Montville― Saint Bernard School has announced a $50,000 matching gift campaign for new alumni donors.

The Ray H. and Pauline Sullivan Foundation presented the school with a challenge to help increase the number of alumni who give to the school’s fund each year. Currently, only 3% of Saint Bernard’s 11,000 alumni donate each year.

“When a student has the desire and the drive to receive a Saint Bernard education, we do everything within our power to accept that student,” said Head of School Don Macrino, in a press release. “In spite of our efforts to contain costs, the cost of a private school education has grown significantly. With the recent pandemic and the economic downturn we have all experienced, the need for financial aid is greater than ever.”

The school said it needs to raise $50,000 from new alumni donors by Feb. 1 in order to receive the matching gift from the Sullivan Foundation. All donations will go to The Fund for Saint Bernard which benefits students who seek a Catholic education but otherwise might not be able to afford it.

According to the school, Ray and Pauline Sullivan grew up in southeastern Connecticut and valued Catholic education. Ray had a successful career in the automotive industry in Detroit before retiring as a vice president at Ford Motor Co. and returning with his wife to southeastern Connecticut. Following the death of Pauline in 1964, Sullivan made a substantial contribution to St. Bernard School to construct the chapel in her memory. In 1972, he established a charitable foundation which benefits Catholic schools and charities in the Diocese of Norwich. Four local individuals and Bank of America, N.A. serve as co-trustees of the Ray H. and Pauline Sullivan Foundation.