Dear Friends,

 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to share this 2018-2019 Annual Report of Gifts and to recognize and reflect on the members of this vibrant community who have honored Friends Seminary with their philanthropy, their volunteerism, and their partnership. 

 

Author and scholar Ralph Ellison said, “Education is all a matter of building bridges.” At Friends Seminary bridges provide access, connect people and experiences, and lead the way to opportunity. Fundraising efforts like the Fund for Friends and the annual Benefit contribute crucial resources to help build these bridges at Friends each year. Your gifts help make financial aid available to one in five Friends students, ensure respectful teacher salaries, enhance our growing Global Education program, and so much more. In all, the Fund for Friends raised more than $2.5m last year, thanks to 82% of parents, 70% of faculty and staff, and 16% of alumni. Browse through this report for more detailed stories showing your impact.

 

2018-2019 was also the final year of the Light the Future Campaign, which raised $55.2m for the Campus Redevelopment Project, endowment and the Fund for Friends. Thanks to your generosity we opened our doors in September 2019 to a Campus Reimagined. Where once there were three townhouses joined together by multiple staircases and uneven floors, there now stands one beautiful, 100% accessible building with seamless transitions between it and Hunter Hall. Housed behind the restored 1852 facade is a new home for the Upper School; a resource, gathering and teaching space for the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice; an Archive to hold documents from the School’s rich history; a Great Room for performances, lectures and community gatherings; and so much more. To see a full report on the Light the Future Campaign, click here. If you have not had the opportunity to do so already, we invite you to tour the new Townhouse building. Please reach out to Katherine Precht at kprecht@friendsseminary.org to schedule a tour.

 

So many of Friends community members — parents, alumni, parents of alumni, grandparents, trustees, faculty, staff and friends — supported Friends through philanthropic contributions. We are deeply grateful to each and every one of you for the generous gifts recorded in the Annual Report. It is equally important to recognize the hundreds of volunteers who help further Friends’ mission on a daily basis. From alumni reaching out to former classmates, to parent volunteers for the Fund for Friends, to the members of the Parents Association, our volunteers are vital to Friends’ success. Our community’s strength lies in your commitment to service to the School. 

 

As I enter my 18th year as Principal at Friends, it continues to be an honor to lead this special school. I extend my gratitude to our dedicated Trustees, and give special mention to our outgoing Co-clerks, Elizabeth Enloe and Matthew Annenberg ’83. Their leadership and stewardship of the School and its resources has been a gift beyond measure. We welcome Isaac Henderson as the new Clerk of the Board. Please join me in holding in the Light Isaac and his fellow Trustees as we enter into a new era at Friends, building new and ever-stronger bridges to a brighter future, living our mission to “prepare students for the world that is and help bring about a world that ought to be.” 

 

With deep gratitude for your continued support,

 

Robert “Bo” Lauder

Principal