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Your Support Has a Direct Impact on Our Students and Families

Rochester School for the Deaf fosters a love of learning and creates a vibrant educational and social community for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. While core programs are state-funded, support from individuals, foundations, and corporations makes all the difference! Donors significantly impact the lives of our students and their families by providing a beautiful campus with unique educational spaces, opportunities for educational enrichment, special support for students in need, and various outreach initiatives. Recent projects that received support from generous RSD donors include:

  • The natural outdoor classroom at the Early Childhood Center which allows for creative play and hands-on learning in a beautiful, safe space.
  • Supplemental support for the high school travel abroad trips, which brings history and culture to life for our students and empowers them to explore and learn about the world.
  • Travel to out-of-state athletic and academic championships.
  • ASL learning opportunities for families.
  • Classroom curricular materials for special projects.
  • Emergency funding for students to cover food, clothing and medical needs.

Donate

  • A presenter uses sign language to tell a story to a seated audience in a bright room with a colorful stained-glass window.
  • A group of children in black t-shirts and beanies pose on a stage, with several peers in green frog hats standing behind them.
  • Middle school soccer in action on the RSD field
  • A young person wearing a white shirt looks directly at the camera with blue and orange face paint spelling "RSD" on their right cheek.
  • A smiling child in a winter coat and colorful hat joyfully rides a blue sled down a snowy slope.
  • A teacher uses sign language to communicate with two young students in a classroom filled with craft supplies.

Funds & Giving Opportunities

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Annual Fund

Gifts to the Annual Fund direct your support to the area where it is needed most, including providing educational experiences and travel for our students that are not supported by New York State funding, such as out-of-state conferences, tournaments, and educational trips; classes for our families to learn ASL and Deaf culture; enhancing our beautiful campus; and other urgent needs. These unrestricted gifts allow RSD the flexibility to best support our community and campus.

 

ECC Natural Playground Fund

In 2017, the RSD Early Childhood Center welcomed a beautiful natural playground on campus that is used as an outdoor classroom. This creative space sparks curiosity and imagination for our youngest students, aged 18 months to five years. Positive experiences with nature bring significant benefits to children, including language opportunities, developing gross motor skills, engaging in creative play, and learning how to manipulate their environment in cooperation with others. We have continued to raise funds to enhance the space with new riding pathways, gardens, and safety fencing, and to maintain/replace the natural elements such as logs and wooden climbing/playing structures.  Ongoing support of the playground is most welcome and needed.

 

Travel Abroad Program (TAP) Fund

RSD has a proud tradition of providing our high school students with the opportunity to travel abroad. These trips put into practice the classroom skills they have been taught and also offer valuable lessons about the world around them and life skills that cannot be taught in a classroom setting. Students have direct access to the educational experience in sign language, with cultural immersion, Deaf tour guides and Deaf locals, and interactive programs that give them a deeper appreciation of the area. This fund helps to offset the cost of travel and allows for greater access and participation of our students.

 

The Gilman Perkins Fund

Gilman Perkins (1926–2015) was a longtime member of the RSD Board of Directors and Advisory Council and a great-grandson of RSD’s founders, Gilman and Caroline Perkins. In order to continue Gil’s legacy of caring at RSD, his children established The Gilman Perkins Fund for RSD Student Needs in 2016. The purpose of this Fund is to help Deaf or hard-of-hearing RSD students overcome financial obstacles that may impede them from achieving academic, social, or career success, including opportunities for educational and extracurricular enrichment, equity, and access. See below for more information.

 

The Wayne C. Mnich Leadership Scholarship Fund

This fund honors Wayne C. Mnich (1938-2019), a long-term high school science teacher at RSD. His positive spirit, spontaneous humor, and genuine love of teaching and learning led his students to a higher level of success and achievement. In his memory, his family, along with RSD, established the Wayne C. Mnich Leadership Scholarship Fund. This fund supports 10th- and 11th-grade students from RSD attending the National Association of the Deaf Youth Leadership Camp (YLC). See below for more information.

How to Give

Cash/Check Gifts

Please make checks payable to "Rochester School for the Deaf" and mail to:

Rochester School for the Deaf
1545 St. Paul St.
Rochester, NY 14621

Please be sure to include your name, address, and affiliation/class year for proper recording/receipting.

 

Credit Card/Online Gifts

Gifts may be made online by credit card using our secure processing system though DonorPerfect.  Please consider making your gift recurring to ensure ongoing support for RSD's mission and programs.

Donate Now

 

Memorial and Tribute Gifts

Memorial gifts are a thoughtful way to honor the memory of a loved one who may have had a connection to the Rochester School for the Deaf. It serves as a lasting tribute to their life and legacy.

Gifts to RSD can also provide a wonderful way to recognize a special birthday or other occasion for someone part of the RSD community, supporting a cause they hold dear.

If you are making your gift online, please be sure to check the box that says "This gift is in honor, memory, or support of someone." If your gift is a check sent to the school, please be sure to note the name of the person you are honoring or remembering.

We will provide a list of donors to the family or honoree. Please let us know if you are making a designation in an obituary or as a tribute. Call 585-336-5809 or email donations@rsdeaf.org.

 

Bequests & Estate Planning

Leaving a bequest to Rochester School for the Deaf is a powerful way to support the education and future of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students. By including the school in your will, trust or as a beneficiary, you create a lasting legacy, ensuring that your generosity contributes to ongoing educational opportunities and programs. Your bequest helps sustain the school's financial well-being, providing a reliable source of funding for facilities, initiatives, and student support. It's a simple yet impactful way to express your values, make a positive difference, and leave a meaningful mark on the lives of RSD students and their families. We recommend that you speak with your financial or legal advisor for more information.

Please let us know if you are planning a bequest or estate gift to RSD, so we may thank you and recognize your thoughtful planning. Call 585-336-5809 or email donations@rsdeaf.org.

 

Gifts of Securities, Stocks & IRA Charitable Distributions

By donating appreciated stocks, bonds, and mutual fund shares that have been owned for more than one year, donors may avoid capital gains tax.

Normally, a distribution from your Traditional IRA is taxed as ordinary income. However, you may be eligible to make a tax-free qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your IRA to Rochester School for the Deaf. The transfer “counts” toward your required minimum distribution (RMD).

We recommend that you speak with your financial or legal advisor for more information.

To make a gift of securities, stock, or from your IRA, please contact us at (585) 336-5809 or donations@rsdeaf.org.

A teacher smiles while interacting with a student waving in a classroom.

Additional Information on Specific Funds

  • a elder man with rsd logo next to him

    The late Gilman Perkins, 1926–2015, was a longtime member of the Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) Board of Directors and Advisory Council. He was a great-grandson of RSD’s founders, Gilman and Caroline Perkins, and is remembered by many for his tireless support of RSD students as a friend and generous benefactor.

    In order to continue Gil’s legacy of caring at RSD, his children Gilman C. Perkins, Rebecca D. Perkins, and Cornelia N. Perkins Johnston established The Gilman Perkins Fund for RSD Student Needs in 2016. The purpose of this Fund is to help Deaf or hard-of-hearing RSD students overcome financial obstacles that may impede them from achieving academic, social, or career success. This includes any legitimate student need for which parental support is not readily available, such as school supplies, participation in special events, warm coats and boots, and athletic equipment.

    RSD welcomes ongoing, private, tax-deductible gifts to further the charitable purposes of this Fund. Every donation to the Fund goes directly to the students served by the Fund’s vision, providing them with those things—both small and large —that will help them succeed.

    If you are interested in helping us support RSD children, please consider making a gift to The Gilman Perkins Fund by clicking on DONATE NOW here. You can also mail your gift to Rochester School for the Deaf, Attention: Gilman Perkins Fund, 1545 St. Paul St., Rochester, NY 14621. Thank you!

  • Wayne C. Mnich

    Wayne C. Mnich's (1938-2019) contributions as a Teacher of the Deaf, school counselor and administrator, and college faculty span more than 50 years. During his time at Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD), Wayne was a long-term science teacher in the High School Department. His positive spirit, spontaneous humor, and genuine love of teaching and learning led his students to a higher level of success and achievement.

    In his memory, the family, along with RSD, has established the Wayne C. Mnich Leadership Scholarship Fund. This fund will support 10th- and 11th-grade students from RSD attending the National Association of the Deaf Youth Leadership Camp (YLC).

    Wayne and Martha recognize the importance of educating and nurturing future leaders in the Deaf community. Over 50 years in existence, YLC has fostered many youth-age leaders who are today’s Deaf community leaders, and they want to continue building on this success with RSD students.

    If you are interested in helping us support RSD 10th- and 11th-grade students to attend YLC in the future, please consider making a gift to The Wayne C. Mnich Leadership Scholarship Fund by clicking on DONATE NOW here, below, or in the right sidebar, and selecting Mnich Leadership Scholarship Fund in the “Designation” dropdown box. You may also mail your gift to Rochester School for the Deaf, Attention: Wayne C. Mnich Leadership Scholarship Fund, 1545 St. Paul St., Rochester, NY 14621.

    Thank you!

  • In memory of U.S. Army Corporal Kevin Mowl and in honor of his love for history, politics, and world travel, former Superintendent Harold Mowl and his family established the Kevin Mowl Travel Abroad Fund to support international travel for RSD students.  Donations made to this endowment help to ensure that RSD’s Travel Abroad Program continues and help reduce the costs to families.