The Annual Fund is an essential part of LILA’s operating budget, supporting three critical areas:

1. Greatest Need (Unrestricted): Provides the flexibility to allocate funds where they’re most needed throughout the year.
2. Facilities: Enables us to maintain and enhance our school’s infrastructure, ensuring an optimal learning environment.
3. Financial Aid: Supports our ability to offer financial assistance for students in need (over $2 million in 2023-24).

Private institutions like ours typically rely on the Annual Fund for about 8% of their budget, while it currently constitutes around 3% of LILA’s budget. 

Alongside tuition and fees, the Annual Fund empowers us to uphold our values without compromise. As a bilingual, international school with higher operating costs than traditional schools—including recruiting international faculty, providing bilingual programs, and implementing the different requirements for IB—we depend on this support to sustain our mission.

The answer to this one is pretty straightforward: Annual Fund donations are completely tax deductible. While tuition increases are necessary to keep up with the growing costs of doing business in a major city like Los Angeles, the School works hard to keep tuition affordable to all families, remaining competitive tuition-wise with other LA-area private schools. Gifts from generous families like yourselves help us keep the School attainable not only by keeping tuition hikes reasonable but also by giving the School more funds for financial aid.

Obviously, it is a very personal decision and every family has a different capacity to give. The suggested donation is $2,000 per family. That said, the School understands that not everyone can give at that level. While some can easily give the suggested amount or more, many others cannot. We assure you that every little bit makes a difference and is appreciated.

We offer many options to make giving easy: pledge, check, credit card, wire or stock transfers and even a recurring gift option to spread giving out over a period of time.

Major donors from within our community need to see that there is widespread support for the School. Reaching 100% participation from our families is instrumental in helping us achieve our Annual Fund goal of $800,000. Fun fact: our Board of Trustees (which are volunteer positions) give at 100%.

It is a fairly well-known fact that people give to causes with which they have a personal connection. Whether it’s medical research, human rights, or animal activism, people give to organizations they connect with. As a parent, you researched and visited many schools before choosing us. Remember the reasons for which you chose LILA and how your child has thrived since they’ve joined the LILA community. Think of it this way: you’re not only investing in your child’s future but their friends too. And if you ask any of our alumni, some of their best friends and professional connections are from their time at LILA.

During their time at the School, your children have benefitted from previous families’ Annual Fund gifts. Because the Annual Fund contributes to all aspects of the School’s budget, your children have inevitably experienced the effects of other families’ donations when they’ve walked into their classrooms, played on the playground, met with their teachers, participated in sports, etc. Giving now ensures that the School your children attended continues to thrive and increases its reputation, making it an important asset during the college and job application process.