IMPACT REPORT
July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021
THANK YOU! 2,397 donors gave back to Williston Northampton School last fiscal year. Looking back, it’s easy to see why.
A Message from Head of School Robert W. Hill III
The 2020-21 academic year at Williston Northampton was anything but typical—requiring a rethinking of nearly every aspect of our school, countless safety measures, and an extra commitment to financial aid to support our students and families in need. In true Williston style, our community rallied together, with alumni, faculty, parents, and friends stepping up to help one another. Whether on campus, in person, or connected virtually, we remained a unified school thanks to your investment and engagement. Scroll below to see firsthand the many ways you changed our school for the better last year, especially with gifts to the Williston Northampton Fund, which immediately benefitted all aspects of our students’ academic and campus life. I sincerely thank you and have never been prouder to be part of our school community.
A Year in Review: 2020-21 Philanthropic Support
Income
Expenses
Gifts by Source
Gifts by Purpose
WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON FUND
Each year, Williston’s annual fund is a critical source of immediately available funds. Donations to the fund help strengthen our academic programs; provide skilled and devoted faculty with professional development opportunities; and offer meaningful financial aid opportunities. In 2021, the fund grew to $2,453,000 up 9 percent from 2020.
Scroll below to see examples of annual fund designations:
Our COVID-19
Response
This past year, Williston invested more than $2.8 million for COVID-19 related safety protocols, including weekly testing, outdoor tents, and reconfiguring dining areas and classroom spaces. We developed creative ways to reimagine student life during COVID-19 through safe and fun community activities, such as pop-up outdoor fire pits, gourmet ice cream trucks, skating on the pond under the lights, and the always-popular snacks-and-easel painting sessions.
Academic Life
Teaching during a pandemic required resilience, fortitude, and great creativity. By using innovative technological tools, unusual classroom configurations (math in the dance studio, anyone?), and hybrid teaching techniques, our faculty were able to deliver an exceptional and uninterrupted education throughout the 2020-21 school year.
Arts
A dance performance filmed at iconic locations around campus, choir practice on the chapel steps, the spring play on video: Despite pandemic restrictions, Williston’s artists found new and innovative ways to express themselves.
Athletics
Students continued to compete all-year long. Agreed-upon COVID-19 testing and safety protocols allowed inter-squad scrimmages, varsity contests against peer schools, and out-of-season training opportunities for students to work on skill development and fitness. Coaches arranged for filming and virtual recruiting sessions with college coaches for prospective student-athletes as well.
Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion, and
Belonging
Your contributions helped fund trainings, conferences, guest speakers, and other initiatives that aim to ensure every student at Williston Northampton School is valued and feels a sense of community and belonging.
Financial Aid
Financial aid opens the door of opportunity for students who would otherwise not be able to attend Williston, and creates a more vibrant and diverse student body. Your contributions to financial aid also played a critical role in supporting students and families who were impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gifts with Purpose
Lessons in Independence
Businessman and philanthropist Natan Peisach ’57 gives back to Williston because he recalls the way it shaped him. “I’ve always said that my experience at Williston was much more formative of my character and my discipline than my experience in college,” he said. “It’s important to help a school that did that for me, and I hope will continue doing that for kids in the future. It’s wanting to give back, but it’s gratefulness more than anything. And I just can’t think that, I feel I have to show it.”
Keeping a Bright Light Shining
Honor student, senior class president, winner of the prestigious White Blazer “for the senior girl who made the greatest contribution to the life of the school,” Sherrie-Ann L. Gordon ’00 was the daughter of Jamaican immigrants who arrived at Williston from Brooklyn and soon distinguished herself as a campus leader and mentor, in particular to her fellow students of color. When her life was tragically cut short by cancer, her family was inspired to launch a fund in her memory to ensure equitable experiences for Black students.
Founders Day: Our Day of Giving
The 1841 Society
The 1841 Society recognizes the school’s most generous and loyal benefactors who annually contribute $1,841 or more to the school, for any purpose. Leadership gifts account for more than 85 percent of the total raised annually for the Williston Northampton Fund. Members are recognized at seven levels, beginning with the Wildcat Club, which offers recent graduates an opportunity to participate at a modest gift level.
Endowment
The endowment provides fiscal stability and a permanent source of funding to help meet our mission in perpetuity. Restricted funds support financial aid, professional development for faculty, and a variety of student programs. Unrestricted endowment funding supports the areas where it is most needed. In FY21:
- $739,204 designated toward Financial Aid
- $634,084 designated toward supporting faculty instruction and professional development
- $678,075 designated as greatest need
"Williston has been a life changing experience for me, and I couldn’t be happier with my time here. As my junior year draws to a close, college is at the forefront of my mind and I am excited to start working on the next chapter of my life. This would not be possible without your help. Thank you for making my Williston education possible!"
—Student, class of ’22
Stay Connected
Let’s keep in touch! Join us for an alumni event, connect about any career on our Alumni LinkedIn Group, and join hundreds of alumni at our new professional network and find classmates in the online directory WillistonConnects.
Contact Us
To discuss supporting the Williston Northampton School and the impact that you wish to have, please contact the Advancement Office at (800) 469-4559 or email us.