Gift here.

It’s easy to make an impact while taking advantage of tax savings when you make a gift of stock or securities to ECFS. When you donate appreciated stock, you can avoid capital gains taxes and deduct 100% of the value of your contribution — providing benefits both for you and for ECFS. Our DonateStock platform offers a quick, safe, and seamless way to support the School and take advantage of tax savings. To make a gift of stock, visit donatestock.com/ecfs or use the widget below.

Donor-Advised Funds

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are investment accounts used for charitable giving. A DAF allows you to support ECFS immediately or over time while offering immediate tax relief.

DAFs can be relatively inexpensive to create and maintain, while still offering donors the ability to manage their tax situation through giving. A DAF is composed of donations made by individuals and administered by a third party or sponsoring organization.

You can recommend a grant using this DAF Direct Link from Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, or BNY Mellon. If you have a different DAF sponsor, please consult your financial advisor for details or contact [email protected] with any questions.

Legacy Giving

You can make a lasting contribution to future generations by designating the Ethical Culture Fieldston School as a beneficiary of your estate plan through a bequest, retirement plan, insurance policy, or charitable trust. By doing this, you can make a significant gift to ECFS that will ensure its future, while also potentially providing tax benefits for yourself and your family. All legacy gifts contribute to the School’s endowment, unless designated otherwise, which ensures that your gift goes to support our endowment in perpetuity.

By making a planned gift, you are invited to join the Felix Adler Circle, which was established to recognize individuals and families who choose to provide for the future of the School by including ECFS in their estate plans. Circle members play an essential role in ensuring ECFS’s continued financial health and position as a leader in progressive education.

Details About Legacy Gifts That Benefit You and ECFS

Bequests

A gift to ECFS in your will or revocable trust will allow the School to continue educating generations of ECFS students for years to come. A bequest is easy to arrange, will not impact your current lifestyle in any way, and can be easily modified to address your changing needs.

IRA Rollovers

The IRA Charitable Rollover Provision allows individuals who have reached age 70½ to donate up to $100,000 to charitable organizations directly from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA), without treating the distribution as taxable income.

Retirement Plans

Gifts of IRAs, 401(k)s, or other qualified plans are popular planned gifts because they require no upfront cash — you simply designate ECFS as the beneficiary of all or a portion of your retirement plan through your plan administrator. You can continue to take withdrawals during your lifetime and even change the beneficiary if circumstances change. After your lifetime, the residue of your plan passes tax-free to ECFS.

Charitable Lead Trusts

A charitable lead trust, or “non-grantor lead trust,” allows you to provide an income to ECFS for a specified length of time, after which the trust assets pass to your heirs. To establish a charitable lead trust, you contribute securities or other appreciating assets to a trustee of your choice who will invest the assets and make “income” payments to ECFS. When the trust ends, the remaining principal passes to family members or other beneficiaries you have named.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust allows you to provide an income to yourself or others for life (or a term of years), after which the trust assets go to the School to help educate ECFS students for years to come.

For more information, questions, or to notify us of a gift that you have arranged, please contact Rose Turshen, Director of Development, at 212-712-6242 or [email protected]. All inquiries will remain confidential.

This information is provided solely for educational purposes. Please consult your legal and financial advisors before making a major gift to ensure that any particular gift plan is appropriate for you.

ECFS Annual Report of Giving

The ECFS Annual Report of Giving 2022–2023 has gone fully digital! Please contact [email protected] for access instructions.