The Just-Right Place

We engage them in conversations and find that overlap between what’s meaningful to them and what’s important to the Academy. We stimulate their intellectual curiosity and get people excited about opportunities to become a major gift giver.

Personally, I came to Andover from Fargo, N.D., and I was grateful for the diversity I found here. Diversity in every dimension, especially diversity of thought. I was also a recipient of financial aid at PA, so in every step of my professional career since then, I’ve looked for and found ways to create access for students who wish to similarly push their comfort zones. That’s how I first became involved in the ADB.

How is the board structured to maximize engagement?

Meg: We anchor our work in the immediate and developing priorities of the Academy, building off the excellent leadership of prior co-chairs Amy Christodoulo ’98 and Michael Marrus ’81, P’12, ’14. These priorities are overseen by our executive committee, which values individual conversations and mentorship—really opening pathways through transparent and transformative relationships on a peer-to-peer basis.

Scott: These conversations help show potential major giving donors what’s possible. If not now, in the future, as they try to find their just-right place. That nexus where their philanthropic goals and personal comfort align with the school’s mission and needs.

Our executive committee is currently centered around six fundraising pillars: the Andover Fund and the necessity of annual giving; financial aid; faculty support; capital projects, such as the Peabody Institute renovation and other emerging needs; the Addison Gallery endowment; and the new Andover Women’s Endeavor. Between these key priorities and other areas across campus, potential donors can discover what’s right for them—and for Andover.

Please share some recent points of impact and ongoing focus.

Scott: Last fiscal year, 82 percent of our 242 board members donated to Andover, with the average gift a remarkable $17,000. Sixty-two percent gave to the Andover Fund, while nearly 10 percent made at least one major gift commitment to the school. This year, we’re aspiring to 100 percent donor participation. Yes, it’s ambitious. But it’s also viable. We’re very intent on creating interactive experiences on campus that empower philanthropists.

Meg: So true. We just had our annual fall meeting, which featured several sessions with Academy, faculty, and student leaders. All built around generating resonant moments. Those in which members can view their own goals more clearly, often by hearing from fellow alumni and parents who share their personal stories of giving, both formally and informally. What does philanthropy look like to you? What are you passionate about? What do you want your own legacy to be? How can Andover help you achieve all this? These are the questions being asked—and answered.

Members also share insights into different giving vehicles, whether that’s a donor advised fund, gifts of stock, or a planned gift, depending on someone’s assets and objectives.

Scott: All these conversations and more extend well beyond the fall and occur throughout the year, with virtual events, regional gatherings, and even impromptu discussions between fellow members, who often grow into friends.

What have you learned about Andover through the ADB that you didn’t know before?

Scott: When I look back to when I first began participating on the development board, I realize all the chances it provided to reconnect with the Academy. It made me think, ‘This place is so cool, it’s everything I remember and so much more.’ I was simply honored to be a part of it all again, and to converse with longtime leaders like Amy Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, who is now Board of Trustees president.

Then as you get deeper into the Andover Development Board, and you’re part of the campus fabric a little more, you start to see how much intentionality and how much energy and love and care emanates from every single person who dedicates their time and attention to the Academy.

To a certain degree, when you’re an early donor and, let’s say, you’re told a funding gap exists, you’re a bit like, ‘Hey, that’s a sales pitch, come on.’ But when you see what’s happening and it’s not just about how hard people are working, but it’s how intentionally they’re working, how much they care, how every decision comes from a very considered place, you realize it’s the truth. That there’s something incredibly special occurring here.

How has your connection to Andover continued to evolve through this experience?

Meg: I think that’s one of the hardest questions because it’s been such a long journey of evolution. Like most everyone, I went through a period when I wasn’t really that engaged with the Academy, because other things in life needed my attention more. But I learned you can cycle back up and reengage at any time, for any reason. The ADB helped me do that in a profound way, after I first became involved in the Alumni Council and with Opening Blue Channels, which offers discovery experiences to scholarship students looking to learn more about different fields and industries across the country. Andover’s alumni network is powerful, and its giving community is equally so. We’re all here because we treasure our school—and the opportunities to increase your involvement are there for the taking.

What would you say to someone who is considering joining the development board?

Meg: So much of what we do with the ADB is the business of the Academy. To see our work manifest in today’s students, who are receiving scholarships and are absolutely going to do so much good because of this educational opportunity, that to me is where the whole thing comes together.

Scott: We’re here for you, and we’re thrilled to begin a conversation. Of course, there are the pillars of impact that are crucial to the Academy’s vision for the future—and are our key focus. But there’s also an almost infinite continuum of areas that can benefit from your support, so you can find what is just right for you.

To chat with Scott and Meg about the Andover Development Board, please contact them at [email protected].