50% Increase Fuels Mission
Sidwell Friends School’s endowment is now at a record high value thanks to the generosity of our community and effective investment management. That matters because the endowment helps fund everything we do, from compensating teachers at the highest level to meeting ambitious financial aid goals to continuing to provide an exceptional student experience.
In 2015, when we launched our Together We Shine campaign, the School’s endowment was approximately $50 million. As of June 30, 2024, it has grown to just over $81 million—an increase of more than 50 percent.
Josh Miller P ’27, ’30, clerk of the investment committee, says that while tuition remains the largest source of revenue, “our endowment generates a steady, permanent source of income to support our people, programs, and activities while growing long-term financial sustainability.”
Through the campaign, donors established dozens of named endowed funds and gave to unrestricted endowment. Donors like Kay Burgunder Stevens ’68, P ’11, ’13, ’13 whose gift provides long-term support for the new Center for Ethical Leadership.
“I focused my gift on the Center for Ethical Leadership because its purpose aligns with the goals of the former Sidwell Next to New Sale, a project I worked on since its inception in 1994,” Kay says. “I hope that the projects undertaken by the new Center will foster ties between Sidwell students, alumni, and families through service at Sidwell and beyond. Some of my very best Sidwell friendships these past 30 years have come about because of meeting and working on large and challenging service projects at the School.”
I hope that the projects undertaken by the new Center will foster ties between Sidwell students, alumni, and families through service at Sidwell and beyond.”
Kay Burgunder Stevens ’68, P ’11, ’13, ’13
Other donors made endowment gifts to sustain Sidwell’s long-standing commitment to financial aid. During the 2023-24 school year, Sidwell’s financial aid budget was $9.27 million with an average grant of $36,000 per family. Nearly one-quarter of Sidwell’s student body receives financial aid. As Head of School Bryan Garman has said, “Providing financial aid enables us to bring the most talented students together in this community so that all our students can learn from one another, so that they can push one another, so that they can form deep and lasting friendships with one another.”
During the campaign, donors also endowed faculty positions that will attract and retain Sidwell’s exceptional faculty. These endowed positions include the Biology and Experiential Science Chair in memory of Melanie Fields; the Directorship of Equity, Justice, and Community; the Señora Guillermina Medrano de Supervía Endowed Chair; the Mamadou Gueye Endowed Chair in African and African American Studies; and the Asian American Studies Chair. (Meet the recently named inaugural Asian American Studies Endowed Faculty Chair here).
While the growth in Sidwell’s endowment is remarkable, it remains modest relative to many peer independent schools. Consequently, healthy endowment growth will always be vital. As Josh Miller says, “A larger endowment allows Sidwell Friends to support current programming, reduce reliance on tuition as the primary source of revenue, and enhance the School’s ability to meet the opportunities of the future.”
