Posted on February 1, 2011

George School Announces $30 Million Bequest

The George School, a Quaker boarding and day school in Newtown, Pennsylvania, has announced a $30 million unrestricted bequest from alumna ('50) Barbara Dodd Anderson.

Roughly half the gift will be added to the school's endowment, with the income it generates used to boost faculty and staff compensation into the top quartile among its peer institutions. The remaining funds will be used to jump-start a $25 million fundraising campaign for new athletic facilities. With the gift, the school — which had already started working to design a new track and field complex, explore further investments in its equestrian center facilities and equipment, and complete the schematic phase for a new sports center — hopes to revise the scope of and timelines for the projects.

"Barbara Dodd Anderson's bequest is...recognition of the power of the school's mission and the important place that George School holds in the Newtown Friends School community," said head of school Nancy Starmer. "Our excitement about the gift and what it makes possible for George School is offset only by the deep sadness that we feel at the loss of a true friend and a humble and generous spirit who once again repaid the kindness and inspiration she found at George School in an extraordinary way."