Impact Report

Dear McGillis Families and Friends,

 

Last year, we shared our first Impact Report, a celebration of our kehilah’s philanthropy and its positive impact on The McGillis School. In this report, we are pleased to share how 2024/2025 was a historic year for giving at McGillis!

 

For years, we have created momentum towards the school year we just experienced. From Back to School Nights and Magpie Markets to Trivia Nights and private concerts at Red Butte, our gatherings have sustained our community’s culture, deepened our connection, and made us stronger. Along the way, our understanding of philanthropy has also grown. We know that giving to something we care about deeply—our children’s school—is a worthy and influential way to help it flourish and thrive.

 

2024/2025 was a year of Growing Together, the name of our capital campaign—just the second campaign in the School’s history and the first since 2010. This campaign was rooted in four main goals: 1) improve our outdoor spaces, including adding a new field, playground, and outdoor classrooms; 2) support the acquisition of West Campus; 3) bring TLC classes into our Main Building; and 4) enhance campus safety and security.

 

Donations poured in at every level from every corner of our kehilah, including students who gave their coins and dollar bills. By mid-June, just one year after our campaign launch, 421 donors propelled us beyond our $5.2M goal! Along the way, we had quality time with our families—past and present—and they shared some of the most inspiring McGillis stories we have ever heard.

 

In addition to Growing Together and the totals you’ll see below, our Endowment reached a record high, thanks to receiving the final installment from Joanne McGillis and additional Endowment gifts.

 

We are extremely proud of our historic year of giving, but we can’t stop there. Your ongoing philanthropic support is critical for the ongoing success of our school. The McGillis mission, vision, and values have never mattered more. We embrace diversity and inclusion, and our teachers and curriculum foster curiosity, independent thinking, and a joy of learning. 

 

When we give to make the institution better, we are collectively making a difference in our world. We hope that as you read through this Impact Report, you will feel as amazed and grateful as we are to be a part of this great school, its important mission, and our impressive kehilah. 

 

Let’s celebrate! We hope you can visit us soon and see for yourself the difference that giving has made for McGillis.

 

With appreciation,

 

Jim Brewer Head of School Parent of Finn '21 & Lucy '23			Cory Sinclair Chair, Board of Trustees Parent of Adam '19 & Violet '26