Finance:
Ensuring Financial Stability & Sustainability
2025-2030: Finance
St. Luke's School was founded in 1945 to serve young families moving to the West Village as World War II ended. We opened our doors on September 24, 1945, with 19 children and 2 teachers in the Parish House of the Church of St. Luke in the Fields. For 67 years, we grew and operated as a division of the church until becoming independent in 2012. At that time, we began a physical expansion of our facilities and our student body and faced the need to become a financially viable, fully independent school. In 2025, we celebrated our 80th Anniversary with a robust enrollment of nearly 360 students, a dedicated professional staff, and a strong community ready to lean into our future while also honoring our past!
Over the five years of this plan, we will invest in our future, ensuring that St. Luke’s School will continue to be a distinguished leader in New York City's independent school community, as a haven for students where they engage in joyful learning, rigorous academics, character development, and a commitment to serving something greater than themselves. With a history of educating young people to be thoughtful leaders and engaged citizens, St. Luke's balances a deep respect for tradition with a forward-looking approach to educating the whole child. With the right financial foundation in place, our school will be well-positioned to champion our mission and bravely go forth into our future, where we continue to foster a nurturing and challenging environment where students learn with joy and lead with heart.
Strategic Priority 1
Refine a rolling 5-year strategic financial plan built around the major levers of an independent school business model, namely enrollment, tuition, alternative sources of revenue, and financial assistance.
Strategic Priority 2
Optimize operational spending, realize opportunities for savings, and reallocate resources to support our strategic priorities.
Strategic Priority 3
Strengthen our strategic approach to fundraising to emphasize community, foster a culture of philanthropy, and realize opportunities to increase the annual fund, optimize capital campaigning, and grow our endowment.
Finance and Belonging
At St. Luke’s, we view our budget as a moral document, with our unwavering commitment to the dignity of all human beings at the core of our value proposition. St. Luke’s School is unique, not just because of its oasis-like campus in the middle of a bustling city, but because of its deep dedication to celebrating the joys of learning, holding high expectations for academic performance, and believing in leadership as service. As we look to the future, we will ensure that St. Luke’s School continues to thrive financially so it can remain a leader in the NYC Independent School market.
Our Goals:
Finance 2026 - 2027
Building on the successes of Year 1, we will continue to analyze optimal enrollment and student body composition and identify alternative revenue sources. We will continue to invest resources in student retention by assessing and addressing family needs, especially by refining our financial assistance program. Believing that our budget is a moral document, we will continue to align expenses with our mission, specifically by auditing service providers and vendors.
We will continue to transition from a culture of fundraising to one of philanthropy that addresses not just today's needs but also those of future generations of St. Luke’s students. We will continue to optimize systems and structures in support of advancement initiatives. Our Annual Fund will become a sustainable, predictable baseline for operations, and we will expand community engagement, with a focus on alumni. We will work to understand our community’s capacity to fortify our financial foundation, including intentional plans to grow our endowment.
Our Strategic Plan in Action: 2025-2026
Key accomplishments of the 2025-2026 school year are below. Click on the photos to read more about the:
• improved data tracking to strengthen enrollment management
• regular assessment of key financial levers with Finance Committee
• expanded cultural celebrations throughout the year, culminating in the Multicultural Festival
• improved communication about the full expanse of costs covered in our financial assistance program
• alignment of expenses with mission, as we’ve done with the overnight trip program
• success of the Annual Fund
• launch of the first-ever giving day challenge for alumni and alumni families.
• expansion of alumni gathering opportunities
• record-breaking 80th Anniversary Spring Benefit
• integration of Veracross into development workflows, creating opportunities for efficiency and consistency in input, tracking, and reporting
The School has invested in improved data tracking to strengthen enrollment management. (Optimized enrollment and student body composition)
The School has invested in improved data tracking to strengthen enrollment management. (Optimized enrollment and student body composition)
The CFOO regularly assesses key financial levers and partners with the Finance Committee to ensure the financial strength of St. Luke’s. (Routine assessment of key financial model levers)
The CFOO regularly assesses key financial levers and partners with the Finance Committee to ensure the financial strength of St. Luke’s. (Routine assessment of key financial model levers)
Ensuring that our community provides all families with a sense of belonging, we have expanded family cultural celebrations throughout the year, culminating in the Multicultural Fair. (Robust retention strategies)
Ensuring that our community provides all families with a sense of belonging, we have expanded family cultural celebrations throughout the year, culminating in the Multicultural Fair. (Robust retention strategies)
St. Luke's believes that every child deserves a quality education regardless of financial circumstances, and we want to empower families who receive assistance with a complete understanding of the full expanse of costs covered in our financial assistance program (Refined financial assistance program and processes)
St. Luke's believes that every child deserves a quality education regardless of financial circumstances, and we want to empower families who receive assistance with a complete understanding of the full expanse of costs covered in our financial assistance program (Refined financial assistance program and processes)
Each year we assess our expenses to ensure that they support the mission of our school. For example, our overnight trip program is included in family tuition, given its role in a St. Luke’s student's journey. (Expenses aligned with mission)
Each year we assess our expenses to ensure that they support the mission of our school. For example, our overnight trip program is included in family tuition, given its role in a St. Luke’s student's journey. (Expenses aligned with mission)
The Advancement Office enriches community education on the importance of the Annual Fund. (Annual Fund growth)
The Advancement Office enriches community education on the importance of the Annual Fund. (Annual Fund growth)
We launched the first-ever Giving Day Challenge for alumni and alumni families. (Expanded community and alumni engagement)
We launched the first-ever Giving Day Challenge for alumni and alumni families. (Expanded community and alumni engagement)
As part of our goal to expand alumni engagement and reconnection with their school, we have made reunion an annual event at the end of the school year. (Expanded community and alumni engagement)
As part of our goal to expand alumni engagement and reconnection with their school, we have made reunion an annual event at the end of the school year. (Expanded community and alumni engagement)
St. Luke’s celebrated the 80th Anniversary with a record-breaking Spring Benefit! (Expanded community and alumni engagement)
St. Luke’s celebrated the 80th Anniversary with a record-breaking Spring Benefit! (Expanded community and alumni engagement)
The Advancement Office has integrated the use of Veracross into their workflows, creating opportunities for efficiency and consistency in input, tracking, and reporting. (Optimized advancement systems and structures)
The Advancement Office has integrated the use of Veracross into their workflows, creating opportunities for efficiency and consistency in input, tracking, and reporting. (Optimized advancement systems and structures)
A Look Ahead:
Finance 2027 - 2030
2027 - 2028
In this year, we will continue to provide resources on optimizing our financial levers, including enrollment, alternative revenue sources, and philanthropic giving, in order to attend to growing tuition pressures. We will continue to invest in clarifying and expanding our financial assistance process and program. The audit of service providers and vendors focused on our values will continue. Our Annual Fund will be a dependable baseline for operations, enabling us to continue expanding community engagement with a focus on alumni. In service to building the foundation for our future, we will continue to communicate within and outside of our community what makes St. Luke’s so special and why it needs to exist for students for generations to come.
2028 - 2029
In the fourth year of the plan, we will establish routines for assessing, identifying, and addressing impacts on the key levers of our financial model. We will expand our financial assistance process and program, as well as alternative revenue streams and grants.
Our Annual Fund will serve as a clear baseline for operations, and we will have robust community engagement with a focus on alumni. Constituents within and outside of our community will have a clear understanding of what makes St. Luke’s so special and why it needs to exist for students for generations to come.
2029 - 2030
In our final year of the plan, we will regularly use and update a 5-year financial plan to inform strategic decisions. We will revisit optimal enrollment with an eye to a sustainable future for St. Luke’s School and a foundation for the next strategic planning cycle. We will routinely refine the process for assessing, identifying, and addressing impacts on the key levers of our financial model. We will continue to refine our financial assistance process and program. Our community will be thinking of a culture of philanthropy supported by a robust Annual Fund, expanded alumni engagement, and a clear foundation that will sustain St. Luke’s School as a unique academic institution and haven in a bustling city for generations to come.
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