Alumni Reunion Giving

Reunions at Burroughs are occasions for celebration and remembrance. While the campus may evolve, the values and mission of Burroughs remain constant. Bringing classmates back together helps connect alumni to their philanthropic passions and inspires many to give a gift that enhances the learning through new initiatives, makes a commitment to a diverse student body, recruits and maintains faculty at the top of their fields, supports tuition aid and scholarships, and launches innovative programs that prepare students to fully engage in their communities and their world.

Reunion Class Gifts

Why & The Process

The Burroughs Reunion Class Gift celebrates the entirety of a class’ philanthropy to Burroughs during their respective milestone reunion year. Although the fiscal year ends on June 30, we encourage reuning alumni to make their contributions before returning to campus for the JBS Alumni Weekend.

Class Reunion Gifts are traditionally presented on a repeating 5-year cycle starting with the five-year reunion. Burroughs’ alumni office assists the reunion chair in designing a campaign that encourages alumni to select their philanthropic priority from a list of programmatic priorities from the JBS Approved Needs List.

After a class vote, the campaign is launched publicly with support from staff. During the active campaign, the alumni office works closely with the class leaders to encourage gifts to reach the financial goal set by the class. At the reunion, the class reunion gift is formally presented to JBS.

When calculating the total giving of a class, JBS will include the financial support given by alumni to all funds over the previous five years inclusive of the class gift in their reunion year. This ensures that the collective philanthropy of the class is celebrated between reunion years—a true measure of how alumni support Burroughs.

At your reunion, your class will be recognized for its class giving total, as well as for your class reunion gift. The collective philanthropy of the class will be announced, and the class will be recognized by school leadership. Additionally, depending on the nature of the class gift, the class reunion gift may be recognized on a plaque or with a naming opportunity on campus.

What counts?

Reunion class gifts include the following:

All Dollars: The celebration of all contributions received in the current fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) to support Burroughs.
Multi-Year Commitments: A five-year pledge is a popular option for alumni who know they are committed to supporting JBS each year. Multi-year commitments allow Burroughs to anticipate future funding and save resources on solicitations to alumni.
Estate Gifts (generally starting at the 25th Reunion):
Any good faith documented commitment of future support for Burroughs is included. This can be an especially effective way for alums to make a significant gift to JBS. All documented planned gifts count such as:
- Inclusion of JBS in your will; or
- Name JBS as a beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement plan; or
- Establish a gift annuity or charitable trust for Burroughs.

Ways to Give

Online: Visit the online gift form to make a one-time gift, pledge payment or to set up a recurring draft.
By phone: Call Lauren Stuart at 314-993-4045, ext. 278, to give over the phone.
By mail: Checks/Cash mailed to John Burroughs School, Advancement Office, 755 South Price Road, Saint Louis, MO 63124
Gifts of stock: Contact Nelle Stough for instructions on making a gift of stock or securities. Read here for more information on giving stock gifts.
Multi-year commitments and Donor-advised Funds: Visit the online form to make a multi-year commitment or recommend a gift through a donor-advised fund.

Planned Giving: Visit the planned giving page to learn more about a wide range of topics including, wills and living trusts, beneficiary designations, gift annuities, gifts of real estate and much more. You can also contact Ginger Imster at 314-993-4045, ext. 256.