Telluride Mountain School

A Guide to Giving

Like every Independent School, TMS depends on the generosity of our community
to sustain and advance the mission of the School. For the past 27 years, parents, grandparents,
parents of alumni, faculty, and staff, and friends have helped provide the best possible education
for our students through meaningful charitable gifts, both unrestricted gifts and restricted gifts.

 The TMS Annual Fund is our top fundraising priority. Gifts to the Annual Fund provide the critical, current-use,
unrestricted dollars our School needs to provide an excellent student experience and support our areas of greatest need.
Each gift to our Annual Fund directly impacts each student at Telluride Mountain School.
The Annual Fund operates on a fiscal year, July 1-June 30.
You may contribute by check, credit card, appreciated stock, or by making a gift online. All gifts are tax-deductible 

What does the Annual Fund Support?
The Annual Fund is unrestricted giving that supports the areas of
greatest need within the school’s budget.
The Annual Fund supports areas such as:

Academic Programming
Student Support Services
Experiential Education
Teaching Excellence
Student Scholarship

Why am I being asked to support the Annual Fund in addition to paying tuition?
Tuition alone does not cover the full expense for a student to attend Telluride Mountain School.
As an independent school and 501(c)3 non-profit organization, TMS relies on the generosity of
our community to make up the gap between expenses and revenue from tuition and fees.
For the 2024-25 school year, this gap is approximately $3,000 per student.

Why not raise tuition?
While we do adjust our tuition each year, keeping tuition at a relatively low level allows us to make a TMS education
accessible to more families. Raising tuition to cover the full cost of educating a student would make attending TMS
unobtainable for many families and would be in contrast to our mission and vision.

Who supports the Annual Fund?
We strive to receive 100% participation from current families, trustees, faculty, staff, grandparents and friends.

How much should I give?
Gifts of all sizes matter. The act of giving is just as important as the gift itself.
By giving what you can, you are committing to the mission of TMS.
You are claiming TMS as your home too, and celebrating everything this School does for children.
We ask each family to give to the best of their ability.
Because giving is such a personal decision, we encourage each family to give to the best of their ability.
For some families, that amount is $100; for others, it is $25,000.
Every gift is meaningful and sends a message of strong support for the School and our students. 

Are there other fundraising activities besides the Annual Fund at TMS
Yes. In addition to asking everyone to participate in the Annual Fund, we are currently fundraising for a capital campaign;
for information about the campaign, please click here.

Why is participation important?
 The School’s financial strength is dependent upon the participation of all members of our community.
Participation sends a strong message that every member of our community supports the School.

May I make a pledge in fulfillment of an Annual Fund Gift?
Yes. Gifts to the Annual Fund Campaign may be fulfilled by pledges and you may pay in installments.
To work out a monthly installment schedule for your donation, please contact Director of Advancement,
Stephanie Griebe at 970.728.1969 ext 26.

Can I donate stock to the Annual Fund?
Yes. This is a great way to make a gift to the school. Giving securities provides you
with a tax deduction for the appreciated value of the stock without incurring capital gains tax.
Stephanie Griebe at 970.728.1969 ext 15 would be very pleased to provide you with details on how to make stock gifts.

Have more questions?
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Stephanie Griebe, Director of Advancement,
at 970.728.1969 ext 15 or sgriebe@telluridemtnschool.org.

Interested in making donation?
To make a gift "in honor of" fill in the optional comment box in the form below.