Moeller Smashed Largest-Ever Fundraising Goal

Moeller smashes largest-ever fundraising goal bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/08/13/moeller-smashes-largest-ever-fundraising-goal.html

By Tom Demeropolis – Senior Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Aug 13, 2021, 2:25pm EDT At the end of 2020, Archbishop Moeller High School launched the largest fundraiser in the school’s 60-year history. The all-male Catholic high school smashed its goal.

Moeller’s Raise the Shield capital campaign had a goal of raising $14 million. It recently announced the total raised was more than $22.4 million.

Marshall Hyzdu, president and 1996 alumnus of Moeller, said the “Moeller family” exceeded expectations and goals.

“The generosity and faith in the Men of Moeller – both future and present – is inspiring,” Hyzdu said in a news release.

Moeller launched the campaign to improve its physical footprint, as well as to raise the endowment to allow for more young men who needed financial assistance to attend the school. Projects that will be funded by the capital campaign include an innovation hub, student commons, a performing arts center, a sports complex and an already completed classroom renovation.

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The campaign came together as a result of a 2017 strategic plan for school, where more than 300 people from within the Moeller community and outside came together to identify top priorities. Those priorities were improving facilities across the board and increasing the school’s endowment, so it could help families afford tuition, which is about $15,000.

Now more than fully funded, the campaign will provide money for: Student commons, innovation hub and band/choir/locker rooms, projects that total $7 million. The new student commons, to be completed in September, will improve the lunchtime experience and serve as a place students can gather before, during and after school. The innovation hub is designed to promote experiential learning and critical thinking, as well as enhance teacher-student relationships. This September 2022 project will include information technology, art, engineering and business classes.

Finally, the state-of-the-art locker room will have space for team meetings and coaches’ offices. The band and choir rooms will provide an environment for students interested in music.

Performing arts center/theater, a 2022 project that will be a $1 million investment. This project will renovate the school’s auditorium and create a performing arts center with 500 seats. The center will be used as a gathering space to watch performances and participate in presentations, spiritual gatherings and special events.

A baseball stadium sports complex, a $2 million project targeted for fall 2021. A parent of an alumnus donated about 30 acres of land off Second Street in Clermont County’s Miami Township. A new baseball stadium will be built on the sports complex.

Each year, Moeller contributes more than $1.7 million in needbased scholarships to more than 350 families who are not able to afford a Moeller education. This campaign has grown the school’s endowment, which will help more who wish to have a Moeller education receive one. Contributions to the endowment are invested, not spent, providing annual revenue that supports tuition assistance and scholarships.

In July, Moeller broke ground on 30 acres of land that were donated to the school for the growth of athletic programs. The first stage of this complex will include a wall of honors, celebrating the school’s alumni, baseball team accomplishments and an artificial turf baseball diamond.

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Dr. Tim Kremchek and his Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine colleagues have made a significant donation to Moeller. As a result, the school’s planned $2 million baseball field will be named Kremchek Stadium.

“This is a transformational time in Moeller’s history,” Hyzdu said. “Our commitment to be the best high school in America is supported by our faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and parents of alumni.”

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