Donors who contributed to the construction of Park City High School’s new career and technical education wing and a districtwide endowment fund will soon be honored with an art installation in the high school’s lobby.
Park City Education Foundation President and CEO Ingrid Whitley said the installation will list the names of people who donated to the nonprofit’s Reaching New Heights campaign. The campaign raised approximately $350,000 to help with the construction of the high school’s new wing, but its focus was creating an endowment fund.
“Many other larger institutions, like universities, have endowments,” Whitley said. “There are several other education foundations across the country as well that either have endowments or are working on growing endowments.”
Whitley said the Park City Education Foundation raised around $6.7 million through donations and legacy contributions, which are funds released to the endowment through a donor’s estate after an individual dies. The Park City School District will leave the principal endowment amount untouched, but the district will have access to any accrued interest.
“This gave us the opportunity to be a little more strategic with our fundraising and to be more forward-thinking about possibilities in the long term,” Whitley said. “There were a couple of other, bigger initiatives that happened at the same time, like the bond that funded the expansion at the high school and a few of the elementary schools. … That’s where we came in with the funding for (career and technical education) supplies.”
Kerry Bedell, the Education Foundation’s managing director of advancement, said the nonprofit wanted to honor Reaching New Heights donors because the campaign was its first successful multiyear fundraising effort.
“It’s a special moment,” Bedell said. “There are 40 years of history here. There are incredible donors across Park City who have supported today’s immediate classroom needs, and then those who donated to the Reaching New Heights campaign took it a step further and established this first endowment fund that will ensure the support of our mission going forward and well into the future.”
Whitley said the nonprofit approached the donor wall as if it were an art installation. Preliminary renderings of the display show colorful, minimalist mountains, with names on the right-hand side and a plaque with information on the Park City Education Foundation on the left-hand side.
“It’s to honor donors who gave to a time-bound endeavor, and it will hopefully inspire future generosity and build a culture of philanthropy in our community,” Whitley said. “I don’t know how many people … realize that private philanthropy also supports our public schools, so I think having a visible reminder of that as families and community members enter the high school is an opportunity for our community.”
The nonprofit is coordinating with the school district to install the donor wall, and Whitley said she expects to host a ribbon-cutting event in January.