Sustaining our school
Our Mission
Honoring our founder’s vision, Emma Willard School proudly fosters in each young woman a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world.
The Emma Fund allows every member of our community to give to the Infinite Horizon campaign and make a significant impact on the life of the school, from athletics to academics, experiential learning to financial aid, campus preservation to resources for teaching and residential facutly.
Every unrestricted gift shows the school—and the world— that Emma Willard matters. Every record year of giving broadens our horizon.
More donors and more gifts to The Emma Fund means more impact on our ability to provide the full Emma experience to each of our students. We see the steady impact of The Emma Fund on the school’s operating budget, and as a vital source of institutional strength. The Emma Fund serves as a stabilizing force to supplement the needs of our operating budget and to act as an engine of opportunity and innovation.
student experience
OPPORTUNITY FUNDS
With 43% of our students receiving financial aid, The Emma Fund creates opportunities for every student to fully participate in the Emma experience, regardless of financial need. As we increase access and scholarship awards through our Infinite Horizon campaign, opportunity funding will become even more crucial to ensuring students have an equal experience in this community. The Emma Fund bridges the gap for many needs, from support for college applications to costs involved with participating in athletic teams and weekend activities.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
With an unlimited array of Practicum experiences, Signature projects, and our newly-launched Jestermester, our students are always on an experiential
The Emma Fund ensures that all students benefit from our beloved traditions and innovative curriculum, strengthening us as a community and as a home.
learning journey. The Emma Fund bolsters funding for these experiences to take students to places they have not been and give them unique insight into other people and into themselves. Whether it's supplying a needed apparatus for a science experiment or funding for a Jestermester trip to Singapore and Malaysia, the impact of philanthropy opens new worlds to our students.
TRADITIONS
Memories are created in the traditions that make up the Emma experience. From retreats to class rings to Revels, The Emma Fund allows students the opportunity to participate fully in each of the traditions we hold dear, without concern over their family’s financial situation.
14
interscholastic sports
65
Signature capstone projects
29
Jestermester course opportunities
130+
Practicum experiences
“Sharing news with students that a class ring will be possible, or a trip can be funded has been one of the greatest pleasures of my time here at Emma Willard. These gestures, no matter how small or large, open doors.”
SHELLEY MAHER DEAN OF STUDENT LIFE
academic excellence
The quality of our education depends on the quality of our teachers. To attract, inspire, and nurture the finest faculty, we need robust funding to ensure that they get the financial, personal, and professional support they deserve.
The Emma Fund supports our faculty as they explore new pedagogies, pursue professional development opportunities, and work to build connections across disciplines to bolster our students' understanding. These initiatives—along with attention to compensation and faculty housing—serve as tools to attract and retain exceptional teachers who will contribute to our culture of innovation and build a sense of belonging for those who are the heart of our academic enterprise.
“Our inquiry-based approach to teaching unites the characteristics that define Emma students: passion, motivation, intelligence, authenticity.”
JON CALOS
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING DEPARTMENT CHAIR HOMER L. DODGE INSTRUCTOR
IN SCIENCE
Campus preservation
Mount Ida has been called home by generations of Emma Willard students. Every alumna has a favorite space or place here, whether a personal vantage point to look out on campus or a cozy nook to retreat to when needed. The Emma Fund helps this extraordinary place receive the care, updates, and upkeep it needs to serve as home to the next generation of students.
Each of our nearly two dozen buildings was thoughtfully and lovingly constructed, exhibiting characteristics and features as unique as the students who inhabit them. Such unique structures have needs to preserve their beauty and maintain their historic quality. From masonry to woodworking to heating and cooling systems to the natural surroundings, gifts to The Emma Fund help bolster the physical foundation of our school.
As important as the preservation of our campus home is its modernization. Enhancing accessibility, energy efficiency, and technology infrastructure all help ensure a modern classroom experience that matches the needs of today's—and tomorrow's—students and faculty.
Named for the school’s founding year, The 1814 Association recognizes philanthropic leadership across every constituency—alumnae, parents, grandparents, faculty and staff, students, and friends of the school. Members provided more than 90% of all money raised through The Emma Fund in 2022–2023 in addition to funding specific projects and areas of need such as scholarships and student opportunities, campus renewal, instructional technology, faculty support, and student programming. Their ongoing generosity ensures the financial well-being of Emma Willard School and bridges the gap between revenue and tuition and investments and the actual cost of educating our students to serve and shape their world.
