Annual Fund for Walker's
$2.5M for 2025
Your gift will go ONCE, TWICE, or THREE times as far!
JOIN US and you can be part of our historic $2.5 million in matching gifts for Walker’s!
The Ethel Walker School
Annual Fund for Walker’s
Reaffirm your commitment to Walker’s
Your Support of Our Historic $2.5M in Matching Gifts Is Necessary
Your impact on Walker’s future can go ONCE, TWICE, or THREE times as far!
A visionary anonymous donor who deeply believes in Walker’s mission has stepped forward with an extraordinary opportunity: a $2.5 million matching gift opportunity for the Annual Fund for Walker’s. This represents the largest matching gift in our School’s history. Your increased support will go once, twice, or three times as far.
Give a gift to support a 3:1, 2:1, or 1:1 match on your increased gift.
Why does it matter?
This transformative matching opportunity not only opens many doors but also plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of Walker’s and the bright minds within it. This is more than a fundraising campaign — it’s a testament to the belief in Walker’s mission and our collective community joining together. By doubling our Annual Fund, we will create lasting positive change for current and future generations of students.
When you support the Annual Fund for Walker’s, you:
- Provide critical resources for Walker’s distinctive programs
- Give access and opportunity to deserving students
- Allow for the hiring and retention of outstanding educators
- Directly support sustainable initiatives campus-wide
Your participation in this historic matching opportunity will help shape Walker’s future. Together, we can create an even stronger foundation for excellence in education. We are grateful for your support.
For questions about how you can support our Historic $2.5M in matching gifts for the Annual Fund for Walker’s, please contact us at giving@ethelwalker.org. We are here to help!
- All new or increased gifts and pledges of $250 or more will qualify for the match.
- Pledges can be fulfilled through June 30, 2025.
- Your support at any level makes a difference.
WHAT IS THE ANNUAL FUND FOR WALKER’S?
Tuition alone does not cover the cost of a Walker’s education. The Annual Fund for Walker’s pays for many types of expenses throughout the year. Gifts to the Annual Fund for Walker’s supplement the School’s operating budget. Like most independent schools, gifts to the School’s annual giving program ensure that we can attract and retain exceptional faculty by helping to fund teacher salaries and professional development. The Annual Fund for Walker’s, our school’s annual giving program, also pays for bus trips for student events and activities, staging for theater productions, and sporting equipment. Simple but essential things such as light bulbs, hot water, campus maintenance, and heating fuel are other examples of expenses that are offset by the Annual Fund for Walker’s.
How do gifts to the Annual Fund for Walker’s help the students?
The Annual Fund for Walker’s is a critical component of the School’s operating budget and it helps close the gap between the true cost of a Walker’s education and the revenue generated from tuition and endowment interest. In fact, tuition and endowment revenue only cover around 51% of the cost to educate our students. This revenue gap isn’t unique to Walker’s — it exists at virtually every independent school — as does the community funding that helps to close it every year.
When you participate in the Annual Fund for Walker’s, you participate in the financial success of the School, and contribute to the positive experience and well-being of our students.
For more information, contact Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org or +1-860-408-4260.
I support Walker’s because it is the best philanthropic investment I can make. We are a beacon in girls’ education, graduating thousands of young women who are confident and capable to lead industries, inspire other women to soar, and be engaged citizens of the world. Our donations allow the next generation of Walker’s graduates to continue this tradition. Please join me in keeping Walker’s a thriving place of learning and opportunity!
—Jean Moore Edwards '69
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the impact of my gift?
Your gift to the Annual Fund for Walker’s helps underwrite many types of expenses throughout the year. It ensures that we can attract and retain exceptional faculty by helping to fund teacher salaries and professional development. Bus trips for student events and activities, staging for theater productions and sporting equipment are other examples of expenses that are offset in the School’s budget by support from the Annual Fund for Walker’s. Your contribution also pays for things we forget to notice – such as light bulbs, hot water, campus maintenance, and heating fuel.
Why are we asked every year to give to the Annual Fund for Walker’s?
The Annual Fund for Walker’s is an annual campaign that plays a vital role in the financial strength of our School by providing for expenses not covered by tuition or interest from our endowment. The operating budget of the School is supported in large part by gifts made to the Fund. As tuition dollars meet only part, or about 51%, of the actual cost of educating a student, we need to raise additional funds each year to support the gap between tuition and other income and the actual operating cost of the School. The Ethel Walker School is a non-profit, independent organization that operates without financial assistance from any public source.
Why can’t Walker’s increase tuition to cover the full cost of educating each student?
Large increases in tuition may prohibit a Walker’s education to many families, therefore altering our culture and distinctive learning environment. Because the School is committed to diversity in all its definitions, Walker’s strives to make its excellence in education available to students regardless of financial background. Close to 50% of our students currently receive financial aid. Tax-deductible donations to the Annual Fund for Walker’s keep tuition costs more affordable and provide financial aid and scholarships to deserving students.
Why is my participation in the Annual Fund for Walker’s important if I can only make a small gift?
Independent schools represent a unique form of education in our society and independence demands an above-average commitment on the part of its members. The participation level of our alumnae, employees, parents, and students in fundraising efforts shows other potential donors our willingness to invest in the School’s overall success. Corporations, foundations, and other friends of Walker’s look at voluntary support levels before deciding to make a gift to our School. Every gift makes a difference, no matter the amount.
How does a gift to the Annual Fund for Walker’s differ from a Centennial Campaign gift or endowment gift?
Gifts to the Annual Fund for Walker’s and to the endowment are necessary to secure a strong financial future for the School.
All of the money raised through the Annual Fund for Walker’s goes toward the School’s operating budget for that year. The Fund represents about 12% of the funding for the School’s operations, including support to academic programs, financial aid, extracurricular activities, athletic programs, faculty salaries, administrative costs, and plant operations.
Gifts to the Centennial Campaign support specific campaign priorities, including the building of new facilities, such as the Centennial Center, the new dormitory and athletics pavilion, the upgrading of athletic fields, and the corresponding operating funds needed to maintain these spaces.
Endowment gifts are put into interest-bearing accounts that allow the School to use the future earnings to support specific projects.