Support TCGIS during Give to the Max!

Held in conjunction with Give to the Max Day, the TCGIS Fall Fundraising Campaign plays a critical role in helping our school achieve its Annual Fund budgetary goal of $110,000. Throughout the week we have been sharing a series of videos highlighting the ways that gifts to the TCGIS Annual Fund continue to help our school thrive. See what current students, staff and families have to say about the impact of your generosity! 
​This year, we are excited to share that a group of alumni families have joined in a brand-new effort to inspire generosity at TCGIS. Together, these families created a $1,300 match that will be unlocked when $1,300 in NEW gifts to TCGIS are given during the campaign. We are so grateful to the families who helped us put together this special new initiative!

But wait, there's more! Once we reach $30,000 in donations, our community will unlock a $9,000 match given by our TCGIS Board! 

Help us reach our goal!

There are many ways to give! 

The TCGIS online giving form allows donors to make one-time or recurring gifts with a credit card. 
Gifts made by ACH or eCheck from a savings or checking account can be made through the Infinite Campus School Store. Click on the "Fundraising" option.
Make a gift through GiveMN's giving platform (credit card) during Minnesota's Giving Holiday - Give to the Max!
Drop off or mail a check to:
TCGIS
1031 Como Ave. 
St. Paul, MN 55116
Pursue an Employer Match! 
TCGIS family members and supporters take advantage of employer-matching and payroll deduction programs at these local corporations and organizations:
3M
Allina Health System
Best Buy
Boston Scientific
Cargill
Delta Airlines
Ecolab
Estee Lauder
General Mills
Land O Lakes
Medtronic
ServiceNow
Target Corp.
Thomson Reuters
Thrivent
UnitedHealth Group
U. of Minnesota
Wells Fargo

Why do we fundraise at TCGIS?

Together, the collective generosity of the TCGIS community helps our public charter school achieve its mission of innovative education of the whole child through German immersion, even while operating with 30 percent less revenue than traditional public schools in Minnesota.

Like traditional public schools, TCGIS receives state and federal funding to operate. However, charter schools do not benefit from local property taxes or levies. This results in a roughly $7,000 per pupil difference at TCGIS compared to local traditional public schools like St Paul Public Schools. 

This basic public funding covers our school’s operating costs.  However, as a language immersion school, TCGIS has additional  expenses that other English language instruction schools do not. For instance: we host native-German-speaking interns each semester; our students use German-language curricular and library materials we order from Germany; we hire native-speaking teachers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland which involves financing Visas; we encourage professional development for teachers specifically around language-immersion education. For all of these reasons, TCGIS’ annual fundraising goal is a line item in the school’s annual budget. 

The majority of TCGIS’s annual fundraising comes from charitable donations made by individual families, many of whom leverage their employer’s matching funds programs or elect to make a recurring monthly donation.

​Families are invited to participate in fundraising efforts by two groups: the TCGIS School Board and the TCGIS Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).  

TCGIS School Board Fundraising

Led by the TCGIS School Board's Fundraising Committee, these fundraising initiatives support our school’s Annual Fund, which is part of our school’s comprehensive budget. It supports: 
  • school operations and capital improvements
  • our intern program and international hiring  
  • curriculum enhancement and intercultural engagement opportunities 
  • professional development and diversity initiatives for staff

The Fall Campaign—held in conjunction with Give to the Max Day—and Spring Campaign are the primary ways the TCGIS Annual Fund is supported. Recurring individual donations, corporate match donations and payroll contributions are also convenient and effective ways to support the Annual Fund.

TCGIS PTO Fundraising

Led by families and friends of TCGIS, the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is focused on enriching our community and supporting teachers and staff. Things that the PTO supports for teachers and staff include:
  • funding professional training/conferences 
  • snacks, meals and team-building opportunities for teachers and staff 
  • classroom-based projects and field trips 
  • community-building events for the whole school ​
The PTO raises funds primarily through sales (plants/strudel/soup, etc.) and events (Oktoberfest 5K, the Fall Auction and Great Gatherings, Maskenball, etc.).