This week, Mr. Doug Mann discusses the generations of support that TCS, and its students, have directly benefitted from. At TCS since 2007, Mr. Mann is TCS’s executive director - philanthropy & alumni.
Written by guest blogger, Doug Mann
I am occasionally asked if there is a culture of philanthropy at Trinity College School. My response is always an emphatic “yes,” and I prove my point with a TCS history lesson.
Our philanthropic culture rebuilt the campus following fires that leveled the School in 1895 and again in 1928. The School has literally risen from the ashes twice thanks to the generous support of alumni, parents and staff. No government grants built our exceptional campus. The TCS community made it happen. This philanthropic culture extends to the modern era and is equally as impactful.
Among many other special events and initiatives marking TCS’s 150th anniversary in 2015, the School launched a major fundraising campaign in 2010 that ran until 2017. A total of 1,610 alumni, parents, friends and staff donated $48.7 million via gifts ranging from $100 to $9.5 million. These gifts more than doubled the School’s financial assistance endowment and funded new and renovated spaces with the visual arts wing (2011), Cirne Hall (2015) and the Arnold Massey ’55 Athletic Centre (2017). These improvements impact all students, every day of the school year.
But what prompted these generous gifts to the School? How was this incredible amount of $48.7 million raised? The majority of donations came from TCS alumni and (current and past) parents who responded to letters or emails from the School, asking them to make TCS one of their charitable priorities. Other donations were part of fundraising events, such as Taste of Trinity, or resulted from alumni classes coming together to celebrate a milestone reunion. The School was also very fortunate to receive a number of major estate gifts, many in support of bursaries. Finally, a number of alumni and parents made extraordinary major gifts; if you walk through our campus, you will see donor names gracing offices, meeting rooms, gymnasiums and buildings in celebration of some of these gifts.
Looking ahead, TCS will launch a new fundraising campaign in the fall of 2024. We are still in the planning phases but our direction is outlined in The Strategic Plan for Trinity College School 2020-2026. First, we will make the School more accessible to more families through additional bursaries and scholarships. Second, we will plan renovations to our historic buildings to attract and retain mission appropriate students and faculty, while reducing operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
At the time of the School’s 150th anniversary, Head of Trinity College School Stuart Grainger received a generous donation which greatly assisted the School in being able to commence construction on the new athletic centre. A testament to the culture of philanthropy that our community has benefitted from for generations, the donation came with a simple handwritten message that read, “Thank you for the opportunity.”
In the fall of 2024, as we kick off a new fundraising opportunity, I am confident that the TCS community of alumni, past and current parents, and staff will once again come together and generously support the students and the future of Trinity College School.
