Since its earliest days, Lawrenceville has relied on support from alumni, parents and friends to fulfill its institutional mission and achieve ambitious goals. Your generosity has erected buildings, enriched the curriculum, expanded extracurricular programs, and rewarded our venerable faculty. But priorities fluctuate as circumstances decree, and our fundraising efforts at any given time reflect specific areas of need.
Following the very successful Bicentennial Campaign, we have identified three critical areas that demand our attention and need your support.
Financial Aid
Lawrenceville has launched a campaign to materially increase the financial aid endowment, thereby increasing the amount of aid available on a continuing annual basis.
- “The Promise of Lawrenceville: Expanding Our Legacy” is a four-year, $36 million initiative to raise additional endowed funds for financial aid with the express goal of admitting and enrolling the most outstanding students, regardless of family income.
- We recognize that outstanding students represent a broad socioeconomic spectrum. An increase in available financial aid will allow the Admissions Office to reach out to students at all income levels who would bring extraordinary skills, talents or experiences to our academic, athletic and performing arts programs.
- Currently, 29% of our 819 students receive some level of financial aid. Through “The Promise of Lawrenceville” we seek to increase this ratio to one-third or more of the student body. This will translate into 33-36 more students receiving financial assistance.
Facilities
The Bath House, built in 1885, is due for renovation, and Lawrenceville proposes to turn it into a centrally-located cafe that will tangibly link the Circle and the Crescent. The project will include new landscaping for the Crscent, transitioning the Crescent road into a pedestrian walkway, with motor vehicle access only for emergencies and moving days; and a lighted and furnished outdoor patio. The patio is the focus of a special fundraising initiative tied to the 25th anniversary of coeducation.
Similarly, when Lavino Field House opened in the early 1950s, the building was considered a state-of-the-art sports facility. While it continues to be one of the most important community spaces on the Lawrenceville campus, Lavino is in critical need of renovation. Aging mechanical systems, growth in our student population, and the impact of coeducation have compromised its functionality. With 63 interscholastic teams and 35 House or lifetime sports, practice time is at a premium and locker rooms are inadequate.
At minimum we must bring the field house up to code. Ideally we are seeking to once again make it a state-of-the-art facility able to fully accommodate our student body and our rich array of athletic programs.
Faculty Support
The Bicentennial Campaign enabled us to materially increase support for faculty professional development, sabbaticals and chairs. We now seek support to raise faculty salaries and to renovate faculty housing, to be sure that we can continue to attract the most outstanding faculty to Lawrenceville.
The Lawrenceville Fund/The Lawrenceville Parents Fund
Because The Lawrenceville Fund, which incorporates The Lawrenceville Parents Fund, supports the day-to-day operations of the School, it is a consistent fundraising priority.
- Annual giving through The Lawrenceville Fund subsidizes the cost of every student’s education by underwriting core expenses, such as faculty salaries, athletics and arts programs, library resources and classroom technology.
- Each year The Lawrenceville Fund contributes approximately 10 percent of the School’s operating budget, making it a key factor in our institutional finances. It would take over $100 million of endowment to generate the more than $5 million in annual operating funds provided by The Lawrenceville Fund.
- An increase in the number and size of gifts to The Lawrenceville Fund has a direct and immediate impact on the quality of the Lawrenceville experience.