The Exeter Fund Organizes and Hosts Weeklong “EveryONE” Fundraiser

From Dec. 1 to 5, The Exeter Fund held a fundraising event, EveryONE: A Week for Exeter to achieve this academic year’s goal of raising $7.5 million. Through the event, the fund received over 2,000 donations and raised an extra 200,000 dollars for exceeding its goal amount of donations.The event was first hosted last year, during which time it received 1082 donations—one donation per each student in the school—and an award of 100,000 dollars. After last year’s accomplishment, the administrators of the event decided to raise their expectations and nearly double the desired amount of donations, shooting for a total of 1759, the total number of students, faculty and staff members of Exeter.Director of The Exeter Fund Wayne Loosigian said that the administrators chose the number to be 1759 to send a message to donors that The Exeter Fund helps all members of the Academy community regardless of their position on campus.“If we didn’t have the Exeter fund as part of our checking account, we would lose the things that make us special. For example, off-campus programs for kids. Those things aren’t cheap, and Exeter has more opportunities than any other high school in the world for off-campus studies, and it would most likely be marginalized if we didn’t have the Exeter Fund,” Mr. Loosigian said.In order to help encourage donations, the Office of Institutional Advancement also launched an advertising campaign for the event. The campaign consisted of interviews with various students, staff and faculty who have particularly interesting stories and accomplishments from Exeter.After the interviews, pictures of the participants were arranged onto the event’s home website. Clicking on each participant’s photo led the viewer to a new page which featured special quotes from the interviewee and a section below explaining how The Exeter Fund has affected their lives.According to Loosigian, these new features of the website were implemented to add a more personable incentive for alumni and other members of the Exeter community to donate money. The administrators hoped that seeing a relatable student or faculty take advantage of opportunities supported by The Exeter Fund would encourage more Exonians to donate. They also hoped that setting a goal based on actual donations instead of a sum of money would encourage the younger alumni to donate more, even if in small amounts. Loosigian went on to explain the success of these ideas.“I think [highlighting specific Exonians] was another key to our success. You could say that The Exeter Fund is important because it is 8 percent of the operating budget, and it allows us to do things that are extra special,” Loosigian said.  “That’s a pretty generic statement. So putting a ‘human face’ to philanthropy, that’s what’s going to interest most alumni, parents, grandparents. It’s real. It’s not hypothetical.”

“I think [highlighting specific Exonians] was another key to our success. You could say that The Exeter Fund is important because it is 8 percent of the operating budget, and it allows us to do things that are extra special.”

Members of the Academy community who shared a piece of their lives experienced similar motivations to the fundraising administration for helping with the event. Senior Lazaro Cesar explained what The Exeter Fund meant to him.“Coming from an urban city such as Las Vegas and coming from a family that doesn't have a strong educational or financial background helps emphasize the importance the Exeter Fund has not just for me, but for students at the Academy who have similar backgrounds,” he said.  “Quite frankly, if there was no Exeter Fund, there would be no way that I would be going to a private institution such as this one.”Cesar went on to say how his understanding of the fund’s importance inspired him to help with the event. “I was willing to share my story because I wanted to inform the donors how their contributions have changed my life for the better,” he said. “After everything they have done for me, they at least deserve that much. They deserve to hear personal stories because it's reassuring that their donations are indeed benefiting the people in the PEA community.”Like Cesar, science instructor Richard Aaronian was inspired to reflect on how The Exeter Fund has contributed to his life. As the longest-tenured faculty member at the Academy, Aaronian was able to recognize many special opportunities The Exeter Fund has provided him during his 44 years here, mainly sabbaticals. “The fund for sabbaticals comes from our really generous alumni support,” Aaronian said. “I think we have an incredible alumni network who, I think, appreciate what they received when they were students here and now want to give back in a number of ways.”Senior Natasha Lim, also reflected back on her time at Exeter and the change it has brought to her life. “This forced me to really stop and think about my time here in Exeter,” she said.  “Despite the ups and downs that come with the Exeter experience, I realized that I have changed in ways I could never have imagined. As much as we complain about the workload or lack of sleep, Exeter pushes us to be better students, friends and people.”