This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
A Class of 2013 Endowment Fund has been established using the $45,429.90 raised from last year’s Senior Parent Appreciation Gift (SPAG).
It was parents from Harker’s first upper school graduating class who established the now annual tradition of SPAG, where parents make a gift in appreciation of the time their child has spent at Harker and the education they have received.
In past years, any incremental giving to the annual giving campaign over and above what a family had given during the previous year went to fund a beautification project on campus. Starting last year, SPAG funds go towards establishing a class fund that becomes part of the general endowment.
If the parents of graduating seniors choose to make a gift of $2,014 or more, their children receive bricks inscribed with their names permanently placed in Graduates’ Grove on the upper school campus, installed at a ceremony in the spring. Gifts for senior bricks also count for SPAG.
According to the advancement office, alumni and alumni parents are encouraged to contribute to their class funds going forward, not just for their senior years.