Funding Priorities

Like independent schools across the nation, Wildwood depends on fundraising as a critical component of its operating budget. Our fundraising priorities include the following:

Annual Giving. Each year, all members of our community are asked to make a tax-deductible gift to Wildwood through Annual Giving, Wildwood’s top yearly fundraising priority. Annual Giving raises up to 10 percent of each year’s operating budget and helps pay for the everyday essentials our school needs to ensure the outstanding quality of our program.

Annual Giving revenues help Wildwood deliver leading-edge programming such as our student internship program. It provides critical funding for classroom resources like technology tools and lab materials. Professional development and growth opportunities for faculty and staff are made possible through Annual Giving dollars. And vibrant Annual Giving support helps Wildwood achieve a diverse student population that reflects the broader community by ensuring a robust flexible tuition budget. Click here to learn more. For more information, please contact Director of Development Aimee Richer at aricher@wildwood.org or (310) 806-4525.

Major Gifts. A well-developed major gifts program allows independent schools to move forward significant strategic initiatives outside of a capital campaign. Major gifts are donor-directed, larger-scale gifts in support of transformative programming and big ideas, and they are made in addition to Annual Giving gifts.

Like capital gifts, major gifts are often paid out over multiple years. Recent major gifts have funded significant enhancements to the athletic program, provided seed money to launch the Wildwood Institute for STEM Research and Development (WISRD), and underwritten faculty professional development in the social justice and equity arenas. To learn more about Wildwood's major gifts program, contact Sharon Fagen, director of strategic partnerships, at sfagen@wildwood.org or (310) 943-5305.

Capital and Special Campaigns. Campaigns help a school think big, and that's just what Wildwood is gearing up to do. As was announced at the 2015 State of School address, Wildwood has ambitious plans for the future. To learn more about the impact of transformative giving, contact Alan Ball, director of institutional advancement, at aball@wildwood.org or (310) 943-5312.

Endowment. The school’s first endowment fund, the Hope E. Boyd Endowment, was established in 2007 to honor our retiring head of school. Now known as the Hope Fund, it was created specifically to build a robust source of funding for flexible tuition. A strong endowment can give students from across Los Angeles’ broad socioeconomic spectrum the opportunity to experience and benefit from a Wildwood education. And that’s to the benefit of all. As Hope once said, “Cultural literacy cannot be learned from a book; it is an experience that must be accessed through proximity and collaboration.” Click here to learn more about the Hope Fund.