Endowment

WSL's Endowment History & Future

Role of the Endowment
An endowment is essential in helping the Board of Trustees fulfill one of its key responsibilities: ensuring the school’s long-term viability for future generations. A gift to WSL’s endowment creates a lasting impact, generating annual revenue from interest on the principal to support building maintenance, tuition assistance, and the school’s operating budget for years to come.

Endowment History
The Waldorf School of Lexington has been fortunate to receive generous support from its community over the years. Unrestricted gifts have helped meet the school’s operating budget, expand academic offerings, enhance early childhood programs, and maintain the campus. Restricted gifts have supported specific initiatives such as academic programs, middle school sports, campus maintenance, and, of course, the endowment. We are deeply grateful for the generosity that has laid a strong foundation for the school.

The Endowment Fund was established in 1991, thanks to visionary parents and grandparents and a foundational gift from the Blanchard Foundation. In the years that followed, additional gifts throughout the 1990s and early 2000s provided further support. Recognizing the need for sustained growth, the Board of Trustees launched the Endowment Challenge in 2005. This challenge encouraged the community to raise $100,000 for the annual giving campaign, with the promise of a matching gift for the endowment. Thanks to a generous response from the WSL community, the endowment principal grew to $132,000.

In 2014, parents Keith Hartt and Ann Wiedie made a $100,000 contribution to the endowment. They pledged an additional $100,000 matching gift the following year, inspiring the school community to come together and fulfill this generous challenge over five years. 

Thanks to the continued generosity of many, the endowment now stands at over $750,000 as of December 31, 2024.

Though WSL is 53 years old, it is still in the early stages of its endowment development. For schools of our size, the goal is for the endowment to match at least one year’s operating expenses, which for WSL is approximately $4.5 million.

Looking Forward
The Waldorf School of Lexington is focused on an exciting period of growth and renewal, with a clear vision for the future. As we work on a three-year plan to strengthen our foundation, we remain committed to the values and educational principles that make our school unique. Our alumni network continues to be a powerful testament to the lasting impact of the WSL experience, and we are deeply grateful for their ongoing support.

Looking ahead, gifts to the endowment offer a vital opportunity to support the school’s long-term health. These contributions will help sustain our mission and provide future generations with the transformative education that has shaped so many students.

We are deeply grateful for the vision of our founding families and the ongoing generosity of our community. Together, we are building a strong foundation for WSL’s continued growth and success.