A tradition of giving 

Since its founding, members of the extended Advent School community – alumni, parents and guardians, faculty and staff, and friends – have provided both current and capital funds that enrich the student experience and elevate the School’s mission.

This partnership and philanthropic support not only make Advent an exceptional learning community but it also allows the School to continue to be a place where all of Boston's children can thrive together, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, neighborhood, or socioeconomic status. There are several ways you can fund our mission and vision, ensuring an Advent education remains possible for children and families in Boston.

When you make a gift to Advent, you provide a dependable and essential foundation of support that allows the School to foster emerging opportunities, educate a diverse community of learners, underwrite our faculty’s professional development, maintain enrichment and co-curricular programs, and so much more. Your annual gift also enables Advent to respond nimbly, flexibly, and immediately to unforeseen challenges.

Contact Sean Harlow, Director of Development, to discuss the impact, timing, or allocation of your family’s gift.

What is The Advent Fund?

The Advent Fund is the School’s most important fundraising priority. The philanthropy provided through annual giving dollars provides essential support to Advent’s operating budget. It directly underwrites the people and programs that make the Advent learning and teaching experience a reality. The Advent Fund is a collective gift from the extended community to fill an intentional $4,500 gap per student in the annual operating budget. Dollars donated to the Advent Fund are immediately put to work to fortify our students’ educational, physical, emotional, and social needs and to provide expanded opportunities that enhance our academic programs and enrichment activities.

Keeping an Advent Education Affordable and Accessible

In keeping with the independent school model, our tuition is intentionally set below the full cost of an Advent education. We do this to allow for greater affordability, to engage a broader student community, and to permit families to pay for a portion of educational expenses through a tax-deductible donation. A robust annual giving program also enables Advent to keep tuition increases to a minimum. 

Although we are unable to fund all families interested in Advent, we do our best to make the experience available to as many students as possible. We are proud to award more than $1.4 million in financial aid annually to admitted students. Currently, 25 percent of Advent School students receive financial aid.

Make Your Gift Count!

Because of the generosity of donors like you, The Advent School is able to stay true to its founding vision and ensure that current and future students learn with passion, act with courage, and change the world. We encourage our families and friends to make a meaningful gift to the School that provides for inclusivity, impact, and innovation.

Rev. Robert C. Day Financial Aid Fund

Rev. Robert C. Day P’77’79’82 was Advent’s second head of school. He served the community for 30 years, from 1965 until his retirement in 1995. While his legacy includes building Advent’s first playground and founding the library, Rev. Day’s family shared that he also left a legacy of compassion. He valued “the idea of integration and creating opportunities for each child, and the idea of the collective being greater than the individual.”

Calendar

There are many opportunities to give to Advent throughout the school year!

  • November/December - Giving Tuesday and Calendar Year-End Appeal

  • March/April - Spring Appeal, Fundraising Events

  • May/June - Fiscal Year-End Appeal