Philanthropic support allows independent schools like HPA to offer more ambitious, creative, and distinctive student programs than would normally be possible through tuition alone. Two basic facts illustrate the power of our giving:
- Tuition covers roughly 80 percent of the cost of the HPA experience.
- The remaining 20 percent is possible—in large part—because of generous support from alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends.
Thousands of us in Hawai‘i and around the world love HPA. This is our call to action. Our school is life-changing and vibrant, but it needs a stronger financial foundation. By growing the HPA Fund and the HPA endowment, we will advance student programs even further, increase financial aid, provide more competitive salaries and professional development for teachers, and embrace future learning opportunities from a place of vision and strength.
Where our momentum is headed
Guided by a bold Strategic Plan and groundbreaking Sustainability Plan, HPA is working to elevate its programs not only this year, but also for the future. Every great school needs a network of passionate alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends to reach its full potential and achieve its vision. Today, HPA needs us. HPA needs YOU.
Our immediate objective is to grow our base of active donors and volunteers, through both the HPA Fund and the HPA endowment. Within our current priorities, you have many options to direct your gift to the area of HPA that matters most to you.
The affection and aloha that so many Ka Makani feel for this place is real, and those feelings are absolutely vital to HPA’s fiscal health and stability. A strong tradition of yearly giving will secure a fruitful HPA experience for every single student.”
—Hannah Hind Candelario ’01; P’30, director of advancement
Our financial model in brief
HPA is one of roughly 1,500 independent K-12 schools in the U.S. Generally speaking, independent schools operate using three sources of income: tuition, auxiliary programs (such as facility rentals), and gifts from alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends who believe in the school.
Tuition is understandably the largest source of revenue for most independent schools. However, the history of independent schools reflects a strong and important tradition of giving. Philanthropy allows private education to achieve a higher level of programming than would normally be possible through tuition alone.
At HPA, we have been fortunate to receive many generous gifts over the years to support specific projects and activities. We have not, however, cultivated consistent support from a large body of donors who help sustain the school every year, with gifts of many different sizes. We are just beginning to do so, and we know that a great love and desire to help exists within the HPA ‘ohana. We are so grateful for the volunteers and donors who will help us strengthen the HPA Fund and the HPA endowment, and who will invite others into a philanthropic relationship with the school.
Key challenges to address
At the present time, HPA is extraordinarily dependent on tuition, which supplies approximately 80 percent of operational costs each year. Current economic conditions and demographic trends demonstrate (for all independent schools) the importance of reducing dependence on tuition in conjunction with cost control, prudent financial investment, and charitable support.
Tuition dependence carries three key risks for HPA:
- Financial inaccessibility. The need for financial aid continues to rise dramatically, even among higher income families. For every independent school, a generous financial aid budget has become essential to sustain enrollment, selectivity, and socioeconomic diversity.
- Lack of flexibility in retaining the best faculty. HPA’s small endowment means that compensation, benefits, professional development, and quality housing must all be sustained on a year-by-year basis from tuition revenue and the HPA Fund. These limitations make it difficult to respond to economic challenges (when they arise) and to remain competitive in relation to peer schools.
- Deferred campus maintenance. In order to steward a campus like HPA’s for future generations of students, a regular and significant investment should be made in upkeep and maintenance each year. HPA’s modest endowment cannot generate enough resources to cover the annual need. Consequently, our beloved campus carries a significant amount of deferred maintenance.
As HPA works toward the ambitious goals of the Strategic and Sustainability Plans, a stronger HPA Fund and larger HPA endowment will help secure our school against these risks. But most important of all, our support and confidence will bring HPA more fully into its potential and its commitment to serve Hawai‘i Island and the larger world.
Translate aloha into action
How far HPA can travel toward its future vision depends on all of us. You can help HPA meet the above challenges and move forward with confidence.