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Why Give To Keystone?

From its beginnings in a small house on Park Street, Keystone has strived to provide the best opportunities possible for its students. Today, its mission of challenging students to push beyond their limits and develop their growth as compassionate people continues to create graduates who go on to make a genuine difference in our world, and inspire younger students to follow and create their own ways.

The success of our school comes from support from the entire Keystone community — parents, alumni, faculty and staff, and community partners. Keystone thrives because parents volunteer, students devote time to help the school, community partners provide opportunities, and because supporters at all levels contribute what they can to help their own children, fellow students and the Keystone scholars of the future.

Your support makes it possible for Keystone to stay ahead of educational developments and pursue an educational mission that values small classes; excellence in teaching; creative, experiential learning; and diversity of backgrounds.

Thanks to the help of devoted supporters, Keystone has stayed in the forefront of American education since 1948. With your help, we will continue preparing students to excel in a changing world for the next 75 years and beyond.


Ways To Give

To support its mission of academic excellence, ethical growth, responsible leadership and community involvement, Keystone offers many opportunities:

Annual Fund

Each fall, our Annual Fund campaign asks parents to contribute to help fund items such as continuing education for our teachers, new furniture for student break rooms, new playground equipment for the Little and Lower schools, and much more.

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Endowment

Our rapidly growing endowment provides support for Lower School tuition assistance and other ongoing needs.

Learn More

Planned Giving

We have recently begun a campaign to build an endowment to fund financial aid in the Lower School. In addition, we are meeting with parents and grandparents about joining our Legacy Circle and including Keystone in their estate planning. Furthermore, supporters can make Memorial Gifts in honor of loved ones.

Learn More

Fundraising Events

In the spring, a larger event offers an opportunity for parents, alumni and friends of Keystone to come together, mingle and celebrate our community. Other events supplement the funds raised from our springtime gathering.

Learn More

School Store

When you purchase Keystone merchandise, you help the school with each T-shirt, pullover, cap and jacket. Visit our online store at KeystoneSchoolStore.com

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AmazonSmile

When you purchase items through AmazonSmile, the online retailer donates a portion to Keystone. And make sure to install the Smilematic browser extension. It works with Firefox, Chrome and Safari and automatically redirects users to AmazonSmile when they visit Amazon. Here’s the tool: https://couponfollow.com/smilematic

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Annual Fund

Each fall, our Annual Fund campaign asks parents to contribute to help fund items such as continuing education for our teachers, new furniture for student break rooms, new playground equipment for the Little and Lower schools, and much more.

The Keystone School Annual Fund is an essential philanthropic component that supports Keystone’s operating budget. It provides an immediate impact on the life at Keystone.

Your tax-deductible donation touches almost everything on campus. It helps maintain school buildings, provides technology and equipment in classrooms, provides teachers’ professional development, and much, much more.

To help maintain Keystone’s continued excellence, please consider joining one of these levels:

Leadership Levels

  • Platinum: $20,000 and above
  • Diamond: $10,000 – $19,999
  • Gold: $5,000 – $9,999
  • Ruby: $2,500 – $4,999
  • Silver: $1,000 – $2,499

Gift Club Levels

  • Bronze: $500 – $999
  • Keystone: $1 – $499

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1948 Society

In honor of our founding year, we are including a special recognition level called the 1948 Society, with a gift of $1,948 or more.

Alumni Opportunity

We invite all alumni to make a special gift in honor of a faculty or staff member who had a meaningful impact on you while at Keystone. Our alumni are an integral part of Keystone’s legacy. Alumni participation in the school’s annual giving program is confirmation that you take pride in its mission and the value of the education you received during your time here.

Matching gifts

Many employers offer matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Simply contact your employer’s Human Resources Office for details or Adriana Villafranca in the Development Office at avillafranca@keystoneschool.org; 210-735-4022 ext. 353 for more information.

Recurring Gifts

A recurring gift provides a convenient and secure way to support Keystone School to build a significant annual contribution through credit card installments. You may set up your frequency of gifts either weekly, quarterly, monthly, bi-annually, or annually. The minimum gift is $10. Your gift will automatically renew and continue without interruption. If you would like to make a recurring gift to Keystone, please contact Bella Peters in the Development Office at bpeters@keystoneschool.org; 210-735-4022 ext. 336.

Endowment

Our rapidly growing endowment provides support for Lower School financial aid, faculty professional development and other ongoing needs.

Keystone’s endowment provides support for existing needs at the school and those in the future.

Among the focuses of the fund is support for Lower School tuition assistance, to better attract bright and motivated young people from throughout San Antonio, and help transform lives.

Another focus in the Keystone Endowment is ongoing professional development, to help our faculty in their pursuits to continue to learn and grow in the subject they teach and are passionate about.

Click here for more information about the Keystone Endowment

Contact our Development Office for more details on the Keystone Endowment and how you can build it to touch lives for years to come.

Planned Giving

We have recently begun a campaign to build an endowment to fund financial aid in the Lower School. In addition, we are meeting with parents and grandparents about joining our Legacy Circle and including Keystone in their estate planning. Furthermore, supporters can make Memorial Gifts in honor of loved ones.

Making a planned gift is a wonderful way to show your support and appreciation for Keystone School and its mission while accommodating your own personal, financial, estate-planning, and philanthropic goals.

With smart planning, you may actually increase the size of your estate and/or reduce the tax burden on your heirs. Just as important, you will know that you have made a meaningful contribution to Keystone.

Legacy Circle

As you embark on your estate planning, please consider joining our Legacy Circle and including Keystone in their estate planning. You can designate a gift to Keystone School in honor or memory of a loved one.  Please contact Adriana Villafranca at avillafranca@keystoneschool.org, or 210-735-4022 x 353.

The Keystone Legacy Circle is laying the groundwork for Keystone’s future.

Generous individuals who support Keystone through a bequest or other planned gifts will become members of the Keystone Legacy Circle.

Their gifts will sustain the mission of Keystone by supporting the academic rigor, outstanding faculty, motivated students, and maintenance of our beautiful historic campus.

You can make Keystone a beneficiary in your will.  Adding a codicil, a simple process, can make this gift an easy one to give. Some sample language is below:

“I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Keystone School, a 501(c)(3) organization in San Antonio, TX, _____percent (%) of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate as an unrestricted gift to be used in the area of greatest need at the time the gift is received.”

Memorial Gifts

When you honor a loved one with a gift to Keystone in their memory, you extend your loved one’s legacy to future generations. To begin, please contact Adriana Villafranca at avillafranca@keystoneschool.org, or 210-735-4022 x 353.

Tax Benefits of CARES Act

Tax Benefits of the CARES Act

The new CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is designed to help you, businesses and nonprofits facing economic hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are a few key provisions of the CARES Act that may affect you and your charitable goals:

Required Minimum Distributions Suspended

The new law temporarily suspends the requirements for required minimum distributions (RMD) for the 2020 tax year.  This probably comes as a relief to many of you who would have had to withdraw from your retirement accounts.  Many of our donors use their RMD to make a gift from their IRA.  Despite the RMD suspension, remember that if you are 70 ½ or older, you can still make a gift from your IRA or name Keystone School as a beneficiary.

Why a Gift from Your IRA May Still Be a Good Idea

  • Your gift will be put to use today, allowing you to see the difference your donation is making.
  • You pay no income taxes on the gift.  The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions.
  • Since the gift doesn’t count as income, it can reduce your annual income level.  This may help lower your Medicare premiums and decrease the amount of Social Security that is subject to tax.

New Tax Incentives

The CARES Act allows taxpayers to take a charitable deduction of up to $300 ($600 for married couples) for those who take the standard deduction.  You might think that this is a small amount and would not make a difference.  But what if all of our donors gave “just” $300?  Such support would have a huge impact on those we serve.

For those who do itemize their deductions, the new law allows for cash contributions to qualified charities such as Keystone School to be deducted up to 100% of your adjusted gross income for the 2020 calendar year.

Your Charitable Goals

We are deeply grateful for your continued kindness and support during this difficult time.  Please contact Adriana Villafranca at avillafranca@keystoneschool.org or (210) 735-4022 ext. 353 to discuss how your gift can help further our mission.

The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice.  For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor.  Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only.  References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change.  State law may further impact your individual results.

Fundraising Events

In the spring, a larger event offers an opportunity for parents, alumni and friends of Keystone to come together, mingle and celebrate our community. Other events supplement the funds raised from our springtime gathering.

Throughout the year, Keystone offers events to bring its community closer together, raise awareness and raise much-needed funds for the school and its programs.

Here are some of this year’s upcoming events:

Keystone Food and Drink Festival

A new culinary event before Fiesta showcases bites from a local restaurateur with samples from wineries, breweries and distilleries from the San Antonio area. Come mingle with your friends and enjoy some of the best of what our city and the Keystone community has to offer.

Click here to learn more

Spurs Night

Keystone has partnered with Spurs Sports & Entertainment to present an annual Keystone Night, with special pricing for the Keystone community.

SAFC Night

A soccer game featuring San Antonio FC also features a Keystone Night, with special pricing for the Keystone community.

Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is an international movement created to celebrate charitable giving and generosity during the holiday season.

Donate here

Pavers and Element Windows

From time to time, Keystone offers naming opportunities for parents and supporters. Currently, the school has available Pavers and Element Windows.

Pavers

Throughout the Alumni Quadrangle, small and large bricks proudly display the name of a family or a student. Opportunities to purchase these bricks and have them engraved are still available.

Paver Sizes

  • 3⅝ x 8-inch brick with your name or message: $100
  • 10×10-inch brick with your name or message: $500

Element Windows

In the Shadfan Science and Creativity Center, a wall of windows faces Craig Place and is visible to traffic traveling north on McCullough Avenue. Each pane features the chemical symbol of an element in the periodic table. A few elements are still available. They’re available for $5,000 each.

Contact the Development Office for information on which elements are available and your payment options.