SUPPORTING THE FREDERICK GUNN SCHOOL
In the fall of 2019, the Board of Trustees approved our most recent Strategic Plan. The plan states that, by 2025, The Frederick Gunn School will become “a uniquely attractive place for students and faculty to learn, live, and thrive.” And to do so, we will “establish the School as a nationally recognized leader in the theory and practice of secondary boarding education,” modeled by — and in the vision of — Frederick Gunn.
To do so, we assert we will: • develop and care for our faculty and students around our Core Values; • transform our campus according to the 2016 Campus Master Plan; • build unique programs that promote comprehensive and holistic learning.
Implicit in that statement is the assumption that those decisions will increase interest in our school (tuition revenue) and opportunities for strategic investment in its future (philanthropy). Together, the Board and the Leadership Team are committed to completing a set of strategic objectives and taking on the inherent risk of making aspirational statements. At the close of year one of putting this plan into action, despite the challenges created by a global pandemic and social and political disharmony, the implications of this plan have been met with incredibly positive support. Said another way, early feedback has affirmed our assumptions. As I write this, we are five days from opening the 2021-22 school year with the largest student population in recent history. Applications for admission were up 5% over the previous year, and our admission yield was 10 percentage points higher than in 2020. Similarly, we closed the 2021 fiscal year with unprecedented philanthropic support from all constituencies. Prospective families and alumni have embraced the vision of our relaunch. On June 30, 2021, The 1850 Fund finished its most successful year ever with a total of $1,660,047 from 1,202 donors, exceeding a goal of $1.65 million and growing by 9% over the record-setting total from the 2020 fiscal year. As we continue working toward a sustainable $2 million annual fund by 2025, the Fund has grown 26% in dollars since the 2018 fiscal year. In 2021, 548 alumni made at least
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The Frederick Gunn School Bulletin
their second consecutive gift to the annual fund; at the same time, 64 alumni made their first-ever gift. Between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, we also received cash and pledges totaling more than $25 million to support the goals and objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan. For context, The Campaign for The Gunnery, completed in the early 2000s, generated $23 million in gifts over five years. The fundraising initiative to construct The Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center, completed in 2019 and spanning approximately two years, generated just under $22 million. Through early gifts to support the endowment and capital priorities of the Strategic Plan: • nearly 100% of our current Trustees have made 3-5 year pledges; • 36 donors have made their most significant ever commitment to the School; • 25 donors have doubled their lifetime giving with their most recent commitment. We are excited by and grateful for the support we’ve seen from all constituencies. We look forward to continuing to celebrate success with all of you as the Alumni & Development Office begins to travel and host in-person events again. We thank you all sincerely for the work you do to ensure the future of this great school — your school.
My request to you is this: • If you’ve previously given to the annual fund, please consider matching your most recent gift this year. If you’re not sure what or when it was, call me and I will find out. • If you’ve never given before, please consider giving at a level that is meaningful to you and that you could see yourself sustaining over multiple years. – Sean Brown P’22
