Sidwell Friends School 2019/20 Report on Philanthropy Sidwell Friends School
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Your IMPACT SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL 2019/20 REPORT ON PHILANTHROPY SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL Contents Upper School students perform in the spring production of Newsies. 1 MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL 2 MESSAGE FROM THE CLERK OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 3 MESSAGE FROM THE CLERK OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE 4 REPORT OF SCHOOL FINANCES 7 LEADERSHIP GIVING 14 SECOND CENTURY SOCIETY 20 THOMAS AND FRANCES SIDWELL SOCIETY 24 ANNUAL FUND SUMMARY 28 ALUMNI 38 CURRENT PARENTS 45 CURRENT GRANDPARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS OF ALUMNI 46 PARENTS OF ALUMNI 51 FRIENDS 52 CURRENT AND FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF 54 CORPORATIONS, MATCHING, AND FOUNDATION GIFTS 55 HONOR AND MEMORIAL GIFTS 60 ENDOWMENT 74 CELEBRATING OUR VOLUNTEERS 80 THANK YOU Freed Photography Freed Generosity in Action 11 WINDOWS, MIRRORS, AND BURIED HISTORIES 25 SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW 57 CONFIDENCE AND COMPETENCE A new effort to decolonize the curriculum with the Volunteers bring Fund-a-Scholar to the Ann Winkelman Brown ’55 is helping empathetic African and African American Studies Chair digital realm leaders find their voice 21 “A SPRINGBOARD FOR ACTION” 36 THE BEAT GOES ON 72 FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS Extending a legacy of ethical leadership through How the Hutt Family keeps the presses printing Carrying on the Sidwell Friends tradition of the Robert L. Smith Family Scholar Program at Horizon service, despite distance 2019/20 REPORT ON PHILANTHROPY Letter from the HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear Friends, strategies for financial aid. We must focus on building enduring financial strength, This Report on Philanthropy chronicles the remarkable support that because without a sizable endowment, you have provided to the School during an extraordinary year. Sidwell it is difficult to weather the storm. Friends has endured many challenges over our long history, but never have we had to carry the compounded emotional weight of a Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling. We pandemic, an economic crisis, and the enduring specter of racism. are thankful to those alumni, parents, and students who, in the wake of racist As always, you have rallied around our mission: pledging financial resources, violence against Black Americans, identified volunteering time, and sharing truths that have taught us where we need to moments when the School failed to deliver strengthen our efforts. I am profoundly grateful for your service, which makes on its mission of equality. We appreciate us an extraordinary learning community after the manner of Friends. their willingness to speak their truth. Photography Freed What lessons have we learned over the past year? We listened, reaffirming to this community our commitment to creating an equitable, anti-racist environment for all of our students. Our newly established Resilience. When we began the Distance Learning Program in March, we partnership with Howard University promises to support our work in equity embarked on an uncertain journey. Teachers courageously adapted to the new and justice. So, too, have donors, who have been quick to augment these environment, making tremendous sacrifices to continue to serve and inspire efforts by giving generously toward endowing the faculty chair in African students. Staff members improvised new systems and ways to economize. and African American Studies (see page 11). Donors also continue to fund the Students responded by making masks for healthcare workers and conducting Upton Street renovations, where the Center for Ethical Leadership will give food drives. No matter the challenge, Sidwell Friends rises to the occasion. students an opportunity to engage more deeply in social justice work, and the Center for Teaching and Learning will expand our equity, justice, and Generosity. Parents, alumni, faculty, and staff invested time to maintain culture community commitment through professional and curricular development. and programs despite distance by connecting on text chains and participating in virtual celebrations and Meetings for Worship. When the pandemic forced Continuing Revelation. Sidwell Friends must always embrace the Quaker us to cancel A Night for Scholars, the community responded to an urgent call framework of continuing revelation by demonstrating a willingness to learn to action, raising more than $400,000 online in 48 hours so that the School from the past and embrace the challenge of creating a better future. We must could extend additional aid for families affected by COVID-19 (see page 25). never stop reimagining our School. Your generosity, which moves us toward our long-term campus development and financial goals, animates the essential Transparency and Focus. The Board’s decision to accept a Paycheck Protection values of resilience, truth-seeking, and truth-telling in our community. And Program Loan (PPP) demonstrated remarkable commitment to our faculty and it ceaselessly inspires us to do both more and better, today and tomorrow. staff and, by extension, our students. The decision was not without controversy, and the response from some alumni illustrated that the School needs to be In friendship and with gratitude, proactive in communicating the key components of our financial model. We also learned that 13 Friends schools accepted PPP loans worth $1 million or more—a disproportionate representation among independent schools that accepted loans. That is because Friends schools have comparably modest endowments and a reliance on tuition that makes our institutions more vulnerable to potential shifts in enrollment patterns. In fact, our need for the loan was grounded in long-standing BRYAN GARMAN Quaker tradition that sought to provide immediate relief rather than long-term Head of School 1 SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL Letter from the CLERK OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dear Friends, During the past several months, the Sidwell Friends community and wider world have been confronted with uncertainty and a myriad of challenges wrought by rapidly changing global events. While the confluence of health, economic, and social justice crises were unanticipated, the Board of Trustees is honored to work alongside you in supporting our students, faculty, staff, and families through these unprecedented times. We have been inspired by your generosity over the past year, and by the many ways our community Photography Freed has united in support of one another and friends in need. The events of this year have affirmed the importance of our current comprehensive campaign as a beacon guiding us toward our long-term vision for the School. The Annual Fund, a core component of this campaign, enabled us to rapidly direct funds toward online technologies and additional financial aid so that all students could continue learning, even as campuses closed. As recent demonstrations have brought into relief the racial injustices and inequities woven into our institution, campaign donors are helping us lay the groundwork for the compassionate and anti-racist initiatives we are implementing. On behalf of my fellow trustees and the entire community, thank you for rising to the challenge of this moment. The extraordinary generosity recognized on the following pages is a testament to your belief in the School, and we are truly grateful. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Sidwell Friends. In friendship, David Milner ’86 Clerk of the Board of Trustees 2 2019/20 REPORT ON PHILANTHROPY Letter from the CLERK OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE Dear Friends, During the 2019/20 year, Sidwell Friends continued to practice disciplined management of operations and oversight of the endowment in order to provide the resources necessary to support an extraordinary independent school program. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic uncertainty presented a significant financial-management challenge that we continue to navigate. Sidwell Friends partially offset unforeseen additional expenses associated with the pandemic by meaningfully reducing operating expenses. As mentioned in earlier communications, the School faced additional limitations from restrictions on the use of the endowment coupled with the current debt commitments. I am grateful to my fellow trustees and the dedicated volunteers and professional staff who provided extraordinary leadership Photography Freed and expertise during this time. Our highest priorities have been to maintain a robust and safe learning environment for all of our students and to provide continued employment and access to healthcare during this pandemic for our faculty and staff. Ensuring that these priorities are met has required unusual actions that received intense deliberation. We appreciate the tremendous impact the PPP Loan provided during our last fiscal year: It supported our commitment to full employment. Sidwell Friends will continue to steer through the increasingly complex and ever-changing landscape of the 2020/21 year. Our ultimate success this year and into the future will depend on the ongoing commitment and generous philanthropy of all of the School’s stakeholders: parents of current students, alumni and their parents, faculty, staff, and friends. Included in this report is the list of named endowed funds that provide perpetual support for programs such as financial aid and faculty compensation. We are grateful to these donors and to all Annual Fund donors for their gifts for current operations; through their generosity, they are ensuring that the robust learning experience we prize continues for all students in this next year and for generations to come. With appreciation, Michael Pickrum P’19, P’21 Clerk of the Finance Committee