Every Gift Has Impact
A community built on generosity
At Overlake, giving isn’t about obligation—it’s about opportunity. Tuition covers only part of the cost to deliver a truly exceptional education. The rest comes from the shared belief that this community is worth investing in.
Support from families, alumni, grandparents, and friends directly enhances the Overlake experience—from financial aid and faculty development to arts, athletics, and campus improvements. Every gift helps ensure Overlake remains a place where students thrive, educators innovate, and community values endure.
Opportunities to Give
Investing in Students, Teachers, and Programs
The Overlake Fund is our most important annual fundraising initiative, and makes an immediate, positive impact on every aspect of the school, taking our programs from wonderful to exceptional. The Overlake Fund is critical to providing more than 5% of the school’s operating budget. Additionally, 75% of the operating budget pays for teachers’ salaries and benefits, and our instructional programs.
Each and every gift, regardless of size, directly supports:
- Strong academics, arts and athletics programs that provide each student the opportunity to excel both inside and outside the classroom
- Co-curricular and experiential education programs, including outdoor education, service learning and our signature Project Week, that develop empathy, responsibility, leadership and creative problem-solving that will last a lifetime
- Outstanding and experienced faculty who challenge and support students to reach their potential
- Students and teachers from diverse backgrounds and experiences to enhance the educational experience for all
- Maintenance of our beautiful campus that encourages reflection, personal growth and a lifelong love of learning
Your support of the Overlake Fund makes our mission possible. Thank you for making your gift today!
(Please also note that donations to the Overlake Fund are fully tax-deductible in accordance with the law. We ask that pledges be paid by June 15, 2026.)
The Senior Class Legacy Fund was launched in 2013-14, as a way for families with graduating seniors to share their appreciation for the unparalleled education their children received at Overlake. Subsequent classes have carried on this meaningful tradition to grow the school’s endowment for financial aid. Gifts to the Senior Legacy Fund benefit Overlake in perpetuity, as the principal of the donation is never spent, and the interest earned supports the school's financial aid program annually.
Gifts to Overlake’s endowment strengthen our school’s financial foundation for years to come, ensuring that today’s students, as well as future generations, have continued access to excellent teaching, exciting academic and co-curricular opportunities, and an inclusive community that welcomes people of all backgrounds.
Overlake’s endowment is a pool of invested funds that produces a permanent flow of interest income beyond tuition revenue to support the school’s operating budget. Both our strategic plan, Overlake @50, as well as Doors to Discovery, call for significantly building Overlake’s endowment for financial aid to guarantee the school’s long-term sustainability.
Overlake’s Doors to Discovery transformational capital campaign successfully raised over $29 million, the most significant and ambitious campaign in Overlake’s history.
From the Whitten Math & Sciences Center that opened in 2021 to the new Student & Community Center, and a financial aid endowment that has more than tripled in size, this campaign has opened real and lasting doors to benefit current and future students for generations to come.
This all was made possible by the vision, generosity, and dedication of current and past trustees, families, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends (and even a few students!) who represent the more than 500 donors who contributed to this campaign.
Current gifts are always appreciated and are tax deductible to the fullest extent as permitted by law. To send a check, please make a note of its purpose (e.g., Overlake Fund, Senior Class Legacy Fund, Endowment, etc.) and mail to:
The Overlake School
Attn: Development Office
20301 NE 108th St
Redmond, WA 98053
If you hold securities that would incur a tax on capital gains if sold, your outright gift to Overlake could mean significant savings. You obtain a tax deduction for the full market value of the gift, and you may avoid a tax on the increase in value. For instructions on how to make a gift of securities to Overlake, please email Brisen Brady, Director of Development, or call her at 425-602-7054.
A donor advised fund (DAF) is a named charitable giving account you can set up under a public charity, most often a sponsoring financial or community institution such as Schwab Charitable, Fidelity Charitable or Seattle Foundation, among others. To donate through your DAF, simply contact your sponsoring financial or community institution to recommend a grant to The Overlake School.
Please note the U.S. Pension Protection Act of 2006 establishes certain restrictions applying to donor advised funds. It's important to be aware of these to make sure that a donation through a DAF meets your needs and charitable intent. The restrictions that most often impact donors concern pledges and accepting donor benefits.
Pledges — When a DAF is established, the donor may recommend but not legally direct future charitable grants. As the donor has given up legal ownership of the fund, they are prohibited from making a legally binding pledge from their DAF to the charity they want to support. In addition, donors may not fulfill previously existing, legally binding pledges through their DAF. Please email Brisen Brady to notify the school of your intent to recommend a grant, as it assists us with future planning.
Donor Benefits — Donating through a DAF limits the donor benefits you may receive. Because a full tax deduction is received at the time of establishing or funding the DAF, donors are unable to receive a deduction when a grant disbursement is processed.
Special Event Tickets and Donations — Donors wishing to support The Overlake School through special events such as our Owls Night Out community celebration should be aware that event tickets may not be purchased through a DAF. Sponsorships and event donations through your DAF are welcomed, minus the value of any claimed event tickets included in our sponsorship packages.
Planned Giving – When establishing a DAF, a qualified charity such as The Overlake School may be recommended to receive any remaining balance in the DAF upon the death of the donor.
The Overlake Heritage Society recognizes and honors individuals who have included the school in their estate plans. Overlake’s planned giving program provides a variety of ways to make a planned gift that does not deplete lifetime assets and, in some cases, can furnish additional income and significant tax deductions. Below is a list of options you may wish to consider when making a gift to Overlake:
Bequests - A gift provided in your will may be a percentage of your estate, the residual of the estate, a certain item, or a specific dollar amount. Estate taxes may be reduced by a bequest to Overlake. Please click here for sample language to add Overlake to your will.
Charitable Remainder Trust - This trust provides either a fixed or variable income for you and your family. Part of the trust qualifies for an income tax deduction and at the death of the last beneficiary, the assets of the trust are distributed to Overlake.
Charitable Lead Trust - This trust allows you to pass on assets to family members with significant estate and gift tax savings while allowing Overlake to benefit from the income for the duration of the trust.
Gifts of Real Estate - A gift of real estate provides considerable tax benefits. You also have the option of retaining the right to occupy the property for life or even to receive the income it generates.
Gifts of Life Insurance or Pension Benefits - A gift of life insurance allows you to contribute a previously acquired policy that may no longer be needed for its initial purpose and realize tax benefits. Overlake may also be named as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, company pension or profit-sharing plan, or of a private fund such as an IRA, Keogh, or tax-sheltered annuity.
We appreciate your interest in and support of The Overlake School. Your attorney or financial planner can provide additional information on how these ways of giving apply to your specific situation. If you are interested in learning more about these gift opportunities for you and Overlake, please email Brisen Brady, Director of Development, or call her at 425-602-7054.
The Overlake School is an incorporated not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), tax ID 91 0814431. Gifts made to the school are tax deductible to the extent allowed by IRS regulations for charitable donations.