Giving

Cascades Academy Fund

The Fall Giving Campaign is a fundraising effort that the school conducts each year with the help of volunteers, soliciting gifts for the Cascades Academy Fund. The Cascades Academy Fund is a flexible, unrestricted, and crucial fund that supports every student and teacher. Everyone in the school community is asked to participate: parents, trustees, grandparents, staff, faculty, alumni and friends. Gifts to the Cascades Academy Fund allow the school to recruit and retain talented faculty members, provide tuition assistance, and support an array of exceptional academic, arts, and outdoor programming. Cascades Academy Fund dollars help balance the school's operating budget each year. These dollars go to work immediately, providing the flexibility to allocate resources to the urgent needs and priorities of the school.

The Teaching Excellence Fund

At Cascades Academy, our extraordinary teachers form a vital circle of support. They do far more than deliver lessons — they guide, mentor, and inspire students, helping them discover their strengths and navigate challenges with confidence. To continue this work, our teachers deserve the very best: competitive pay, excellent benefits, rich professional development, and well-equipped classrooms. This year, we created the Teaching Excellence Fund, a new fund dedicated exclusively to supporting teacher salaries, professional growth, and classroom resources. Every penny you give supports our extraordinary faculty.

Ways to Make a Gift

Outright Gifts

Donations to Cascades Academy may be made via cash, check, or online.

Checks should be made payable to Cascades Academy and mailed to 19860 Tumalo Reservoir Road, Bend, Oregon 97703.

We also welcome gifts from IRA Charitable Rollovers and Donor Advised Funds.

Gifts of Stock and Appreciated Securities

A great way to give right now! See the “Tax Smart Giving” link below. For more information on gifts of stock and securities, please contact Holly Sereni at 541.382.0699, ext. 101 or by email at sereni@cascadesacademy.org

Gifts in Kind

Cascades Academy gladly accepts donations of items that are in good condition and relevant to the educational program of the school. The school is prohibited by law to appraise the value of these gifts. For more information, please contact us at 541.382.0699, ext. 101 or by email.

Tax ID

Our Federal Tax ID Number is 41-2086942.

A gift of appreciated stock provides valuable tax savings.

Gifts of appreciated stocks have been considered the ‘best value’ in charitable giving. When you contribute appreciated stock that you have held for longer than one year, in addition to a charitable contribution tax deduction, you are generally able to avoid paying capital gains tax on the increase in value of the assets.
 
We liquidate gifts of stock as quickly as possible to preserve value. The proceeds, minus any broker fees/commissions, are allocated according to the donor’s direction. We have donors who have saved thousands of dollars by making a gift of stock instead of giving cash.   

We recommend that you consult your tax adviser for more information regarding the gift tax and income tax results of such gifts as they apply to your specific situation. The school does not provide donors with individual tax advice.

To discuss or make a gift of securities, reach out to Holly Sereni, Director of Advancement, for transfer instructions for you or your broker. Email sereni@cascadesacademy.org or call (541) 382-0699 ext. 101.

Are you age 70 ½ or older?

If so, you can transfer up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to Cascades Academy without paying any taxes on the withdrawal.

Your gift must transfer directly from your plan administrator to Cascades Academy. You will not pay taxes on the transfer, so there is no additional income tax deduction.

As always, we recommend that you consult your tax adviser and/or IRA administrator to address to assure you’re giving in the most tax-wise way as possible.

Steelhead Loyal: Donors who have made a gift of any amount for three or more consecutive years
Steelhead Supporters: Gifts of $1 - $499
Community Builders: Gifts of $500 - $4,999
Changemakers: Gifts of $5,000 and greater
The Visionary Circle:
• Gifts of $10,000 or more in the current fiscal year (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026)
• Gifts of $100,000 or more over the donor’s lifetime
• Donors who have left a bequest in their estate plan

Planned giving is a grouping of charitable giving options that enables families to give to the school while also creating possible financial benefits for your family. Planned giving includes:

• Bequests of cash, securities, other assets, your estate, or a percentage of your estate
• Retirement assets including IRA, 401(k), or profit-sharing pension plan
• Charitable Gift Annuities
• Charitable Lead Trusts
• Charitable Remainder Trusts
• Life Insurance
• IRA Charitable Rollover

Please consult your own attorney or financial planner to ensure that your gift suits your circumstances. The Oregon Community Foundation is a trusted, local resource available to families in Central Oregon who would like to learn more about Planned Giving.

For more information, please contact us at 541.382.0699, ext. 101 or by email.

How will the school spend my donation? 

This year, the Fall Giving Campaign will support about 15% of our operations budget across the board. That includes academic and extracurricular programs, teacher salaries and increases, professional development, tuition assistance for families in need, improvements to our campus, planning for our future, and lots more. Our school simply could not achieve what we do - not even close - without gifts to the Cascades Academy Fund. 

Why don't you just raise tuition instead of asking for gifts?

It is core to Cascades Academy's values to be accessible to as many families as possible. We all want a diverse student body, and we also want a society that offers a pathway to excellent education for everyone. As such, our Board of Trustees tries to keep tuition as low and affordable as possible. To achieve this, we rely on gifts. Unlike tuition, these gifts are 100% tax-deductible, which is advantageous to many donors. By funding the school in this varied way, we create the community we're all looking for. This is a standard funding model for independent schools all across the nation.

When is the best time to make a gift? 

Although there is no "wrong" time to make a gift, there will be two explicit opportunities during the school year when you'll be asked to consider a gift. The first is during our Fall Giving Campaign (October - November). This is when the majority of donors give and a time that is most helpful for the school's planning. The second ask will be through your participation in our Spring Fundraising Celebration on February 28, 2026. Gifts must be received by June 30, 2026, to count for this fiscal year.

What is a "good" gift?

The amount of any gift is dependent on personal circumstances. While we do seek 100% participation from every current family at the School, there is no "right" or "wrong" amount. We only ask that you consider making a gift every year that is appropriate and meaningful for your family. Our staff and volunteers may ask you for a specific gift amount or range. These asks are based on rough estimates and ambitious hopes of what we believe might be appropriate for your family. We know we won't always get those ask amounts right. We welcome your feedback, and hope you will give the amount that feels great for your family this year. 

What are all the ways I can make a gift?

You can give online through the Cascades Academy website. You can mail in a check, or call in a credit card number. You can make a gift of stocks and securities, or give through your donor-advised fund or family foundation. You can wire transfer funds. You can leave a bequest in your will. And there are even MORE ways to give! To discuss creative, tax-wise ways to give, or to pledge a multi-year gift, contact Holly Sereni, Director of Advancement, at sereni@cascadesacademy.org or (541) 382-0699.

We can't give much this year. Is it even worth giving? 

Oh, yes!! Even if you can only give $5, please make an Cascades Academy Fund gift each and every year! Your participation alone speaks volumes. The higher our participation numbers, the more attractive we become to funding partners in the community, like foundations and corporate sponsors who like to help organizations that are supported by their own communities. Your gift amount is private, but your act of giving is loud and clear.