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Deerfield

A strong tradition of giving allows Deerfield to maintain first-rate facilities and excellent teachers, while funding up to 50 percent of the Academy’s annual operating budget. Gifts from alumni, parents, and friends support the Deerfield of today while ensuring the school’s place in the world and leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.

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Ways to Give

Supporting Traditions

For food, for friendship, for the blessings of the day— a campaign for the Deerfield Academy Dining Hall. The Dining Hall, perhaps more than any other campus setting, embodies our commitment to community and shared experiences, and it is vital to our culture, traditions, and identity.

Learn more

The Deerfield Fund

Gifts of time, talent, and resources from scores of volunteers are what set Deerfield apart. The success of the Deerfield Fund is directly attributable to the over 400 alumni volunteers who keep their peers in touch with the Deerfield community. Personal relationships make the difference at Deerfield… You are our greatest advocate!

Learn more about volunteering or make your gift today.

In a labor intensive industry such as education, where student-to-teacher ratios are a competitive advantage, there are significant costs associated with having the best people working at Deerfield. People are Deerfield’s greatest asset—and its greatest expense. Salaries and benefits for faculty and staff make up approximately 55% of Deerfield’s budget.

Simply put, quality is expensive. Deerfield strives to offer its students programs, experiences, and a curriculum that is unparalleled – and doing that costs money. We look to our alumni, parents, and friends to help offset the costs associated with the high-quality education that Deerfield provides. Competitive faculty salaries, exceptional arts and athletics resources and a substantial financial aid program are made possible thanks to your support year after year.

Deerfield Fund donors at the $25,000 level or higher who direct their gifts toward financial aid can now be matched with a current student through the Deerfield Fund Scholars Program.

For more information, contact Kellie Houston, Director of the Deerfield Fund.

“Why does Deerfield need my support every year?”

Facilities Gifts

Over the years, gifts to build, renovate, and restore facilities have helped Deerfield keep pace with the changing needs of students and faculty. Capital projects for facilities include the renovation of The Hess Center for the Arts in 2014, the Boyden Library in 2016, the Athletics Complex in 2018 and the D.S. Chen Health and Wellness Center in 2019.

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Endowment Gifts

The school invests gifts that are designated to endowment with the income directed toward the purpose the donor selects. Only the income from the principal is spent, ensuring that the gift continues in perpetuity, helping to safeguard Deerfield’s finances through changing economic times. There are a number of endowment opportunities available.

Gift Planning

Every donation to Deerfield Academy helps you meet your current philanthropic goals and makes a positive impact on the world.

A planned gift can extend your generosity well into the future. It can also help protect your assets from unnecessary taxes, provide for your family’s well-being, and produce income for you (or a loved one).

The most popular planned gift is a bequest, which can have a tremendous future impact while costing you nothing during your lifetime. Not all bequests come through wills and old-fashion “last testaments.” Many come through beneficiary designations of retirement assets or life insurance.

Deerfield’s gift planning team can help alumni, parents and friends explore:

  • Gifts that can benefit Deerfield AND other non-profits
  • Gifts that return income for the donor’s lifetime or a term of years
  • Gifts that maximize the value of your savings by minimizing taxes
  • Gifts from IRA accounts, during life or after death
  • Creative charitable gifts funded with unusual assets, including publicly- and non-publicly traded securities, real estate, personal property such as artwork or jewelry, or other hard-to-value holdings.

Learn more about gift planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Upon graduating from Deerfield, alumni enter a diverse network of former Deerfield students. Deerfield alumni have ventured into almost every area of employment, and many are at the top of their respective fields. The advantages of this vast network are numerous and significant, as every member of the Deerfield family receives the following:

Alumni are also eligible for alumni awards, such as the Ashley Award, Heritage Award, and the Mimi Morsman Award.

There are no membership fees or dues for members of the Deerfield family, but Deerfield does ask for assistance in a few areas. First of all, in order for Deerfield to have the most up-to-date records possible, we encourage members to keep us apprised of their current contact info. Alumni are also urged to direct all concerns and suggestions regarding Deerfield’s operations through the Executive Committee, the governing body of the Alumni Association. The committee acts as the voice of the alumni body, and works closely with the school administration. In order to keep tuition affordable and the quality of a Deerfield education at its highest, the Academy depends upon the continuing support of alumni and their families. This support can take the form of annual or capital gifts, or time spent volunteering on behalf of Deerfield.

There are Deerfield Clubs in many major American cities. Please visit here for more information on specific clubs and their sponsored events. 

Of course! Be sure to read the latest issue of From Albany Road in your email’s in-box for current news of what is happening on campus. As we also send out periodic invitations, it’s always best to make sure we have your current physical address. And if you do plan on visiting campus, why not tell us ahead of time?

Contact the Office of Advancement

alumni@deerfield.edu
413-774-1474

7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 306
Deerfield, MA 01342

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 7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 87, Deerfield, MA 01342

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS: Deerfield Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

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