Head of Schools � The Centennial Campaign

The Next 100: The Centennial Campaign

BY BOB FASS, CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER

On October 23, 2021 Webb officially launched The Next 100: The Centennial Campaign. Our virtual event included a historic announcement that Webb received a future estate gift of at least $100 million from an alumnus, the fifth largest gift to an independent school in U.S. history and the largest west of the Mississippi. With this gift in hand, a campaign goal of $200 million was set, which is four times larger than any previous Webb campaign.

The newly renovated Hooper Community Center “I know from the bottom of my heart, that if I wasn’t at Webb for the past 4 years, I wouldn’t be the same. I have been lucky to walk down such a path that few can, and I hope to make the best of it as I go to university and beyond.”

– Jordan G. ’22, Crean Foundation Scholar, Cornell University

At the close of the fiscal year on June 30, 2022, Webb had recorded $182,171,603 representing gifts and commitments made from July 1, 2017 onward. The Centennial Campaign is scheduled to conclude on June 30, 2025.

A featured campaign project, Hooper Community Center and Centennial Plaza were a haven for students as we resumed in-person instruction, residential boarding, and campus life activities. In all likelihood, no spaces on campus were used with more regularity than these spaces, made possible by generous philanthropy.

Many current students also benefited personally from endowment growth that occurred as a result of giving during the Centennial Campaign. Two realized bequests totaling $9 million were added this year to Webb’s endowment in support of financial aid alongside a new future gift of $3 million. Webb students also benefited from smaller restricted gifts that have an equally profound impact on affordability. Webb’s Fun Fund, Student Activity Fund, and The Webb Experience Fund were all created by donors with a central theme – no student, regardless of the family’s ability to pay the full cost of tuition, should be excluded from a full Webb experience. To that end, students on financial aid also qualify for assistance with personal and incidental expenses, technology resources, travel funds, athletic or activity needs, trips and excursions. Faculty and staff are also the beneficiaries of generous support from Webb donors. One such named fund is the Donald L. Lofgren Endowed Director's Chair at the Alf Museum, established in honor of our esteemed museum director Don Lofgren who retired at the end of the year. Faculty funds also support research, travel, extended education, and more. In addition, faculty benefit from funds dedicated to specific academic programs such as the arts, mathematics, humanities, and paleontology, as well as capital improvements to faculty housing.

More than $15 million has been given since the start of the campaign in 2017 for current operations, making possible unique opportunities such as Unbounded Days, which received high praise this past year. Matching funds from the E.E. Ford Foundation in support of DEI programing is another such example. Moreover, operating funds support the breadth of Webb experiences, big and small, that occur throughout the year and across campus. It is sometimes these smaller moments made possible by donations that don’t make the headlines but have a lasting impact.

A few years ago, as we were finishing our last campaign, I called upon a member of the Class of 1949 for his annual gift. This donor has been giving to Webb for decades beginning with his first $3 gift in 1960. We chatted for a while and he was excited to support the school that had meant so much to him in his adolescence. He asked to

“I greatly appreciate the opportunity to study and learn in such a wonderful environment. My time at Webb has been truly transformative and I’m so grateful to those who have

made it possible.” – Sofia C. ’22, Pravina Dholakia Scholar, Pomona College

World Languages teacher Malick Mbengue and Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Scott Cooper during Storytelling at Webb hosted by the Office of Equity

confirm the school address and gave a different street number than our current address. I corrected him and he replied, “go check your records.”

Webb alumni are very wise and I knew better than to doubt him. I went into the archives and sure enough, right after World War II, there was an alternative address being used for a short time. I called him back and asked how it was possible that he remembered his high school mailing address more than half a century later. He laughed and reminded me that Webb was not just his school, it was his home. He asked if I remember my childhood address. I do. He then described to me the Webb community that housed his adopted mothers and fathers, his classmates who became his brothers, his birthday parties in Mrs. Webb’s dining room, and his misadventures on and off campus. He shared that Webb taught him values and integrity and the ability to think critically. From this one conversation, I learned so much about philanthropy at Webb. We use big numbers, we have lofty goals, and we seek support for many important projects, but at the end of the day it comes down to impact and experience, and I am incredibly inspired by the passion that our donors feel for enhancing the lives of current students and future generations. If we accomplish one thing in the Centennial Campaign, that is my goal – to inspire each and every donor to invest in the lives of our students.