Sure Foundations Campaign Ensures Excellence Today ... and Tomorrow

THE SURE FOUNDATIONS CAMPAIGN ENSURES EXCELLENCE TODAY… AND TOMORROW.

With a goal of maintaining and building on our school’s legacy of excellence, University Liggett School launched the Sure Foundations campaign in 2012, a $50 million comprehensive campaign to support every aspect of the school and to ensure a strong future for generations to come. To date, we have raised more than $39 million and now we are entering the final phase of the Campaign - the endowment phase.

The Sure Foundations campaign comprises three distinct areas of support:

CAPITAL: Sure Foundations is an investment in our campus to provide to everyone in the University Liggett School community the finest classroom spaces, facilities, and athletic fields. We are well on our way, with the opening of the state-ofthe-art John A. and Marlene L. Boll Campus Center in September 2018. This wonderful center celebrates the entire community as a gathering place for the generations of University Liggett School families — past, present, and future. And, with the completion of the renovation of our world-class turf athletic fields in 2015, not one athletic team or gym class has missed a practice or a game due to flooding. All of this is a big win for our vital athletic programming in all divisions.

ANNUAL FUND: Sure Foundations secures support through a strong Annual Fund. Through generous donations, University Liggett School is able to use the Annual Fund to augment tuition to make up the difference and what it actually takes to run a quality independent school. For many schools, this gap is so wide that they simply could not operate without financial contributions from donors, according to an article on the editorial website ThoughtCo. “It’s not unusual for tuition to only cover 60 to 80 percent of what it costs to educate a student, and an annual fund at independent schools helps make up this difference,” the site says.

Through the Annual Fund, University Liggett School has raised money for important enrichments that directly impact our students such as field trips, playground improvements, service learning projects and professional development for faculty.

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“The Annual Fund supports our current year operating budget, while other gifts — such as those toward the endowment — support longer-term projects,” said Cressie Boggs, director of development “Gifts to the Annual Fund have an immediate impact on our students and programs.” Every gift made to University Liggett School, including Annual Fund giving, supports the overall $50 million Sure Foundations campaign. This year, the Annual Fund goal is $1.7 million.

ENDOWMENT: And most immediately, we are working to build our endowment. Our endowment serves two purposes: to establish a strong, lasting investment fund that will support the school in perpetuity, and to provide a base for which interest monies can be grown and drawn upon. “A strong endowment is a sure sign that a school’s longevity is guaranteed,” said Kelley Hamilton, associate head of school for external relations. “Just as with any investment vehicle, the goal is to grow the money over time by investing it and not touching the vast majority of it.”

Because the endowment phase is perhaps the most critical fundraising stage of the entire Sure Foundations campaign, detailed information about how the fund works and what it means to our school’s financial health is in the pages that follow.

PLANNED GIFTS: A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT ULS

By including University Liggett School in your will, you are joining other generous alumni, parents and friends who are making an impact on the lives of others. Thoughtful estate gifts helps shape superior academic experiences, nurture outstanding teachers and enable talented and motivated students to attend the school.

If you have added University Liggett School to your estate plan, or would consider doing so, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Cressie Boggs, Director of Development, with questions or for more information at cboggs@uls.org or (313) 884-4444, Ext. 413.

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