Issue 2: Nov 2020
Supporter Update
Hello from the Development Office
gave a compelling talk. Foundation Day is our way to thank you for your support of the Foundation, so you can see firsthand the transformational effect your gift has on the lives of young people here at the College and their families. We were so fortunate to have been able to put on this event - the last inperson event at LWC, before the Nation went into lockdown.
Well this year has been a little different for the Development Office, as it has for everyone!
Soon after that, the Development Office team were furloughed for several months to help keep the College finances in check during the uncertainty. This meant that fundraising was severely limited from then onwards.
It started well – with wonderful Sternian events and a series of parent dinners to talk about our plans and how to get involved. We very much enjoyed seeing everyone and gaining your feedback. There was plenty of interest in what we are trying to achieve and donations began to come in, with a handful of significant gifts. All was looking great for an exceptional year with a step-change in fundraising income for LWC. A culture of philanthropy was really emerging throughout our LWC community – Sternians, parents, staff and governors.
We were back up and running, part-time, in the summer holidays and so were able to launch our new COVID-19 Appeal for Single Term Bursaries in August – more on this on page 6. This Appeal has struck a chord with Sternians and parents across the world, many donating to LWC for the first time. Despite the significant pause in fundraising, we still managed to achieved record income from individuals. Just imagine what an uninterrupted year might have brought! We are now endeavouring to rebuild momentum and support again.
Foundation Day in March was exceptional. Thank you to those of you who were able to join us as individual donors or representatives from supporting Trusts and Charities – you really did see the Foundation at its best. We are sure you will agree that our young people were truly inspirational as they gave amazing musical and drama performances or bravely shared their story. It was wonderful to welcome back Sternians too to share their experiences and to hear from Andrew Walters from Buttle UK, one of our partner organisations, who
Thank you for all you are doing for LWC. We do hope you enjoy reading this update and do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss making a gift.
Sam Corfield, Development Director
A Thank You From The Headmaster A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last year whether as an individual or via one of the many Trusts and Charities who directly help Foundationers at the College. It has meant a lot that you have continued your support, despite the current circumstances. Although 2019/20 was a record year for donations from individual parents and Sternians, I very much hope that you are able to continue with your gifts this year, as I fear it may be a bit of a bumpy ride ahead. Do get in touch with Sam and her team who can give you more information. A huge thank you again for your incredible support now and in the future.
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Fundraising Income
2019/20
Fundraising Income Update 2019/20
Overall we raised almost £580,000 from all areas. You can see from the historical comparison table below that this is similar to the total in 2015/16, but the breakdown is completely different.
£578,727 raised Sternians/Parents Trusts & Charities for Foundationers fees
Income from Trusts and charities shows a decrease of circa 35% between 2015/16 and 2019/20. Unfortunately, this trend is set to continue with Trusts and Charities having ever-increasing requests for support and having to tighten their criteria or reduce their grant level.
Legacies Covid-19 Appeal (additional income raised in 2020/21)
Legacy income is always unpredictable, and it was particularly low in 2019/20. However, we are delighted that our Sternians remained fit and well last year! All of this means that we have to work harder to increase philanthropic income from individuals from the LWC community each year. This income stream has been increasing steadily over the same time period, with a significant step change last year. We are delighted that income from individuals (excluding legacies) was the highest on record for LWC with over £300,000 donated.
We are so grateful for your support, especially during such turbulent times. Thank you.
Raised
£578,727
Sternians/Parents
£287,794
Trusts & Charities for Foundationers fees
£241,208
Legacies
£35,000
Covid-19 Appeal
Fundraising Income to date 2020/21
2020/21
£298,926 raised to date
Whilst the team were on furlough, we were not able to build up the same levels of pledged support for 2020/21. We are playing catch up and urgently need to get back on track.
Sternians/Parents
We also understand and appreciate that you as our current supporters, as well as our potential new donors, may also have changes in circumstances due to the pandemic.
Legacies
Trusts & Charities for Foundationers fees (includes pledges for the whole year)
Covid-19 Appeal (since Sept 2020)
These are serious concerns for us at LWC that have a knockon effect to our ability to fund The Foundation, fit out the new Science Centre and support other smaller projects this year.
Raised to date
Sternians & Parents Trusts & Charities for Foundationer fees Legacies TOTAL
£298,926
Sternians/Parents
£70,178
Trusts & Charities for Foundationers fees
We very much hope that you will be able to continue to support us in our endeavours. We are also hopeful that new donors will join you by making a gift or pledge this year.
Historical Comparisons
£14,725
£224,343
Legacies Covid-19 Appeal
£4,405
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21 to date
£115,177
£166,218
£166,915
£173,205
£302,519
£74,583
£372,867
£316,346
£315,848
£230,298
£241,208
£224,343
£90,332
£39,824
£110,000
£99,459
£35,000
£578,376
£522,388
£592,763
£502,962
£578,727
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£298,926
Campaigns you can continue to support You can support a variety of different campaigns at LWC. • The Foundation » Directly supporting the education of Foundationers now and into the future. • Capital Projects » The New Science Centre – helping the build in general or funding a laboratory or some specific equipment » The C3i Building – bringing creativity, curiosity, collaboration and innovation together in one space with Art and Design Technology at its heart. • The COVID-19 Appeal for Single Term Bursaries • Smaller Projects » Helping to support a variety of departments and activities e.g. CCF, Sport, Music, DT.
If you are keen to donate to an area not specifically listed above, please do get in touch with Sam, as every department has a wish list that you could help with!
New Science Centre has reached the half-way point The new Science Centre is coming along nicely and excitement is certainly beginning to build amongst the staff and pupils as we see it take shape. A group of our Lower Sixth Scientists were lucky enough to get on site for an exclusive tour – they very much enjoyed hearing about this amazing project, which is now half way to completion. The science faculty cannot wait to move in – late 2021/early 2022 all being well. They will have thirteen laboratories instead of nine – four for each of the three sciences plus a dedicated Junior Lab. In addition, there will be purpose built prep rooms, collaboration spaces and a conference room. It is going to be an incredibly inspiring learning space for all of our pupils.
Contact Sam if you are interested in funding a lab or other aspect of the building.
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Foundation Update
with new First Formers in September 2021. Applications are coming in for those places now, with selection taking place in the New Year. This is the hardest part, as we cannot offer awards to everyone - we simply do not have the funds to support them.
The majority of our donors currently direct their gift towards The Foundation to help support children whose lives have been disrupted by the loss of support of one, or both, parents through bereavement, significant illness, separation or other circumstance beyond their control. These young people benefit from the opportunity to thrive within our vibrant, supportive, boarding environment away from the distractions of home, and reach their potential.
Our Foundationers come from a wide variety of family circumstances but all make the most of everything on offer at LWC. We are proud of everything they achieve at the College and beyond as they make their mark on the world. Whilst their children are safe and happy at LWC, Foundationer parents have the space, time and opportunity to rebuild their lives following a bereavement; concentrate on caring for a sick family member; or improve their career prospects by returning to full time work. It is not just the child who you are supporting, but also the whole family.
All six Upper Sixth summer leavers left with fantastic results and have gone on to the University of their choice. We know they will make huge contributions to those establishments, as they did here. We wish them all the best for this next chapter in their lives.
A Foundation Award is a transformational opportunity that would not be possible without your support. Thank you.
Nine new Foundationers started with us in September and have settled in really well. Eight joined the First Form and one went into Third Form, taking us to forty-six Foundationers across all year groups.
ÂŁ26,000 funds an average Foundation Award each year.
This is set to return to over fifty next year as our current Upper Sixth, with only two Foundationers, move on and are replaced
Foundationer Story - Tiggy Towsey, Lower Sixth I am the youngest of five siblings. Three of us have been lucky enough to come to LWC. I grew up just outside of Oxford in a village called Yarnton, with my mum, as my parents were separated. When I was nine years old, my mum sadly passed away from lung cancer, meaning I had to grow up quite quickly as my brother and sister were already at LWC fully boarding. We moved in with our dad, which was a big change for us, but nothing compared to the change waiting for me when I would join Lord Wandsworth. Ever since my mum came to see the school, she knew it was the right place to send us to receive the best education as well as the best pastoral care for our well-being. It gave her, as well as the rest of my family, peace of mind, to know we were going somewhere where we could strive for the best in life. Coming to LWC was daunting to me at first, moving away from the life I had always known and going straight into full time boarding. However, there was no need to worry as everyone at the school made it easy to settle in and start a new chapter of my life. Throughout my years
at the school I have been encouraged to take every opportunity that has been given to me which has helped me build my confidence as an individual. I have partaken in many extra-curricular activities such as 1st team cricket, netball, and 2nd team hockey which I have enjoyed thoroughly. This school year I am also challenging myself to compete in the Devizes to Westminster canoe race, raising money for charity. The school has also allowed me to further my abilities in singing, giving me the chance to take part in many performances as well as even enabling me to produce my own music. Being at LWC has taught me that looking after myself is just as important as looking after others. This is the reason why I have decided to train and get a qualification in Mental Health First Aid, which is another amazing opportunity this school has provided to me. This year I have begun Sixth Form, taking Psychology, English Literature and Geography. So far I am enjoying them all thoroughly, and cannot wait to carry on my courses over the two years, exploring the many sides of each subject 4
in depth. After finishing at LWC, I hope to go to University, to study Psychology, Behavioural Sciences, and maybe even Mental Health. I am aspiring to go to Cambridge University, as I know my sister loved being there, but I will have to see where the wind takes me, but I know that with all the support around me, I will comfortably be able to make the right choice for myself.
LWC has taught me to become the independent, confident woman I am today.
Thank You LWC, From a Foundationer Parent
September 2020 Dear Adam, I wanted to take th is opportunity to sa y thank you to all the teachers and sta the incredible kind ff at LWC for ness, support and encouragement th at you all afforded journey through Lo Ben Smith on his rd Wandsworth Co llege over the past sev en years. The belief him as an individ you all had in ual, has in turn su pported myself an d my daughter, El you all enough an lie. I cannot thank d didn’t want to m iss this opportunity to express my grati simply life-chang tude. It has been ing for the three of us. Our journey throu gh LWC started sh ortly after my husb and died in 2013 while suffering En from an overdose cephalitis. Unfortu nately, he had been un well on and off pri following a Rugby or to his death accident; so I was alr eady tired and then sa dly bereaved. To cu story short, LWC ha t a long s stood by my side through very diffi cult and challengi times. ng personal Ben has thrived at LWC and has gone on to pass his GCSE ’s, A-Levels and ha Oxford Brookes Un s just started at iversity. None of th is would have been possible without th work and positivity e dedication, hard of the teaching sta ff. Ben’s time at LW C afforded him the grow in self-confid opportunity to ence, achieve his am bitions, form an in credible set of lifelo come away with th ng friends and e fondest memories; having had a huge amount of fun on not get any better the way. It does than that. I have felt involved
with every aspect of Ben’s time at scho ol; always able to wa events and meet an tch sporting d talk with teachin g staff about any concerns. This ha reassuring, especiall s been incredibly y if your child is bo arding. Nothing wa s ever too much tro support from LWC uble. This has helped me throu gh and incredibly traumatic life even parental stress out t, taken the of Ben’s schooling and allowed me to return to work and my life. in turn re-build Please convey my deepest gratitude to all the staff at LW C. You have all bee would particularly n amazing but I like to thank LWC Foundation, every one in Sutton Hous you did it, he’s so e (not sure how messy!) and Mr Tu rney for being an incredible role-mod patient, calm, kind el for Ben; always and reassuring. I look forward to ke eping you posted on Ben’s progress throu gh University and beyond. Jackie Perry-Smith
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COVID-19 Appeal for Single Term Bursaries In August 2020, we launched the LWC Covid-19 Appeal for Single Term Bursaries in direct response to the growing number of LWC families whose financial circumstances had dramatically changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Some parents had been furloughed or made redundant, whilst others had seen a significant drop in income as they are self-employed. Desperately worried about safeguarding the education of their children we urgently wanted to provide stability and reassurance for these families. We also decided to run an event to support the Appeal – the LWC Virtual 5k. On Sunday 27th September, the LWC community came together for our first ever Virtual 5k. Current and Former parents, Sternians, pupils, staff and governors joined in from all corners of the world. All choosing different ways to complete their 5k. We had cyclists, runners, swimmers, rowers, dog walkers as well as a family of paddle boarders, golfers and even one man and his unicycle! Everyone really entered into the spirit of the event. The Headmaster and Development Director hosted a live start for the event from the LWC Studio! Hundreds of friendly faces joined in the Zoom before heading out for their 5k activity. It was wonderful to see everyone raring to go.
To date the Covid-19 Appeal has raised approximately £25,000. We still need to do more, but this is a fantastic achievement already, in such a short space of time.
We are enormously grateful for the support extended to us. The pandemic has had a significant detrimental impact on our family finances with one income lost. LWC has shown us nothing but humility and understanding. This has been an enormously stressful time and the sleepless nights worrying about how we could maintain our child’s place at his beloved school have not been easy. Everything we love about LWC and the unique experience and environment our child has been fortunate to experience as a pupil, we have now experienced first-hand and most sincerely appreciated and valued. Current LWC Parent and recipient of a Single Term Bursary
Thank you to all those who donated to this urgent appeal. If you would like to help LWC families who are struggling do get in touch with Sam.
Design for Lord Wandsworth College CCF Contingent Banner
CCF Banner Appeal The Combined Cadet Force is a huge part of LWC life and takes the lead role in Remembrance Services at the College and in Long Sutton. The CCF are extremely keen to make these and other ceremonies even more special by having official ceremonial banners – ideally both the Contingent Banner as well as the Union Banner, but the Contingent one at least.
We are looking to find a donor who could make a gift of £3,000 to enable us to purchase a banner, or £6,000 for both. The donation could be made in instalments. If this something you might consider supporting, please contact Sam.
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Donor Clubs We are extremely grateful to you for your support – whether it is for The Foundation, Capital Projects, the COVID-19 Appeal or one-off smaller projects. You are having an impact on many LWC pupils and their families. Some of you give a one-off donation; others donate regularly. Some fundraise yourselves via events and challenges and donate the proceeds. Some have planned to leave a gift in their will, whilst others of you have decided to make a significant, tax efficient donation now. To help recognise this diversity, we have some donor clubs, giving us the opportunity to bring like-minded people together and enable us to thank you accordingly.
This Society is for people who have kindly decided to leave LWC a gift in their Will. We are so glad to have the opportunity to thank you, in advance, for your support and generosity.
We were delighted to launch our Regular Giving Club, The Quercus Club, last summer! Welcome packs were sent out a little later than we had originally planned due to lockdown but we hope you have all received your beautiful oak leaf pin badge in the post.
We were so sorry not to be able to have our annual get together last June. We had planned a wonderful day out at RHS Garden Wisley, which we had to cancel. Such a shame but we are hopeful that 2021 will bring an easing of restrictions at some point so we can all meet again.
We had been wanting to shine a spotlight on you as a group for some time now, to show our recognition and appreciation for your ongoing generosity to The Foundation. The Foundation relies heavily on Regular Donors like yourselves and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support.
We hope you have received your cards from Kate – we just wanted to touch base to see how you and your families all are. Please do keep in touch with us. It is always lovely to hear your news whether by phone, e-mail or letter.
We had hoped to get members together for an inaugural Quercus Club event, but obviously this has not been possible. Instead, we are planning a virtual event with the Headmaster and Development Office in January - so do look out for your invitation nearer the time.
You should have also received your invitation to the exclusive 1912 Society virtual event with the Headmaster and Sam on 17th November. Do RSVP ASAP and we look forward to seeing you on Zoom!
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Thank you for your ongoing support and generosity.
1912 Society Autumn Tea (Virtual)
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Tuesday 17th November @ 4pm Contact Kate in The Development Office
Quercus Club Coffee Morning (Virtual)
Thursday 28th January @ 11am 17 Contact Kate in The Development Office
JOIN US! To become a member of the Quercus Club or 1912 Society, please contact Kate Boyd in the Development Office.
MAJOR DONORS In addition to our Quercus Club and 1912 Society members, we are extremely fortunate to have a number of supporters who make significant gifts. You know who you are and we are truly grateful for your generosity. Some give a one-off donation but several of you give at this level on an annual basis. Some donors choose to give anonymously, whilst others are happy to receive recognition in a variety of ways, which can include naming opportunities – several of which are currently available within the new Science Centre.
If you would like to discuss making a major gift do get in touch with Sam.
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In 2019/20 we received the following major gifts: In Year Donation Level
No. of Donors
£1,000 - £4,999
14
£5,000 - £9,999
4
£10,000 - £19,999
5
£20,000 - £49,999
3
£50,000 - £99,999
1
£100,000+
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Team News We were delighted to welcome Kate Boyd to the team in December as Development Manager. She is responsible for the Quercus Club and 1912 Society as well as various events, publications and social media. Kate is enjoying getting to know you all. Gill Kelly, Alumni Relations Manager, retired in August after 19 years at LWC! We miss her immensely and wish her a happy and well-deserved retirement – even if it isn’t possible to do all the things she was hoping to do at the moment! We hope to recruit for this role in 2021.
LWC Awards Pastoral care and building character have always been of the utmost importance at LWC. We are thrilled that we have received recognition for this with two recent awards and thought we would share this news with you.
WELLBEING
CHARACTER EDUCATION
At the beginning of October, we were delighted to hear that LWC had won The Independent Schools of the Year Award 2020 for Wellbeing.
We were so pleased to find out that we have been awarded a Character Education Kitemark from the Association of Character Education (ACE).
It was truly wonderful to be recognised at a national level for the development of an extensive programme of initiatives to ensure the wellbeing and positive mental health of our pupils. This award celebrates how we place the wellbeing of our pupils at the core of our ethos and that it informs and underpins the life of the whole-school community. It follows on from last year’s award for wellbeing from the British Boarding Schools Association.
This prestigious accolade is awarded to schools and colleges that can demonstrate an explicit, planned and reflective approach to the cultivation of positive character attributes in their pupils in the interests of human flourishing. As one of only 17 schools worldwide to have achieved this recognition, we are suitably proud. Our thanks go to our incredible staff for all their work embedding character as the corner stone of our culture at Lord Wandsworth College.
We would like to thank everyone who has donated over the last year, either personally or via a trust or charity. Your generosity is hugely appreciated, especially during these unprecedented times. The LWC pupils, staff and governors are truly grateful for your support.
GET IN TOUCH WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Kate Boyd, Development Manager T: 01256 860297 Sam Corfield, Development Director T: 01256 860243 E: development@lordwandsworth.org Lord Wandsworth College, Long Sutton, Hampshire RG29 1TB Registered Charity No. 1143359
www.lordwandsworth.org