What Our Fundraising Events Make Possible
Simply put, independent schools like the International School of Indiana (ISI) fundraise on an annual basis because the cost of tuition alone does not cover the educational experience provided at ISI. While tuition covers many of the fees associated with providing an ISI education, it is philanthropic support that provides the additional resources necessary to enhance our facilities, ensure our programs remain accessible to a diverse group of students, recruit teachers from around the world, generate annual operating revenue — and consequently offer our students a world-class education that no other school in Indiana can provide.
ISI provides an educational framework that enables students to understand other cultures and perspectives. It is the only Indiana school offering all students the full-continuum International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and language immersion from age 3 to Grade 12, and the school plays a vital role in Indiana’s increasingly global business community by supporting the recruitment of top international professional talent and promoting the value of internationalism.
Events are designed to offer a wide array of options for ISI families and supporters to participate in annual fundraising. An annual gift to ISI is an investment in our students, our faculty, our facilities, and our potential.
Coming Fall 2023: The ISI Golf Outing
Beginning in 2020, ISI began expanding fundraising events, offering a wider array of options for ISI families and supporters to participate in annual fundraising. Like the Gala - Trivia Night, ISI Night at the Indianapolis Zoo, and Slide-A-Thon have quickly become events our whole community can enjoy. The 2023-2024 Fundraising Series will be expanded to include a new event, designed to support ISI Athletics. The ISI Golf Outing chaired by Jack Hope and Kelly Steele Hughes will be the first fundraising event of the 2023-2024 series. Save the date for Thursday, Sept 14, 2023. Additional details to be published in May.
2022-2023 Fundraising Events
ISI Virtual Trivia Night
Friday, November 4, 2022
In collaboration with Indianapolis favorite Hambone's Trivia, ISI families and alumni all over the world test their knowledge with ISI Virtual Trivia Night. Participants can join individually or form their own teams. Teams can join the virtual game from any location, a backyard with friends, a room at the school, or a virtual room with participants from anywhere in the world. All proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships benefit the ISI Annual Fund.
ISI Night at the Zoo
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Launched in 2020, ISI Night at the Zoo has become a popular community event for ISI. Annually, 250 people including ISI students, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and alumni participate in this social event. On this select night, families are able to avoid entry lines and join ISI community members for hot cocoa and coffee, socializing, and a special night enjoying the annual light display. Participants receive special souvenirs. All proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships benefit the ISI Annual Fund.
INTERNATIONAL GALA - at the children's museum of indianapolis
Saturday, March 11, 2023
The International Gala (formerly the Travel Auction) is a longstanding ISI tradition and the school's signature fundraising event, engaging ISI families, community partners, and businesses in supporting the institution. The Gala typically brings together over 350 guests, including current ISI families, alumni families, friends, and supporters. This is a formal social event, where guests dress up, enjoy dinner and spirits, a silent auction, a live auction, DJ, and dancing. Most importantly, the evening highlights what philanthropy makes possible at ISI, and it generates more than $175,000 for the ISI Annual Fund.
Click to read to 2023 gala recap
Slide-A-Thon
Friday, May 12, 2023
Originally launched in 2021 as a student fundraiser to support the ONE ISI Campaign, Slide-A-Thon has become an annual student fundraiser to benefit the ISI Annual Fund. Students solicit support from their families and friends. Gifts are made in honor of student sliding efforts. In 2022, 500 students age 3 through grade 12 completed 4,122 slides in 4 hours, received more than 290 gifts from around the world, and raised more than $18,750.
This important event demonstrates that no matter one's age or how much money one contributes, by working in collaboration with other people, each of us can make a difference for a cause we care about. Gaining an early understanding of the impact of their philanthropic giving to ISI is important to creating a culture of philanthropy for this maturing institution.
MAXIMIZE YOUR IMPACT WITH THE RIGHT SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE
We value your partnership. Our Sponsorship program is adaptable to meet the needs of your organization. If you don't see an option that works for you, please contact us to create a custom option.
Contact Us to Activate your sponsorship
Kristen Kaiser
Vice President Development and External Relations
kkaiser@isind.org
317 923 1951 ext 326
Click to view full Sponsorship Guide.
interested in volunteering?
Please contact:
Kristen Kaiser
Vice President Development and External Relations
kkaiser@isind.org
317 923 1951 ext 326
The Annual Fund Supports:
Financial Aid and Scholarship Program
More than $2.5 million in aid is awarded to students for need and merit-based programs annually. The program is not funded by an endowment. The ability to offer competitive financial aid packages is contingent on fundraising success.
Recruiting, Retaining and Developing Faculty
Philanthropic support ensures that the full cost associated with recruiting, retaining, and developing a global faculty is not passed on to families via higher tuition. Offering competitive compensation and continued professional development is critical to delivering high-quality education to our students.
Facility Maintenance and Improvement Projects
Our campus and facilities are an integral component of the ISI experience. Expenses for maintenance and improvement of the physical structures, the variety of building systems, safety and security systems, as well as various aspects of campus including athletic fields, playgrounds, roads, and parking lots is significant. Though ISI allocates portions of the annual budget for required repairs and maintenance, it is philanthropic support that is essential to enable significant improvements.
Arts, Drama and Athletics Programs
Students benefit greatly from athletics and the arts and both offer avenues for students to find their passion through extracurricular programs. Philanthropic support ensures that the full cost to enable the programs is not passed on to families via higher participation fees.
General Operations
The school incurs in its day-to-day business general expenses that don't necessarily belong to a specific department or function but benefit the school community as a whole. The annual fund provides resources for the school to support these operations that are an important part of doing business.