Philanthropy During a Pandemic

The London Reception

Portsmouth Abbey School entered the 2019-20 school year with several lofty goals for development and alumni affairs. The first was to continue the School’s streak of consecutive record-setting Annual Funds which had been extended to six years following the 2018-19 campaign. The second aimed to close out the Securing Our Academic Future: Science in the 21st Century at Portsmouth Abbey campaign with a $1 million challenge. And the third involved expanding the School’s international outreach through travel to Central and South American and Europe while continuing domestic engagement through a series of regional and national receptions. December 31. The School had just completed a successful trip to England in January for a reception hosted by Jose Vicini ’96 and his wife Elle at Annabel’s in London. This well-attended event complemented travel in Central and South America a few months earlier. By the grace of God, the year seemed to be going according to plan as Spring Break started in early March.

Then coronavirus arrived and changed everything… almost! It did not change the spirit, fortitude, and generosity of the Abbey community in support of our singular institution.

By February of 2020, the School was well on its way to With the world in lockdown by mid-March, the Office of accomplishing each of these goals. The $1 million chalDevelopment and Alumni Affairs turned its focus to virtulenge for the science building campaign had reached al and digital engagement of our community. Our second $836,688. The Annual Fund stood at a record high as of annual Giving Day, which had originally been scheduled for March 31st, was postponed to June. Receptions for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Denver were held via Zoom. While virtual receptions were no replacement for gathering in person, we were grateful be able to connect with many of you around the country through this new digital platform. The Office of Development and Alumni Affairs also undertook making care and concern contact with as many of our alumni as possible either via email or by phone. Importantly, the School launched a new, From left, Ligia Vela’11, Elle Vicini, Jenny Singer’95, José Vicini’96 and Jay Yao’10 long-awaited Online Alumni Directory allow

ing alumni to connect with each other through multiple search criteria such as geographic location, profession, and employer. Through this platform, alumni can also update their contact information and review their own giving history. We are pleased to report that more than 500 alumni have already registered for this valuable resource and we invite all remaining alumni to access our worldwide network of Ravens by registering as well (see below).

Philanthropy resumed in May with the focus shifting to Giving Day on June 16th and to the end of the fiscal year. Thanks to the incredible support of our community, our second annual Giving Day set new records for both donors and dollars at 660 and $475,619 respectively. This provided the impetus needed to end the school year on a fiscal high note with the Annual Fund not only making goal, but also setting a record for the seventh consecutive year and reaching an all-time high of $2,004,069.

On behalf of the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs and the students, faculty, staff, and monks of Ports

The Washington, D.C, Virtual Reception

mouth Abbey, THANK YOU! for coming together to prove that not even a once-in-a-generation pandemic can halt the philanthropy of our world-wide Abbey community. We celebrate you. We are grateful for your support. We are emboldened as ever to fulfill our mission of helping young men and women grow in knowledge and grace. And we look forward to working with you in the months and year ahead as we continue to engage in philanthropy during a pandemic.

THE ONLINE ALUMNI DIRECTORY IS READY!

All alumni have a username which was sent via email in April from Portsmouth Abbey School with the subject line, “The Alumni Directory is Ready.” Once you locate your username in the email, please follow the instructions below to create a password and log in. If you did not receive an email, please contact Database Administrator Stefanie Polgar at spolgar@portsmouthabbey.org or 401.643.1269. Visit my.portsmouthabbey.org. Type in your username. Select “Set my password/Forgot my password.” Type in the email address by which you received your username. Follow the instructions on creating your password. Log in at my.portsmouthabbey.org with your username and newly created password. Upon logging in, please be sure to update or confirm your personal information by clicking “My Profile” in the left-hand menu. You can choose which information you would like to make public or keep private.

FROM THE OFFICE OF ADMISSION

It goes without saying that the year 2020 has been full of surprises. As an admissions office, one of the biggest days of the year is traditionally March 10 th when acceptance letters arrive to new students. A huge part of the recruitment cycle takes place over the next month and usually culminates with our Closer Look or on-campus revisit programs for accepted students in late March. This year, I remember enclosing our invitations to these events in the acceptance package thinking “what if…” Well, by now we all know that the many “what ifs” happened. Our school community pivoted to on-line learning and our admissions recruitment had to do the same. Due to COVID-19, the re-recruitment process for accepted students went virtual. We hosted Zoom events for accepted students, in which they met with faculty members and current students. They followed a day in the life of our students on Instagram, and could tour campus in a stunning 360° tour (You can check out the virtual tour now on our website – www.portsmouthabbey.org/apply). At the end of it all, the people of Portsmouth Abbey – students, faculty, and parents – did a wonderful job helping our accepted students and their families understand the community, opportunities, and culture of the school from afar.

The good news is that over 100 new students will join the Portsmouth Abbey School community in the fall! The Office of Admission recruited these students by travelling to over 90 events in 16 states and five countries during the fall of 2019. Our new students will bring a great deal to our community. They have diverse backgrounds, coming from 17 states and 11 countries. They have strong academic records and achievements, coming from some of the best public, parochial, independent, and junior boarding schools in the United States and beyond. Altogether, new students are enrolling from over 80 different middle and secondary schools. Their co-curricular pursuits in athletics, arts and community service are equally as impressive.

As excited as the Office of Admission is about the new class of Ravens, we must turn our attention to recruiting the next class. Now more than ever, we need your help! Word of mouth is continuously our most valued referral source. In these uncertain times, we are confident that your family, friends, and coworkers will trust your input and opinion if they have a son or daughter considering boarding school. Please tell them about your experience with Portsmouth Abbey School and encourage them to reach out to the Office of Admission. We hope to be able to recruit as we did before COVID-19, but with so much uncertainty we are doing our best to plan for a variety of situations for our fall travel and campus visit season. If you would like to help with our recruitment efforts or have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at spietraszek@ portsmouthabbey.org.

–Steve Pietraszek ’96, Director of Admission