Ensuring the Legacy
Philanthropy built Peddie, with countless heartfelt donations throughout the school’s history, including namesake Thomas B. Peddie’s 1872 contribution and the historic $100,000,000 gift from Ambassador Walter Annenberg ’27 in 1993. Each contribution demonstrated faith in The Peddie School and all it can be.
Today, we’re inspired by Thomas B. Peddie, Walter Annenberg and all the donors who have turned their devotion into philanthropic support to ensure Peddie’s strong legacy. Leadership gifts gave this campaign an extraordinary start. And then we came together as never before to invest in Peddie’s future. This campaign far surpassed its goal — matching Ambassador Annenberg’s transformative gift — thanks to the support of every member of the Peddie community who gave to the best of their ability as a testament of their devotion and gratitude to Peddie.
Campaign Leadership
For over 150 years, Peddie educators and leaders have tirelessly devoted themselves to what Headmaster Swetland (1898-1934) would describe as the “Greater Peddie”. While Peddie’s history is undeniably inspiring, this campaign will serve as a real inflection point for Peddie’s future. For over 150 years, Peddie educators and leaders have tirelessly devoted themselves to what Headmaster Swetland (1898-1934) would describe as the “Greater Peddie.” While Peddie’s history is undeniably inspiring, the conclusion of this campaign has served as a real inflection point for Peddie’s future and is just the beginning.
No longer can we and will we rely on the generosity of a few loyal donors willing us to where we are today. This campaign has been about many leaders and supporters exceeding the ambitions and imaginations of the optimists of prior generations. Truly, this marks the beginning of us coming together as one Peddie to embody the emotional words of our alma mater, “We cannot know, as on we go, But this our pledge shall be: Whate’er befalls, when Peddie calls, We all shall come to thee!”
— Patrick Dennis ’98 and Wight Martindale ’80 P’16 ’18 ’20, One Peddie Campaign Co-Chairs
Campaign Co-Chairs
Patrick Dennis ’98
Wight Martindale ’80 P’16 ’18 ’20
Honorary Chairs
Mike Armellino ’57 GP’19
John Green
Bob Kaye ’54
Anne Seltzer P’88
Board of Trustee Chairs
Ralph & Karen Izzo P’15
Elizabeth & Steve Silverman P’03 ’10
Leadership Gift Chairs
Roy Grossman ’70
Jeff Larsen ’93
Robert Ruberton ’93 P’26
Gift Planning Chairs
Arthur E. Brown, M.D. ’63
Doug Davidson ’64
Gift Planning Volunteers
Eugene Scanlan ’60
Chris Tarr ’66
John Taylor P’10
Faculty and Staff Chairs
Cenza Brophy P’00 ’04 ’12 *
Imad Labban P’10 ’12 ’14
Parent Chairs
Richard & Ana Blank P’22
Jenny & Domingo Garcia P’17 ’20 ’23
Parent Volunteers
Kaushik Arunagiri & Suman Rao P’18 ’21
Ginny Bauer P’03 ’05
Rick & Jill Beggs P’19 ’22
Beverlee Dacey P’03 ’03 ’07 ’07
JP Ding P’22 ’22
Animesh Goyal P’26 ’26
Lavanya Hari & Hari Moorthy P’22 ’25
Maggie Hu P’21
Ming Jin & Ruirui Li P’24
Jane Labban P’10 ’12 ’14
Ilsoo Moon & Yunmee Cho P’18 ’20
Sunanda Nair-Bidkar P’20 ’22
Betsy Pakenas P’19 ’21
Xiaoqin “Grace” Wang P’20
Carol Wojciechowicz P’80 ’83 GP’12
Jing Yu P’26
Jonathan Zhou P’24
Alumni Chairs
Roger Durling ’82
Daisy Fang ’17
Stephanie Brisbin Warren ’95
Alumni Volunteers
Alison Alston ’00
Charlie Ascher ’52 *
Suzy Caldwell ’80 P’12
George Chen ’84
Pat Clements P’03
John Coiro ’87 P ’17
Mike Coiro ’17
Suzanne Daly ’99
Brooke Dennison ’18
Jake Fine ’15
Peter Finnerty ’89
Stuart Kerr ’73
Mike Smith ’79
Brian Tedeschi ’11
Pat Ting ’91
Brendan Williams ’97
Nora Wolf ’03
Peddie Fund Chairs
Alumni Chairs
Megan McCarthy Cannan ’95
Ashim Midha ’09
Parent Chairs
Bill Brick ’87 & Mary Sedarat P’24
Lavanya Hari & Hari Moorthy P’22 ’25
Ming Jin & Ruirui Li P’24
Former Peddie Fund Chairs
Allison Davi ’02
Patrick Ting ’91
Sunanda Nair-Bidkar P’20 ’22
Betsy Pakenas P’19 ’21
FY23 Peddie Fund Parent Volunteers
Evelyn Alvarez P’23
Shantanu Baruah P’24
William Brick ’87 P’24
Li Chen P’24
Animesh Goyal P’26 ’26
Christine Hayden P’25
Domingo and Jenny Garcia P’17 ’20 ’23
Ming Jin and Ruirui Li P’24
Robert Ruberton ’93 P’26
Min ‘Amy’ Wang P’25
Jing Yu P’26
Jonathan Zhou P’24 ’26
*deceased
Changing Trajectories
Investing in Peddie is changing lives.
FAQ
The revenue and expense picture shows that tuition does not cover the full cost required to educate a student at Peddie. The truth is, no student pays the full cost that it takes to educate us, not even if we paid full tuition, because donations from loyal alumni and parents have always provided essential funding for the Peddie experience.
The Peddie Fund and the endowment supports every facet of the student experience, and we hope everyone will give as much as they can each year. As Headmaster Ed Potter used to say, “Give each year and increase just a little bit each year.”
Peddie, and other schools like it, are expensive products. It’s hard to digest sometimes. If you look at other elite institutions, they have phenomenal philanthropy. Today, Peddie is an elite institution but continues to be a place that is not elitist.
A strong endowment gives Peddie the ability to invest in people first so we can attract the best teachers; enroll students with excitement, curiosity and character regardless of their ability to pay; and fund the transformational experiences that are Peddie’s hallmark.
The One Peddie campaign was designed to elevate our culture of philanthropy to match the excellence in everything else we do at Peddie and unite our community to raise essential funds needed to fulfill our strategic priorities as outlined in our campaign priorities.
Additionally, while our endowment is in the top 10 nationally, The Peddie Fund is ranked much lower in the same comparison group. One major priority of this campaign was to educate our entire community about how a strong Peddie Fund is essential for Peddie’s future.
We set out to raise over $80,000,000 to start on our pathway to funding our strategic priorities. The leadership phase of this campaign was incredibly successful, and we’ve always known that our dreams for Peddie require far more than $80,000,000; we’re proud and grateful that the entire Peddie community came together to exceed our initial goal.
The campaign priorities were established in response to the strategic priorities as defined by the strategic planning committee and the board of trustees. These strategic priorities have been:
- Enhance Peddie’s excellence in transformational education.
- Sustain the remarkable strengths of Peddie’s intentionally crafted community through expanded access to Peddie and its multiple educational opportunities.
- Commit to Peddie’s long-term financial sustainability.
- Better inform a broader constituency of the transformational nature of the Peddie experience.
With these as our priorities, your investments are helping us:
- Tell the Peddie story more boldly and broadly
- Elevate our culture of engagement and philanthropy
- Double the unrestricted, current-use gifts to The Peddie Fund
- Strengthen the endowment
- Increase student access to the Peddie experience
- Invest in diversity, equity and inclusion
- Enhance student programs, including expanded signature experiences
- Renovate arts and athletics facilities
- Keep Peddie steady in unsteady times
The campaign began just after the strategic priorities were adopted during the 2017–2018 school year, and it concluded on June 30, 2023.
The One Peddie campaign was a comprehensive campaign in which all gifts to The Peddie Fund, endowment and capital priorities were counted summatively in an effort to raise more than $80,000,000. Unlike a campaign for one dorm project or one endowed fund, this campaign was focused on expanding endowed funding for our highest priorities, raising capital funding for the arts and athletics, and increasing participation at every level in The Peddie Fund. It offered an opportunity for everyone in our community to make a difference — every gift accelerated Peddie’s ability to fulfill its dreams. We all came together to do what Ambassador Annenberg did when he made his $100,000,000 cash gift in 1993.
The Peddie Fund is our annual giving program. Peddie Fund gifts are unrestricted and support the highest priorities in a given year. The Peddie Fund is akin to a checking account. The endowment is akin to a savings account, invested for the long term, with strict spending rules preventing us from invading the principal. Endowment gifts are sustaining, restricted gifts that support the school’s highest priorities over the long term.
Unrestricted Peddie Fund gifts help us respond immediately and help Peddie preserve the endowment. Endowment and capital gifts are directed to provide enduring support for access, faculty support, programs and facilities that we want to sustain in perpetuity.
To remain competitive with peer schools and have the ability to support access and other long-term priorities, Peddie must grow our annual giving program — both in participation and in dollars raised. The annual giving programs of Peddie’s peer schools support up to 10% of their yearly budgets, but at Peddie, annual giving currently supports only 5% of the annual budget. We hope this campaign will change that.
During the strategic planning process, the board carefully evaluated Peddie’s cost structure and expenses and determined that the school is very well managed. What’s more, it keeps educational expenses competitive with our peers. A diverse, curious and engaged student body is Peddie’s hallmark. Raising tuition to meet the actual cost of educating each student (more than $70,000) would make Peddie inaccessible to many bright, exciting students.
All students receive a subsidy to attend Peddie. Philanthropic gifts to The Peddie Fund and the endowment directly help fund a vibrant experience that exceeds the cost of tuition. Your gift demonstrates your conviction in the school’s mission to the Peddie community, as well as to prospective families, foundations and rating agencies.
Helpful Links
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