The Campaign for Andover, Building on the Surest Foundation has raised over $213 million since its launch last year. The campaign is concentrating on raising the final $90 million in order to meet its final goal of $300 million by the end of this fiscal year. “Many parents have asked when the [Campaign for Andover] will kick off. That means we haven’t been aggressive [enough] with collection, and that they can help us reach our goal,” said Peter Ramsey, Secretary of the Academy. To celebrate the “home stretch” of the Campaign for Andover, the school will host an event on December 7 at Gotham Hall in New York City. The event will include a dinner, entertainment and a presentation, titled “Transformative Experiences.” Ramsey said the presentation will “celebrate the Academy, alumni, parent, and student stories.” Andover will use the funds accumulated in the Campaign for Andover to finance campus facility renovations. The most notable of these include a renovation to Bulfinch Hall, Andover’s English building, and the construction of the new crew boathouse, as reported previously in The Phillipian. Barbara Chase, Head of School, has already set aside four million dollars in gifts and pledges for the restoration of Bulfinch, with the estimated cost of the project at seven million dollars. Much of the Bulfinch renovation project funds have come in the form of donations, such as a two million dollar gift from Thomas Israel ’62 and a one million dollar gift from Oscar L. Tang ’56, President of the Board of Trustees. The funds will cover maintenance on the existing building and the costs of the additions. The new boathouse will be built on the Merrimack River on an old GMC auto dealership. Sam Darby, parent of Michelle Darby ’07, and the “Friends of Crew” organization have already donated six million dollars to the project fund. Last weekend, the trustees held their fall term meeting. This gathering also included the first meeting of the Asia Council, headed by Yi Chen Zhang ’82 and Henry Cho ’90. The council includes 25 alumni and parents that will travel to Asia on behalf of the Campaign for Andover. Members include Barbara and David Chase, Tang, Bill Leahy, Director of Admissions and Bill Harrold, Leadership Gift Officer and Director of Asia Relations. Of the accumulated funds, 172 million dollars comes from alumni donations, 18 million from parents and 18 million from corporations, friends and foundations. “Over 67 percent of donations have already been paid fully,” said Ramsey. “[This] is a positive sign in this economy.” The campaign will finance three primary funds. $11.5 million will go to the Andover Fund, or “annual giving.” This money is mainly used to support faculty, the curriculum and student events, among other things. The Campaign for Andover will also cover “capital gifts,” or the costs of maintenance and renovation of Andover’s facilities. The campaign will also contribute over 90 million dollars to the school’s endowment. 35 percent of the money has been used in a variety of ways: 14 percent is in current use, seven percent is devoted to the various museums on campus, six percent of the money has been reserved for student outreach programs, five percent of the money is dedicated to need-blind admissions and two percent will fund student programs such as ACE. Currently, 65 percent of the money is not invested.
