Following years of fundraising, the biggest financial campaign in Williston’s history has just wrapped up.
The Williston Builds Campaign, known as the “Campaign for our Community,” ended this August, capping three years of fundraising and over $86 million in donations.
Announced in 2021, the fund was designed to increase funding for some of Williston’s hallmark programs, while ensuring the school would be financially secure into the future.
The fund also assisted in funding the creation of the school’s residential quad, which was completed in 2021. The “Res Quad,” as it is called on campus, is home to three dorms, including John Hazen White Dorm, a ninth-grade boys’ dorm, as well as Emily McFadon Vincent House and Wold House, both girls’ dorms.
According to Bob Hill, Head of School, the mission of the Williston Builds Campaign is rooted in the school’s values of integrity and belonging.
“Our campaign goal is ambitious, but rooted in the progress the school has made in recent years, all focused toward Community, Access and Belonging, Academic Excellence, and Momentum,” Hill said when the campaign was introduced.
Hill also reiterated that the campaign’s mission was rooted in promoting Williston’s academic offerings.
“Whether we were transforming student and residential life, shaping academic programs, supporting faculty, or investing in diverse initiatives that enriched both classroom and extracurricular experiences, our focus remained on strengthening the overall educational journey both in and out of the classroom,” Hill said.
Eric Yates, Chief Advancement Officer, told The Willistonian that the campaign was first conceived nearly a decade ago, when the school’s board of trustees wanted to set a new financial direction for the school.
“The history of Williston Builds dates back to 2014, when Williston’s Board of Trustees approved a strategic plan that outlined a new direction for the school and set institutional priorities,” Yates explained.
Launching a fundraising campaign of this scale is a major undertaking, but Yates believes it was possible because of the leadership and competence within Williston’s Advancement office.
“A successful multi-year campaign like this takes careful planning, dedication, and the ability to adapt to challenges,” Yates said. “Fortunately, Williston has a talented advancement team that worked tirelessly to execute the campaign’s goals, even through unexpected events like a global pandemic.”
Throughout the campaign, fundraising mostly depended on small to medium-sized donations from parents and alumni. However, there were also a number of major donations, some of which were bequeathed to the school in the wills of various alumni.
In total, nearly 6,000 alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of Williston contributed $86 million during the campaign,” Yates said. “Of that, $26 million represents confirmed bequest intentions, which the school will receive in the future, with most of those gifts designated for endowment.”
The largest gift to the fund, given by a Williston alum, was the largest single gift in Williston’s 183-year history.
“The largest gift was a $6.7 million bequest from Henry Liss ’42 and his wife, former trustee Amy Liss,” Yates told The Willistonian. “Their gift, split between endowment funds for need-based financial aid for students of color and faculty professional development, is the largest single donation in Williston’s history.”
When forming a campaign like Williston Builds, one of the most important aspects to prompting community members to donate is building long-term relationships with possible donors. To do this, Yates explained, the school has to meet the interests of its donors.
“These donations come about in many ways, often the result of long-term relationships with the school,” Yates said. “Ultimately, our role is to align Williston’s needs with the philanthropic goals of our supporters.”
As a result of the campaign, Yates believes that the school is in a very strong financial position, which will help it continue to expand into the coming decades.
“Thanks to Williston Builds, the school [is making] significant investments in residential life, faculty support, academic programs, financial aid that support the school of today and tomorrow,” Yates said. “As a result, the school has never been in a stronger financial position.”
Of the projects funded by the campaign, one of the most notable has been the school’s recent expansion of residential facilities.
“The most visible outcome is the $20 million new residential quad, home to half of our boarding students,” Yates said. “This project included the construction of two dormitories—Emily McFadon Vincent House in 2021 and John Hazen White House in 2018—and eight new faculty homes.”
Additionally, the fund has made major contributions to financial aid, which allows a Williston education to be more accessible to a wider range of students.
“Another important priority for the school is its investment in financial aid, because more than 40% of our student body receives some sort of financial aid,” Yates said. “And The Williston Builds campaign raised nearly $9 million for need-based aid.”
Since the campaign has wrapped up, it has become clear that it will have a strong impact on the school—and this impact, Yates believes, goes beyond financial contributions.
“The impact of the campaign goes beyond dollars and cents,” Yates said. “More people are engaged in more ways than ever before with the school—as alumni volunteers, annual fund donors, event attendees, and through social media.”
At the end of the day, the campaign has served as a reminder of the power of a community converging over a shared goal.
“This broader participation reminds everyone of the incredible impact Williston has had on so many lives,” Yates said. “It also shows what is possible when a community comes together through philanthropy, setting the stage for future fundraising initiatives that will continue to advance the school.”
