The Father Harry Carlin Heritage Society

You probably already know the difference an SI education can make in a young person’s life. You may have experienced it yourself by meeting lifelong friends, or even a spouse, while at SI. Or perhaps an amazing teacher or coach inspired and challenged you to do better. Maybe you witnessed your children and loved ones graduate from SI and grow into men and women committed to faith, justice, leadership, service, academic excellence and compassion.

In previous decades, a primarily Jesuit teaching staff kept the cost of operating SI fairly low. Tuition was approximately $300 per year in the mid-1960s; in 1990, it was just under $5,000.  Today, tuition is $28,255, 80% of which pays for our excellent lay teachers’ salaries.  More than ever, SI’s ability to provide tuition assistance is critical.  We need your help to ensure that an SI education remains accessible to all regardless of a family’s financial circumstances.

We understand you have financial obligations and perhaps a family to support. With little to no current cost to you, remembering SI in your estate plan allows you to meet these obligations while making an important difference in the lives of future Ignatians.  Those who give in this manner are welcomed to the Fr. Carlin Society, recognized in a donor honor roll and invited to an annual luncheon and special events at SI.

Joining the Fr. Carlin Society is easy. Anyone who has made a gift to SI in his or her estate plan (regardless of the size of the gift) is invited to join. You can become a Fr. Carlin Society member by letting us know that you have:

• named SI as a beneficiary in a Will or revocable trust;
• named SI as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy;
• named SI as a beneficiary of a charitable remainder trust or charitable lead trust; or
• gifted a personal residence to SI while retaining a life estate.

Fr. Carlin Society membership recognizes the method of giving, not the size of the gift.  It does not take an enormous fortune to make an enormous difference.

Yes. Just let us know and your name will not appear publicly, but informing us of your gift will allow us to privately thank you and plan for the future. Further, your example can encourage the same commitment from others, strengthening your gift’s impact.

You may direct your gift to SI for its general purposes or to a particular program. Many Fr. Carlin Society members support the SI Scholarship Endowment Fund, which provides tuition assistance to students in need. You may also name your own scholarship for yourself or a loved one. Please contact us if you are interested in this option.

We understand revocable gifts may be changed. Fr. Carlin Society membership recognizes your present intention to remember SI in your estate plan.

No, but it can be helpful so that we can make sure your gift is used as you intend.  Please contact us for sample bequest language.

The Fr. Carlin Society is named after the late Father Harry Carlin, S.J., who was an SI student, teacher and basketball coach before serving as President between 1964 and 1970, and then as executive Vice President from 1971 to 2005. Shortly after accepting the president’s job at SI, which at the time was located at 222 Stanyan Street, Fr. Carlin led the effort to raise the $2 million dollars needed to buy 11 acres of Sunset District sand dunes as the site for a new campus.

Fr. Carlin is fondly remembered as “the founder of the modern SI” because of this achievement.

It must have been difficult for most looking at those sand dunes in the late 1960s to imagine the amazing school standing here today. But just as Fr. Carlin’s vision laid the foundation for SI’s current campus, our Fr. Carlin Society members’ vision is now laying the foundation for the future of Jesuit education. By remembering SI in their estate plans, Fr. Carlin Society members provide integral support to SI’s mission, one that provides excellent education to future leaders whose talents and skills will build a better world.

If you have, or intend to, name SI in your estate plan, or would simply like more information, please contact

Annie Reilly
Planned Giving Coordinator
(415) 731-7500, ext. 5122
areilly@siprep.org