Annual Fund

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Wednesday, 23 June 2010 08:14

As we look back on the school year just ended, we are truly humbled by the way God provided for Eastern Christian in so many ways.

As you may remember, we started the year with a degree of uncertainty regarding enrollment and finances which required us all to tighten our belts and to work harder. As we progressed through a year still bearing the effects of a sluggish economy, we were reminded time and time again that God is still in control, that He had a plan to sustain our school in spite of the economy and other adverse situations.

During the year we were blessed with an excellent response to our Annual Fund appeal as well as strong support for the various fundraising events that were sponsored throughout the year, including several new events such as Harvestfest, a scholarship dinner and a beefsteak dinner in support of the athletic programs of the school.

In addition to carefully controlling expenses, we are also taking advantage of the opportunity to consider several alternative means of developing revenue for our school. In April we signed a lease for an 11,000 square foot building in North Haledon to house our new resale store to be known as ditto. We plan to be open for business in August and anticipate that this venture will contribute to the bottom line before the new school year is over. We are also very excited about the planned installation of solar panels on the roofs of all three of our buildings during the late summer. Once installed and operating, we hope to significantly reduce our electric bills as well as to take advantage of other potential benefits that will help us reduce the cost of installation. These two initiatives have the potential of adding approximately $300,000 in new revenue for our school each year.

The result of all this activity is that we are looking at the real possibility of ending the current school year with a balanced budget and a solid financial framework to begin the 2010-2011 school year. To God be the glory for the things He has done! With gratitude to God for providing so abundantly in the past, we are once again planning an annual fund appeal to raise scholarship funds for the new school year. For this new year, the challenge will be to raise $675,000.00, which will provide much needed tuition assistance to families continuing to be affected by the difficult economy. When you receive your appeal letter, either enclosed in The Herald or via the mail, we hope and pray that we may be able to count on you once again for your generous support so that we may ensure that Eastern Christian can continue to meet the challenge of preparing our students to be people of Christian vision and influence in this 21st century.

Thank you for all your support and prayers throughout this past year. We hope that you have a wonderful summer of rest and relaxation.

Why Should We Support The ECSA Annual Fund?

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 07:38

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

This is a frequently asked question particularly by some who no longer have children or grandchildren attending our school. Some people really struggle with this issue and take the position that they did their part when their children were in school, so now it is up to those who still have children or grandchildren in Eastern Christian to do their part.

While to some there may appear to be some logic in that thought process it is inherently wrong from a number of view points. We are all a part of the larger Christian community which we believe has a responsibility for the nurture of the children in that community and have a vested interest in the outcome in the nurturing process. All of our “partners” such as the families of the students, the churches as well as the Christian School are included in this process.

Consider a Christian education as an investment, either for your own children and grandchildren or for those of your “neighbor” The return on this investment is not in dollars, but rather in the quality of our students and the leaders that we hope many of them will become in our churches, communities and professions. The academic and spiritual foundation that they receive at Eastern Christian School has the potential of multiplying your investment many times over as students take their talents and the biblical world in life view to others literally all over the world. We thank God for the opportunity to touch these young lives for Him!

The Eastern Christian School Annual Fund provides the immediate budgetary support we need to bridge the gap between the actual cost of education and the reasonable tuition that we must maintain in order to keep Christian education affordable and available for our current parents at Eastern Christian. In order for EC to operate within a balanced budget through August 31, 2010, we have determined that we have to set an Annual Fund goal of $ 650,000.00 for the current school year. The response so far to this year’s appeal has been very encouraging and we are trusting God that with His blessing on our efforts, we will meet our goal.

If you have not yet responded to this year’s appeal, we ask that you please pray for God’s leading as you contemplate what your response will be. If we all join together as members of the Christian school community and contribute as we are able, then we can be assured that we are supporting a school that glorifies God in its personnel, programs and facilities while at the same time nurturing succeeding generations of students to be the family, church, business and community leaders of tomorrow.

Annual Fund

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

As we look back on the school year just ended, we are truly humbled by the way God provided for Eastern Christian in so many ways.

Why Should We Support The ECSA Annual Fund?

Foundation Blog Categories