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 Annual Giving Danielle Lesner at dlesner@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. To learn more about the impact of transformative giving, contact Kristin Hampton, director of institutional advancement, at khampton@wildwood.org or (310) 943-5312.

Endowment. The school’s endowment was established in 2007. The original fund within the endowment was named the Hope E. Boyd Fund for Financial Aid 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.

And just this year, a second fund was added to the school’s endowment. Named the Landis Green Innovation Fund, this fund provides targeted support for faculty and administrators seeking to research, develop, and introduce new or enhanced programming that will have a transformative impact on students, families, or employees. Established in honor of Head of School Landis Green’s tenth year of service, the fund provides ongoing support for innovation.

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. Click here to learn more about Wildwood's Endowment. Make your gift to the Hope Fund or Landis Green Innovation Fund now.