Page 15 - Priorities #33 2006-April

Campaign Accelerates as the Priory Looks Ahead to Its 50th Anniversary
Three important events will be added to the Priory calendar in the upcoming months:
• The “blessing of the land” for the new Performing Arts Center auditorium and classrooms in June
• Trinity Project/Performing Arts Center auditorium and classrooms groundbreaking in late summer
• A special celebration to honor the first Mass celebrated at the Priory, and the 90th birthday of the monk who celebrated it. Father Egon Javor, O.S.B. presided over the Mass on November 11, 1956, and his birthday is in October.
The Trinity Project
The Trinity Project goal is $13 million for the Performing Arts Center (PAC) including an all-school auditorium and new classrooms, the renovated Library & Media Center, and the new Student Center. Having spent over $1 million on prerequisite costs including architects’ fees, geotechnical consultation, landscape improvements, and a new berm required by our conditional use permit, $6.7 million in funds arenowavailablefortheTrinityProject. Thanks
in large part to a challenge gift of $1 million from
a visionary and incredibly generous Priory family this fall, and to both new and returning donors who stepped up to meet that challenge—the community raised $3.9 million in cash since October 2005! This record-breaking drive has been a real group effort encompassing over 60 donors and $2 million in new commitments—including a very thoughtful gift of $30 from a Priory sixth grader, the youngest donor
to date!
In mid-January, the school received full support from the Board of Directors to proceed with the plans. And on January 27, Father Martin signed the final contracts with the architects, San Francisco- based MK Think. However, the Campaign still needs over $5 million in new commitments, with a short term goal of $2 million by June 30 of this year. Groundbreaking for the PAC buildings is slated for late summer 2006, and construction on the Library & Media Center and the Student Center could be as early as Summer 2007.
Endowment
The Endowment serves many purposes. It
is a key to the long term financial stability of the school and helps to cushion the blows of economic downturns. It also helps augment the operating budget—helping keep salaries in the upper quartile of comparable Bay Area schools and ensuring a significant financial aid budget (the Priory’s current aid budget exceeds $1 million).
The Golden Jubilee Campaign total endowment goal was set at $10 million in 2000, with the “Phase I” goal set at $5 million. The Priory has $2.2 million in gifts and commitments towards this goal, and the focus on the endowment will be increased this year. Not surprisingly, “we are concentrating on the Father Egon Scholarship Fund over the next few months and through the next year,” said Tim Molak, Head of School. “What better way to honor all he has done than to secure that scholarship in his name?” he added.
The “Father Funds,” scholarships honor- ing current and former Priory monks, are among the most popular ways for people to give to the endow- ment—especially among alumni, said Gail Kimball, Associate Director of Development. People also endow other scholarships—memorial scholarships, for example. “Every year, we share with the found- ers the wonderful stories of students who benefit. Some of them are truly inspiring, and sharing these stories is a definite high spot in my job,” commented Camille Yost, Admissions Associate.
Woodside Priory’s endowment fund and the monks’ retirement fund will both receive a boost from the pending sale of a residential lot behind the campus. Two of the three desirable “view” lots are still available at market rates. More information is available on the Priory’s website, or by contacting Tim Molak. The timely arrival of these funds will help maintain scholarship commitments now and will over the long run help to assure the school’s financial stability.
Update
Trinity Project
• Performing Arts Center with all-school auditorium & new classrooms
• Renovated and expanded Library & Media Center
• New Student Center
$6.7 million in hand towards $13 million goal. Board of Directors approved plans, and groundbreaking on the Performing Arts Center buildings is slated for Summer 2006. Short term goal is $2 million in new com- mitments by July 2006, with a total of $5 million by Fall 2007.
Endowment
$2.2 million committed towards $5 million fundraising goal.
Goal is $1 million for the Father Egon Scholarship Fund by December 2008.
On-Campus Housing
Maas Family Commons housing complex completed and occupied in 2003.
Two apartments adjoining residence halls constructed and one home renovated in 2001. Twenty-three faculty and staff live on campus. Trustees’ long-term goal is to house 50% of the faculty on campus within ten years.
Chapel Renovation
Completed by Friends of the Chapel and dedicated in 2004
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