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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 Kavita Bordia, Director of Development, at [email protected] or 212-712-6254.

You can contribute 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.

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.

Donor-Advised Funds

Donor-advised funds (DAF) are investment accounts used for charitable giving. They are composed of donations made by individuals and administered by a third party or sponsoring organization. By contributing your appreciated securities to a donor-advised fund, rather than selling the securities first and then donating the cash, you eliminate capital gains tax on the sale of the stock.

A donor-advised fund allows you to support ECFS immediately or over time, offers you some ability to manage your tax situation through giving, and can be relatively inexpensive to create and maintain. 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 212-712-6244 or [email protected].

Legacy Giving

Legacy or Planned Giving provides meaningful support for ECFS and tax benefits for you without sacrificing your current financial security. Ways to structure a legacy gift include naming ECFS in your will in the form of cash or securities, designating the School as a beneficiary of a life insurance or retirement plan, or setting up a charitable gift annuity or charitable trust. Planned gifts often offer substantial tax, estate planning, and other financial benefits. 

Legacy gifts are added to the School’s unrestricted endowment unless designated for a specific purpose. Each year, a percentage of income generated by the endowment is used to support financial aid, professional development, experiential educational opportunities, and our campus facilities.

Please consult with your legal and financial advisors to discuss options, and contact [email protected] if you plan to make a legacy gift or would like to discuss a specific gift designation.

For more information, questions, or to notify us of a gift that you have arranged, please contact Stephanie Pilla, Associate Director of Leadership Giving and Strategic Engagements, at [email protected] or 212-712-6242. 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.