ThePillarCampaignforAthenian

The Pillar Campaign is a $10 million endowment, facilities and Annual Fund initiative funding these important priorities, which are designed to serve those at the heart of Athenian's mission — students. The Campaign is a five-year effort scheduled to be successfully completed on June 30, 2009.

Pillar I: Endowment	Pillar II: Facilities	Pillar III: Annual Fund
Provide stable, long-term support through endowment, including current and planned gifts which fund faculty support, student financial aid, and curriculum and programs. GOAL: $5 million	Create a new home for the music program, called The Omni Center, as well as the Estakhri Family Sports Field to support a strong athletic program. GOAL: $3 million	Sustain funding for Athenian's current operating needs through the Annual Fund. GOAL: $2 million

Why The Pillar Campaign?

Dyke Brown’s vision, leadership, and perseverance built The Athenian School. He modeled the school after the goal of Periclean Athens — the full development of each citizen, including intellectual growth, fitness of body and character, commitment to humane values, aesthetic sensitivity, and readiness for adult citizenship and leadership. He pictured a place that would take an interdisciplinary and participatory approach, a school that would foster students’ intellectual, physical, aesthetic and social capabilities, while imparting an understanding of self, society and the natural world. Dyke’s vision included several key pillars of educational philosophy, including international and multicultural understanding, community service, education for democracy, outdoor adventure, environmental stewardship and leadership.

The Pillar Campaign takes its name from these strong founding principles, and it is designed to ensure their vitality for the benefit of future generations of students.

To read Head of School Eleanor Dase's message about the importance of The Pillar Campaign, click here.

Trustee Mike McCoy, Campaign Chairman, discusses how the Campaign will impact Athenian's future. Click here to read his message.

To view a PDF of The Pillar Campaign Brochure, click here.

(To download Adobe Acrobat, click here.)

Streaming Video 18MB / Get Windows Media Player

Macintosh Platform 22MB / Get QuickTime 7

To view the press release about the campaign, click below:
January 29, 2007: Athenian Begins $10 Million Campaign to Build Music Center, Sports Field and Increase Endowment

To contact the Development Office for information about The Pillar Campaign, click here.

To donate to The Pillar Campaign, click here.

Ways To Give To The Pillar Campaign

Providing for future generations of Athenian students and honoring founder Dyke Brown's vision for an extraordinary learning community, The Pillar Campaign for Athenian aims to raise $10 million for endowment, facilities and the School's Annual Fund. Please join with other donors in supporting the campaign to the fullest. Together, we can secure Athenian's future for generations of students to come.

Donors to The Pillar Campaign will be recognized in a variety of settings, with a permanent donor wall listing all gifts of $25,000 and above. Recognition opportunities are available to create a permanent legacy for the donor, their family, or another individual that the donor wishes to honor.

Gifts to The Pillar Campaign can be structured to provide maximum philanthropic impact and substantial benefits for individual financial planning. Donors are encouraged to consider these options:

Current Gifts: Make a current commitment to Athenian and fund it with cash, check, appreciated securities, life insurance policies given outright, real estate or other assets. Gifts of appreciated securities are often particularly advantageous to the donor.

Matching Gifts: Provide additional funding to benefit the school through company matching gift programs.

Pledges: Allow the donor to consider the most generous gift that circumstances allow, with multi-year pledging as a payment option. (While endowment pledges can be paid over a five-year period from the date the pledge begins, the final pledge payments for facilities must be concluded by June 1, 2010).

Planned Gifts: Make a bequest through a will or charitable trust that benefits Athenian and offers the donor benefits, too (Athenian’s Development Office can work with each donor to create the best option for individual goals).

The Athenian School is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, with tax identification number 94-6070808. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

For more information, please contact the Development Office.

Phone: 925-362-7210
Email: campaign@athenian.org

Mail: The Athenian School
2100 Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard
Danville, California 94506

Special Thanks To Campaign Donors and Volunteers

We gratefully acknowledge the generous donors and volunteers whose early support for The Pillar Campaign has been tremendous, with $6.9 million in contributions to date! Throughout the campaign, we look forward to recognizing this support in meaningful ways, including donor listings in campaign newsletters and the school magazine.

The Pillar Campaign leadership team is a dedicated group of parents, trustees, alumni and alumni parents, who are committed to ensuring the success of the campaign. We ask that all members of the Athenian community welcome their communication in the months ahead as they work to share the news of The Pillar Campaign.

Campaign Chairman: Mike McCoy
Parent Co-Chairs for Upper School: Theresa Bain and Sharam Sasson
Parent Co-Chairs for Middle School: Andy Blick and Mary Estakhri
Alumni Co-Chairs: Adam Cohen '86 and Michael Connolly '71
Alumni Parent Co-Chairs: Patti Paulson and Fiona Stewart

Jump to top