Tuition was never designed to carry it all
Across independent schools, tuition typically covers roughly 75–85% of the true cost of educating a student. That figure is an industry benchmark, not a Bangor Christian figure. Giving closes the remainder.
Giving
Partner with what God is doing at BCS.
Bangor Christian educates the whole child — fostering spiritual development and academic excellence in a nurturing setting, and preparing students for careers, higher education, and Christian service. If you share that vision, you are invited to make it possible.
The case for support
Why giving matters here
Giving supports teachers
Christian school teachers typically earn meaningfully less than their public-school counterparts. They are here out of calling. Supporting the school is, in the most direct sense, supporting the people standing in front of our children.
Accessibility is a decision we make every year
BCS tuition sits at roughly one third of the Maine private school average of $22,532 per year. That is not an accident, and it is not free. Gifts are part of how it stays true.
Continuity, since 1970
It began with 85 students, three teachers, and a rented building on French Street. 56 years later the same conviction sits on 35 acres. Every one of those years was held up by people who gave before they were asked.
Where to give
Four ways to direct a gift
The Patriot Fund
Our annual fund, and the place where a gift does the most good the soonest — teachers, classrooms, and the everyday work of the school.
Unrestricted gifts let the school put money where the need actually is in a given year.
Tuition Assistance
Need-based aid so a family who wants a BCS education for their child can afford one, including through a hard season.
Awarded confidentially through the admissions office.
Giving destination pending confirmation
Designated Giving
Choose the department, program, or activity closest to your heart — athletics, fine arts, technology, or facilities.
Tell us the designation and the gift goes there.
Giving destination pending confirmation
Planned Giving
Estates and bequests, appreciated stock and securities, real estate, life insurance beneficiary designations, and IRA qualified charitable distributions.
These gifts are shaped in conversation with you and your advisors, never through a web form.
Ways to give
However it suits you
Online — monthly is the most useful gift you can make
A recurring monthly gift is steady and plannable, and a modest amount each month adds up to more than most people expect. One-time gifts are welcome and always have been.
Giving destination pending confirmationGiving destination pending confirmation
By phone
Call the school office at (207) 947-7356 and we will take it from there.
By mail
Mail a check to 1476 Broadway, Bangor, ME 04401. Note the fund you have in mind on the memo line.
Make checks payable to: [Payee name pending confirmation] — Giving destination pending confirmation.
Stock and securities
Giving appreciated stock is often more efficient than giving cash. Contact the advancement office and we will send transfer instructions.
mmcdonald@bangorchristian.orgGifts of property
Real estate and other property gifts are handled case by case, with your advisors at the table.
mmcdonald@bangorchristian.orgIRA qualified charitable distributions
If you are of qualifying age, a distribution made directly from your IRA can be a straightforward way to give. Your plan administrator and the advancement office can coordinate.
mmcdonald@bangorchristian.orgEmployer matching gifts
Many employers match employee charitable giving, and a great many matches go unclaimed simply because nobody asks. Check with your HR department; if a match is available, we will supply whatever paperwork they need.
Tax identification number: [Tax ID pending confirmation]. We will publish the receiving entity and its tax details here once they are confirmed, and we are not making any tax-deductibility claims before then.
What your gift does
Ordinary, specific, and visible by Monday
A teacher stops buying supplies out of her own pocket
Books, manipulatives, lab materials, art paper. Small things, bought properly and on time, so the lesson she planned is the lesson she gets to teach.
A family enrolls who was going to say not this year
Tuition assistance turns a maybe into a yes, and keeps a classmate in her seat.
A team takes the field properly equipped
Uniforms that fit, safe equipment, and travel covered — so cost never quietly keeps a student off a roster.
The buildings keep up with the students inside them
Thirty-five acres and four buildings do not maintain themselves. Gifts keep the roof, the boiler, and the technology from becoming next year's crisis.
Who this is for
The students on the other side of a gift
Questions
Honest answers
- Is my gift tax-deductible?
- We are not going to answer this one until we can answer it precisely. The receiving entity and its tax details are being confirmed, and we will publish them here — with the tax ID — as soon as that is settled. Until then, please ask the advancement office before you assume a deduction.Giving destination pending confirmation
- Can I give monthly?
- Yes, and we would gladly encourage it. Recurring gifts are the steadiest support the school has, and they can be changed or stopped by you at any time.
- Can I direct my gift to a specific program?
- Yes. Designated gifts can go to a department, program, or activity — athletics, fine arts, technology, facilities. Simply tell us the designation, and it goes there.
- Does my employer match?
- Quite possibly. Many employers match charitable gifts from employees and retirees. Ask your HR department, and send us whatever form they require.
- How do I give stock?
- Contact the advancement office and we will send you the transfer instructions your broker needs. Do not sell the shares first — transferring them directly is usually the better route.
- Who do I talk to about including BCS in my estate?
- The advancement office, and then your own attorney or financial advisor. We are glad to talk early and without any pressure — many of these conversations happen years before anything is signed.
- Will I get a receipt?
- Yes. Every gift is acknowledged in writing, with the date and amount recorded for your files.
- How is my gift used?
- Patriot Fund gifts go to the school's greatest current needs — chiefly teachers, classrooms, and daily operations. Designated gifts go where you designate them. We do not move a designated gift somewhere else.
Talk with someone first
Most meaningful gifts start with a conversation, not a form. Merideth McDonald, Advancement Director, is glad to walk through any of this with you — including the questions we cannot answer on a web page yet.