strategic newsletter 2009

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Excellence A newsletter on Lovett’s Strategic Plan Issue 1 Winter 2009/10

hope that you enjoy this inaugural issue of Excellence, designed to keep the Lovett family informed of the school’s efforts toward meeting its strategic goals as expressed in Excellence in Learning, Character & Community: Lovett’s Strategic Plan.

It is our hope that this publication and the Lovett website, www.lovett.org, will be your source for keeping up with our progress in three important areas: • New and enhanced programs; • Physical plant improvements; and • Financial stewardship.

Obviously the nation has been in a very challenging economic environment of late and Lovett, like the rest of our community, is feeling its impact.

However, we are fortunate that we continue to make steady progress toward meeting our strategic goals.

There are numerous people to thank for our success in planning, fundraising, and program implementation. You will see many of their names throughout this newsletter and in future Excellence issues. In classic Lovett fashion, teamwork has been fundamental to our success. Thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers, faculty, and staff!

With continued devotion, persistence, and optimism, we’ll continue to make great strides toward achieving Lovett’s ambitious objectives.

Sincerely,

J o h n R . H o l d e r , Chairman The Lovett School Board of Trustees

The relationship between teacher and student remains at the heart of the school’s mission and the focus of the Strategic Plan.

The Six Million Dollar Challenge Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous friend of the school, Lovett will receive a $6 million gift once we have raised $34 million toward the $40 million cost of constructing our new Middle School, athletic facilities, and campus renovations. $1.5 million still needs to be raised to receive the $6 million gift

To realize all of the goals of the Strategic Plan, it could take as

has already been raised

$0

10

T

20

much as $125 million;

$6 Million Gift

$32.5 million

30

40

50

our preliminary goal is to raise $70 million

by June 30, 2012.

60

70

80

Preliminary target amount of $70 million:

• $25 million to increase Lovett’s endowment

o date, Lovett has raised programming.

To realize • $45 million foroverall construction and facilities more than $32.5 million toward this effort, but

nearly $1.5 million is still needed to achieve this goal and receive the $6 million gift. Cash and

pledges qualify for the challenge, and pledges may be paid over one to five years.

Improving Lovett’s facilities

is one of the main priorities of

Lovett’s Strategic Plan, Excellence in Learning, Character & Community, along with building Lovett’s endowment and enhancing

all of the goals of the Strategic

Leaders and volunteers rising to the challenge

$125 million. However, our

are leading the initial efforts in

$70 million: $45 million for

gift.

million to increase significantly

Committee is led by Lovett

support faculty development,

Hampton Morris ’69, who are

initiatives (e.g. academic

• Headmaster Billy Peebles;

Plan, it could take as much as preliminary goal is to raise

construction and facilities and $25

Three groups of volunteers

bringing Lovett this challenge

The Campaign Executive

the school’s endowment to

trustees Clay Jackson ’77 and

financial aid, and new program

joined by:

technology, service learning, and

• Trustees Charlie Arp ’62,

experiential learning).

John Holder ’73, and Fran Rogers; and

• Advancement Office staff Rendering of Lovett’s Baseball and Softball Complex

Kimberly Blass, Melissa

Calvert, and Andy Spencer. continued next page

Jackson

2

Morris

The 2008–09 Leadership

In addition, a 2009–10

Gifts Committee included

Leadership Gifts Committee

alumni:

and alumni:

Lovett trustees, parents, and • Margaret Moore Chambers ’87 • Dan DuPree

• Bill Harrison

• Deborah Harrison • Jackson Hill

• John O. Knox, Jr. ’88 • Susan Lamb • Tom Lamb

• Robin Loudermilk ’78 • Ed McCrady

• Carter Pope ’74

• Blair Schmidt-Fellner • Terri Schmidt-Fellner

includes Lovett trustees, parents, • Julie Bradbury

• Tom Bradbury ’92

• Freddy Goldenberg • Gregg Goldenberg • Bill Harrison

• Deborah Harrison • Jackson Hill

• John O. Knox, Jr. ’88

• Robin Loudermilk ’78 • Ed McCrady

• Chris Schoen ’79 • Scott Taylor ’84.

• Chris Schoen ’79 • Scott Taylor ’84.

Portman Family Middle School Opened Fall 2009

Strategic Plan Progress

O

pened to students in August 2009, the new Portman Family Middle School continues the transformation of the campus begun with the construction of the new Upper and Lower

Schools. It provides sixth through eighth grade students with state-ofthe-art learning facilities, including classrooms, science labs,

a computer lab, art and drama studios, collaborative study rooms, and a 500-seat multipurpose room.

• Three-story, 75,000-square-foot, brick-and-glass building • Completed on budget ($27.2 million) and on schedule • Designed to reflect Lovett’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the building is seeking LEED Gold certification for sustainable building design from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Blair Rackley Green Roof Classrooms showcase native plants and an innovative system for harvesting rainwater for irrigation, and can accommodate up to 150 students. Solar hot water, bamboo flooring, carpet with recycled content, and daylight sensors are some of the many other sustainable features that are part of this new “green” school.

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L

Lovett’s Largest Endowment Gift Ever Benefits Lovett Faculty and Staff

ovett is pleased and excited to announce the creation Each $5,000 in endowment produces of the O. Wayne Rollins Quest for Excellence Grant $250 in annual proceeds to help faculty and staff.

Fund, made possible through a very generous $2 million For example, the following endowment amounts commitment from The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation. produce the corresponding annual proceeds: The fund is the largest endowment gift in Lovett’s history. $5,000 $100,000 produces It supports the goals and strategies identified in Excellence in in annual proceeds in endowment Learning, Character & Community: Lovett’s Strategic Plan, and, in particular, the recommendations and goals of the Faculty $12,500 $250,000 produces and Staff Attraction, Development, and Retention Strategic in annual proceeds in endowment Leadership Team.

The O. Wayne Rollins Quest for Excellence Grant Fund $25,000 $500,000 produces in annual proceeds in endowment is designed to attract and retain excellent employees by demonstrating the high value placed on consistency and $37,500 $750,000 produces loyalty of service. It will help retain the best employees by in annual proceeds in endowment providing an incentive and reward for extended service and loyalty to Lovett, and meshes well with the new and $50,000 $1,000,000 produces developing employee review processes. in annual proceeds in endowment Increasing salaries, expanding opportunities for professional development, and maintaining a quality work $2,000,000 produces $100,000 in annual in endowment environment are key components of the strategic plan. The Rollins Fund helps the school address theproceeds first of those three strategies.

The Rollins Quest for Excellence Grants will be made to full-time Lovett faculty and staff who reach 10 and 20 years of full-time service to the school. Headmaster Billy Peebles and the board of trustees are incredibly excited by this unique program, which will touch a large number of employees and send a very strong signal of how important the people in this community are. “The Rollins Quest for Excellence Grants represent the kind of innovative and bold thinking and action that Lovett must have to continue its pursuit of excellence,” says Peebles. Lovett board chairman, John Holder, adds, “Strengthening the endowment to support and nurture our faculty and staff is perhaps the single most important area of strategic need.”

In making the gift, The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation writes the following:

The faculty at Lovett are its foundation. All of its students are inspired by those special teachers who motivate them to learn and serve as role models in so many ways. Lovett must compete successfully for the best teachers within an environment of increasing demand for their talent. Lovett must provide unique opportunities to set ourselves apart. We hope that this fund will support special projects so that Lovett can continue to attract, develop, and retain the very best in the classroom.

This newest fund joins more than 25 other endowment funds dedicated to supporting faculty and staff every day. To see a current and complete list of Lovett’s endowment funds, please visit the Lovett website at: http://www.lovett.org/supporting-lovett/endowment/index.aspx.

Endowment Commitments Since July 1, 2006

Endowment (Total $13.6 million) Faculty/Staff Support $6.7 million Financial Aid/Scholarships $3.3 million Unrestricted $1.8 million Other Funds $1.8 million 4

Legacy Gifts Key to Endowment Growth

A

s Lovett’s philanthropic programs come of age, legacy gifts (planned gifts) must play a key role in the school’s advancement efforts. In the years to come, legacy gifts are expected to be a major component of the growth in Lovett’s endowment.

In independent schools with Lovett’s aspirations, the endowment should produce at least 10 percent of the school’s operating budget.

In today’s dollars, that would be an endowment of about $80 million.

Lovett’s endowment currently stands at $40 million. Lovett uses a 5 percent spending rule, and the operating budget in 2009–10 is nearly $40 million.

Legacy gifts have been the driving force behind significant endowments at schools, colleges, and other institutions. Likewise, estate gifts will be very important to Lovett’s endowment growth. In addition to the outright gifts needed to fully realize the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan, Lovett hopes to secure $20 million in legacy gifts through 200 new gifts.

New Legacy Gifts Steering Committee The ideal endowment size for a school such as Lovett is one that

produces 10 percent of the

school’s annual operating budget. In today’s

dollars, that would be

To further this effort, a Legacy Gifts Steering Committee has been formed. The steering committee will lead efforts to enhance the visibility and understanding of legacy gifts and thereby increase participation in The Eva Edwards Lovett Legacy Society. The Legacy Society recognizes those who invest in the school’s future by making a legacy gift, which includes bequests, charitable trusts, charitable gift annuities, life insurance, retirement plans, and certain real estate gifts. The Legacy Gifts Steering Committee’s goals are as follows: 1. Establish a philanthropic culture that places an extremely high value on legacy gifts;

an endowment of about $80 million. Lovett’s

2.

endowment currently

stands at $40 million.

Significantly increase the number of documented legacy gifts to Lovett; and

3. Provide ongoing education and access to information for Lovett constituents who seek to learn about legacy giving.

The Legacy Gifts Steering Committee is led by Lovett parents Bailey Izard ’81 and Tom Reynolds, and in 2008–09 included Lovett trustees, parents, and alumni:

Izard

Reynolds

Ansley Merritt Conner ’83 Sallie Adams Daniel ’68 Dick Denny

The Eva Edwards Lovett Legacy Society Progress oals and Legacy G , 2009) 30 e –Jun (July 1, 2007

New Gifts e Face Valu s) n o li il (in m

Goals

200 $20

Progress

23 $5.5

David Fosgate ’92 Marshall Sanders ’77 Woody Vaughan ’86

The Eva Edwards Lovett Legacy Society allows the Lovett community to acknowledge, honor, and thank those special donors as their gifts are created. To see the full list of the members of The Eva Edwards Lovett Legacy Society, please visit www.lovett. org/plannedgiving. Legacy giving need not be complicated and it often allows donors to make larger gifts than might otherwise be possible.

It may also provide opportunities for individuals to increase their incomes and receive tax advantages, while supporting Lovett.

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Sallie Adams Daniel ’68

Making a Difference at Lovett, Now and For the Future

S

allie Adams Daniel ’68 is

truly a model Lovett alumna, having served the school

in a number of ways. Currently a member of The Lovett School

Board of Trustees and the Legacy Gifts Steering Committee, she is

also a past president of the Alumni

In 2006, Excellence in Learning, Character & Community: Lovett’s Strategic Plan, was completed, providing a comprehensive, five-year blueprint for Lovett.

The plan—two years in the making—charts an exciting future for the

Lovett community, and

looks intently at the areas

upon which the school could

Association (1990–91) and served as the 1968 class representative

of the Community Life Strategic Leadership Team, which helped in

developing the school’s current strategic plan. She also put in many hours during the formative years of Breakthrough Atlanta, then

known as Summerbridge Atlanta, when she served as its inaugural board chair.

Outside of Lovett and after a distinguished career in the banking

industry, Sallie is now the chief development and diversity officer at Troutman Sanders, a major law firm.

Using multiple vehicles

and should improve. The

and designing a plan

us to pursue excellence and

other charities, Sallie is

school life as we aim to be the

tax-wise.

Strategic Plan will challenge

to benefit Lovett and

leadership in all aspects of

being very strategic and

best Lovett that we can be.

Lovett’s Strategic Plan

calls upon us to make

significant investments in support of our people,

philosophy, and program

in the coming years. These investments will serve to

strengthen the resources we provide our faculty and

students; will help us seek and retain the very best

teachers and staff; will bolster our efforts to continue

attracting outstanding

students; and will enhance

Daniel

for 20 years. Sallie was also chair

Philanthropy with purpose

In keeping with her model of

active leadership, Sallie made a

planned gift to Lovett in 1987 when she named Lovett as a beneficiary in her will, which helps lower

the value of her estate. In 2001, as

part of the 75th Anniversary Campaign, Sallie added a $100,000 life

insurance policy to her Lovett legacy. Sallie’s plans also include a fund at The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and a charitable

remainder trust to ultimately benefit Lovett and other nonprofits that are close to her heart.

A legacy of vision and leadership

Using multiple vehicles and designing a plan to benefit Lovett

and other charities, Sallie is being very strategic and tax-wise. The

annual life insurance premiums are tax-deductible and the inclusion

of Lovett, The Community Foundation, and other tax-exempt entities in her will and estate plans will reduce taxes on her estate. Sallie’s

simple but effective plans will help maintain, in perpetuity, many of

the organizations for which she has labored so long and so effectively and it will allow her legacy of service to live on.

the quality of our facilities.

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Strategic Plan

Updates

Trustee Bill Rogers leads the Strategic Plan

Steering Committee, and is joined by:

• Trustees Bill Fox, Jeff Hines, and

The Strategic Plan Steering Committee has

Bet Pope ’79;

reconvened to examine the plan’s progress to

• Lovett headmaster Billy Peebles;

date. The committee will focus specifically on:

• Director of strategic communications Kimberly Blass;

• Technology consultant and Lovett parent

• Providing an updated financial model;

Laura Deisley; and

• Recognizing the growing role

• Academic dean Randy Murphy.

and importance of environmental sustainability;

Many initiatives of the Strategic Plan have

already been implemented. Some highlights

• Strengthening Lovett’s culture of

include:

respect and honor;

• The new Middle School, which opened

• Increasing the diversity of both our

for the 2009–10 school year;

faculty and student body; and

• 17 new endowment funds to benefit students, faculty, and staff;

• Constantly improving our academic

• A management diversity workshop for

program.

staff; and

• A laptop program in the Lower School

The committee met in May 2009 to discuss

(which expanded to the Middle School in

any needed revisions and updates to the Plan,

2009–10).

and presented these recommendations to

Lovett’s Board of Trustees in November of 2009.

www.lovett.org

Please visit the Lovett website for further

details: http://www.lovett.org/who-we-are/ strategic-plan/index.aspx.

What does Lovett Excellence mean to you?

David Kahn ’81 Parent and Leadership donor

“We feel very fortunate to be part of a school community that prioritizes individual development, while emphasizing values, ethics, and personal character. Lovett’s excellence is grounded in its talented and passionate leadership and faculty members who are fully committed to the school’s vision and each and every child.”

Mike McIntyre ’83 Parent, Trustee, and Leadership donor

“I experience Lovett’s excellence on many levels and from several vantage points. To my wife, Emily, and me, the foundation of an excellent school begins with its faculty and staff and extends outward. We chose to make a gift to the endowment to support the attraction, development and retention of the best possible faculty and staff. It is our hope that other Lovett families will join us and support an area about which they are passionate.”

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Fran Rogers Parent, Trustee, Campaign Executive Committee member, and Leadership donor

“Lovett excellence is preparing our students for the jobs that don’t yet exist, where they will use technology that hasn’t yet been invented. Support of the Strategic Plan, with its strong emphasis on faculty, technology, facilities, and the whole child, is critical in pursuit of Lovett excellence.”

Strategic Plan Fundraising Progress Preliminary Goal: $70 million*

Endowment Preliminary Goal: $25 Million

Facilities/Unrestricted Preliminary Goal: $45 Million

Includes

Includes

•F aculty Support and Development

•P ortman Family Middle School

Progress to date: $32.5 million

• Financial Aid

Progress to date: $13.6 million

•N ew Program Initiatives

•B aseball and Softball Complex •M ultipurpose Field

•C ampus Renovations (Academic Resource Center, Noonan Technology Center, Fine Arts spaces, and administrative and Breakthrough Atlanta office space).

Excellence

* Completely funding Excellence in Learning, Character & Community could take as much as $125 million.

A newsletter on Lovett’s Strategic Plan

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