In the next few years, many students will leave Phillips Academy to employ the skills we have developed here in another educational community. As for now, we are in the process of building our own foundations for the future. Securing resources so that this opportunity will continue for future decades, however, comes with its own challenges. On Thursday, members of the greater Andover community streamed into Cochran Chapel for the official launch of the public phase of Phillips Academy’s capital campaign, ‘Building on the Surest Foundation.’ But what is a capital campaign and what does ‘Building on the Surest Foundation’ mean? A capital campaign is the effort of a non-profit organization to raise a notable amount of money within a specific period of time. In this context, Phillips Academy’s capital campaign is an effort to raise $300 million from July 2005 to tentatively June 2012. Phillips Academy has raised $178.8 million or 60 percent of the campaign goal since the ‘quiet phase’ of the campaign began on July 1, 2005. The quiet phase gives PA time to recruit donors and consult Trustees, alumni and faculty to determine what aspects of the PA community have the greatest need for more financial resources. The ‘public phase’ is the formal announcement of these priorities and fundraising efforts. Those attending the campaign launch on Thursday heard special acknowledgments for donors who have already contributed to the campaign’s efforts. The campaign’s priorities are divided into four main categories: the endowment and the Andover, which is PA’s annual giving program, students, faculty and academic programs and campus preservation. Each category has its own objective and fundraising goals. An institution typically enters its public phase of a campaign after achieving at least one third of its expected goal, which PA has surpassed to date. The title of PA’s capital campaign, ‘Building on the Surest Foundation’ comes from the motto of the previous capital campaign, ‘The Surest Foundation.’ ‘The Surest Foundation’ focused on capital improvement projects, which included building and dorm renovations. This year’s motto, ‘Building on the Surest Foundation,’ refers to both the ‘foundation’ established during the previous campaign and the goals of the 2004 Strategic Plan. We wish the best of luck to those involved in this weekend’s events and in those of the years to come. We hope Andover’s fundraising efforts will continue to preserve the unique academic experience and community here so that generations of students to come will have the opportunity to build off of their Phillips Academy foundations. This editorial represents the views of the Editorial Board CXXXII.
