Each year Woodberry receives such generous gifts from a wide range of people — alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty, and staff — that the size of the Amici Fund, and the impact it has on the school and its people, can feel abstract.
Perhaps it would help to think of the Amici Fund this way: without the gifts Woodberry receives through Amici, dozens of students would not be able to attend the school because donors collectively fund nearly $2 million in need-based scholarships each year. Without gifts to Amici, the school would have fewer faculty and staff, meaning fewer people working each day to ensure every boy is known, challenged, and loved. Maintaining seven miles of Perimeter Trail, a mountain biking course, and great fishing spots around campus might not be possible. Life-changing programs such as Expedition Week or DC Day would be scaled back or not held at all.
In short, without the Amici Fund, Woodberry might not be the place students come to love so much. This past year, the Amici Fund received $4.15 million, the second-largest amount in school history; dollars given by alumni were the highest ever. This incredible result came from across the community, with an astounding twenty-one classes setting a record for most dollars contributed.
In all, more than 99 percent of current parents made a gift, as did more than 62 percent of solicitable alumni, marking a decade straight of alumni participation above 60 percent.
The extraordinarily broad support for Woodberry is stewarded by a network of more than five hundred parent and alumni volunteers who work to rally their peers. Without their energy and enthusiasm, the Amici Fund would not be able to deliver the same level of impact it does each year.
Continuing an eleven-year streak, the class of 1963 led the way in contributions, donating $154,838. The class of 1966 followed closely, and the class of 1988 was in third place.
The class of 1982 achieved the highest participation level of any class, exceeding 94 percent, and the classes of 1969, 1975, and 1951 all exceeded 90 percent. Five other classes — 1964, 1967, 2006, 1965, and 1954 — exceeded 80 percent participation.
OneWoodberry, held February 27, was again a major celebration for the entire Tiger Nation. By the end of the day, the Amici Fund total for the year stood at nearly $3.6 million, the highest ever at the end of a OneWoodberry day, with gifts from more than 3,350 donors.
Hundreds of Tigers gathered at events organized by regional chapters around the country. On campus, volunteers including Joseph Beal ’21 and Bob Hudson ’73 worked the phones to rally classmates, while Courtney Little ’91 taught a sixth-form English class, met with student clubs, and even started writing a song with some current students.
OneWoodberry is a day when thousands of Tigers rally in support of the school. But the long-lasting financial impact of gifts to the Amici Fund made both on that day and throughout the year is immense, shaping every facet of school life and supporting the students, faculty, and staff.