Destination WIS | About

IN THIS SECTION

WHAT IS DESTINATION WIS?

Destination WIS is a five-year, $30 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, with three components: Facilities, Endowment for Financial Aid, and Annual Fund. While the campaign’s most visible feature will be a new 50,000-square-foot-structure on the Tregaron Campus, Destination WIS goes beyond building new facilities. The campaign aims to expand the endowment’s capacity to provide financial aid and strengthen the Annual Fund to support continued fiscal health.

Destination WIS launched in a quiet phase beginning in 2021. During this initial period, we secured commitments totaling more than $21 million—or 70 percent—of the Campaign’s $30 million overall goal. This outpouring of support was critical to building confidence and certainty for this endeavor. The launch of the public phase is a call for the community to support Destination WIS and realize what we can accomplish together.Campaign Co-Chairs, Katie Huffard and Rohit Kumar

CAMPAIGN FAQ

What is Destination WIS and what does it support?

Why did WIS choose these Campaign priorities?

What is the Campaign timeline?

How will this project support our teachers?

What is the total cost of the building project?

How will WIS fund this project?

Will enrollment or tuition increase because of this project?

Can I allocate my gift in support of a specific Campaign initiative?

What types of gift will the Campaign accept?

Can I make a Campaign gift over multiple years?

Does the Campaign have naming opportunities?

If I want to get involved or have additional questions, who should I contact?

Destination WIS is a five-year comprehensive Campaign that is raising funds to upgrade our facilities, grow the financial aid endowment, and maintain a strong Annual Fund. The Campaign seeks to raise $30 million.

Campaign Initiative - Facilities
Fundraising Goal - $22,000,000 Description A new building on the Tregaron Campus, Le Centre Brown, will enhance WIS’s ability to deliver a demanding transdisciplinary education by housing Middle and Upper School science and design labs, flexible maker and gathering spaces, a gallery, and community dining facilities. The $22 million raised as part of this Campaign will be combined with other sources of funding, including funds raised during the first phase of this effort, to fulfill the $74 million needed to fund this campus transformation. The building will enhance students’ experience across disciplines and activities, allowing them to investigate, experiment, collaborate, and socialize. The substantial increase in space will also allow WIS to reimagine and renovate existing spaces across campus, both indoors and outdoors, including the AAA, Carriage House, Dacha, and pedestrian areas.
Campaign Initiative - Endowment for Financial Aid
Fundraising Goal - $3,000,000 Description WIS believes a qualified student’s access to a WIS education should not be determined by the ability to pay. The Campaign will double the size of the endowment designated for financial aid, from $3 million to $6 million (and increase the overall size of the endowment to $11.5 million). A stronger endowment will allow WIS to continue supporting students long past the conclusion of the Campaign.
Campaign Initiative - Annual Fund
Fundraising Goal - $5,000,000 Description The Annual Fund provides immediate impact and is critical for expanding access to faculty professional development opportunities, supplementing the financial aid budget, and funding technology essential for learning. Historically, WIS raises between $1 and $1.3 million each year for the Annual Fund—this goal ensures we maintain the Annual Fund at pre-existing levels throughout the Campaign to ensure that WIS has the flexibility to invest in critical areas and respond to needs as they arise.

Our priorities derive from the School’s 2020-25 Strategic Plan, which engaged more than 700 members of the WIS community in a year-long study to inform the school’s strategic direction.

The five-year Campaign runs from 2021 through 2026. We exited the Campaign’s quiet phase in the spring of 2023, having hit 70% ($21 million out of $30 million total) of our fundraising goal. WIS aims to complete fundraising by the spring of 2026.

Destination WIS will greatly enhance the space and resources available to our most valuable resource: our passionate and dedicated teachers. Destination WIS will support the day-to-day work of our current teacher community while also helping to attract and retain top-tier talent from across the globe. Like our students, our teachers will also benefit in other ways—faculty meals will be provided as part of our new dining program.

Cost projections for Le Centre Brown and related campus improvements total $74 million.

There are four funding sources for this project:

Thanks to nearly 40 generous donors, WIS raised $10 million between 2014 and 2021 as part of a first-phase effort preceding Destination WIS. This early-stage fundraising proved critical to bringing our vision to fruition.
WIS is raising $22 million in new capital funding from donors between 2021 and 2026 as part of the five-year, $30 million comprehensive campaign.
As a result of prudential stewardship by current and previous Boards of Trustees, WIS has cash reserves commensurate with best practice recommendations, and as such the Board has approved a $24 million allocation for capital investment.
WIS secured an additional $18 million in debt financing to close the remaining gap. The Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees determined this to be a responsible amount for the School to assume.

Enrollment at the Tregaron Campus is capped at 450 students, and WIS cannot increase enrollment in the Middle and Upper Schools. Tuition will not increase beyond the year-to-year adjustments that families typically expect. As a result, we are relying on the generosity of our community to fund a substantial part of this project.

Donors can choose where to allocate their Campaign support. If a donor chooses to make an unrestricted gift to the Campaign, WIS will allocate the funding to the Campaign’s area of greatest need.

The Campaign will generally accept gifts of cash, grants, marketable securities, and planned gifts. Certain other types of gifts may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Campaign gifts may be made in lump sum or pledged over multiple years.

Yes, there are naming opportunities associated with the new building and other facility upgrades. A list of naming opportunities is available upon request. Naming opportunities are also available for other facilities on both campuses.

Please contact Marisa Alford, Director of Advancement, via phone or email.

ABOUT DESTINATION WIS

BUILD FOR THE FUTURE

ENDOW FINANCIAL AID

SUSTAIN THE ANNUAL FUND

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

WAYS TO SUPPORT