Drive to 1,000 An ambitious new initiative to increase the number of Samuel Phillips & Sarah Abbot Society members—those who have remembered Andover in their wills—is underway. The Gift Planning Committee will focus on Project 1,000 over the course of the next two years. • Bulfinch Hall, designed by Asher Benjamin to replace the Academy schoolhouse that burned in 1818, is the oldest classroom building on campus. From the 1840s through the early 1930s, it served as a gymnasium and a dining hall; it has been the English department’s home base since 1938. Renovating and expanding Bulfinch Hall is a priority in the current campaign. • Tuition covers about 53 percent of the cost of educating today’s students; the remaining 47 percent comes from philanthropy. Thus, all students receive some form of financial assistance. The true cost of educating each student at Andover is approximately $72,000 per year.
Charles Hirschler ’72, P’13, vice-chair of the committee, believes that with 19,000 “reachable” alumni, 1,000 total members is attainable. “It’s a nice round number, 50 percent more than today’s membership, and it seems a good goal given the loyalty of our alumni base,” says Hirschler. “In addition, estate gifts are a wonderful second pillar to the Andover Fund.” The society currently consists of 675 members and, while the majority have qualified for “Sam & Sarah” membership by making a revocable provision in their wills or trusts, approximately one-third have established life income gifts. These mutually beneficial arrangements provide lifetime income for the donor along with an immediate tax deduction. “Past experience tells us that we’re only aware of one-third of the estate provisions for the Academy, so we know that the numbers are out there,” observes David Flash, P’14, Andover’s director of gift planning. “Our hope is that by making more Andover supporters aware of the critical role of estate gifts, those with existing provisions will self-identify and those who are interested in creating a new legacy will contact us so that we can help them do so.” To learn how you can join the Samuel Phillips & Sarah Abbot Society, please visit www.andover.edu/giftplanning or contact the gift planning office at 978-749-4297.
• Andover’s student to teacher ratio is 5 to 1. • This school year, the Academy admitted 14 percent of applicants, marking its most selective year in history. • In FY10, 96 percent of donors from the youngest 20 classes gave online.
Abbot Alumnae Tea In October, Betsy Parker Powell ’56, P’84, ’90, Mae Concemi Bradshaw ’62, and Natalie Gillingham Schorr ’62, P’95, ’99 hosted a tea for Abbot Academy alumnae. Nearly two dozen women gathered in the School Room of Abbot Hall to enjoy each other’s company and a presentation by Blake Hazzard Allen ’66. Allen spoke about her work as project leader of an institute funded by the U.S. Department of State that provides leadership training and development for Pakistani educators. She referred to Abbot Academy as “the mother ship,” the grounding for her later life and work.
• In FY10, 58 percent of our new donors gave online. • Class agent Roger McLean ’48 led his class to 73 percent participation in the Andover Fund—one of the highest in FY10. • As of mid-December, The Campaign for Andover secured $216 million in gifts and pledges toward its $300 million goal. For regular updates, please visit www.andover.edu/campaign.
Alumnae from the Class of 1966 attending the tea included, from left, Beverley Armsden Daniel, Beth Humstone, Blake Hazzard Allen, Ruth Sisson Weiner, and Paula Cortes.
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Andover | Winter 2011