4/18/25 - Update
Dear Friends,
I am writing tonight (this morning? ) to tell you, if you have not heard, we have 15 million. 15. million. 1-5 million.
Fifteen million dollars were pledged and backed in three days. I know nothing about campaign funding (did I mention here yet that I am a pediatric occupational therapist by trade?), but I am told by the experts that this kind of fundraising happens over years.
I cannot stress this enough; you hear it all the time, but it is true: no amount is insignificant. And we are not done. We have a no-limit, abundance mindset with pledges because we have large goals beyond saving SSFS from the brink of being turned into a golf course or mixed-use development. Can you imagine? Imagine what it would mean to have an endowment that can ebb and flow with the world's inevitable changes and the needs of its students and community. Okay, you get the idea: please continue to spread the word about the Coalition and pledging. Here is the form.
Soon, we will start asking you to put your pledge in writing, and the next part of what I am going to say is really important. I need you to stick with me now, and I need you to dig down deep to stay rooted and grounded in facts, not stories, because I need something critical right now: trust.
Our Coalition leaders have promised, and I have promised, that we will not blindly hand over pledges with how things are currently done and without significant governance leadership changes at SSFS. We have not changed our position on that, nor will we change our position.
Now that money is not a barrier (but don't stop pledging!), we focus on the second phase, which started two days ago when we started engaging with the Board. I need you to begin preparing for these next few days, calling deeply on trusting us no matter what and ignoring narratives or stories you might hear from others who aren't ready to do so, or even those we tell ourselves to try and make sense of what we don't know. I need you to trust because our team is handling this for your children, for the parents, for the faculty and staff, for the alumni, for the parents of alumni, and for the community that cares deeply about our school.
They know what is at stake, and they are also one of you, and they haven't slept in days for the students, for this future. I have known most of them my entire life. Our team has had your back from the beginning, and we continue to have it. They are so incredibly brilliant, and they know what they are doing when working with the Board at SSFS.
Communication builds trust. Every day and every night, I have written to you when no one else has. So, as we move into the next few days, let the communication speak for trust. If you find yourself wavering because of something you hear or read, please return to this email, refresh yourself with our purpose (attached), and hang tight with us in trust.
Shoutouts
Rob Jones '00 for stepping up how we need every.single.time. Our sage. We met when we were 10 on that beautiful SSFS campus, and I can't believe I am lucky enough to share this lifetime with you.
Jamie England (parent) for hearing our convictions, supporting us all in uniting, and herding us cats. Incredible work. So many can learn from you, and I have already started.
Craig Ruppert for modeling the way of kind, respectful, and steady leadership. The truest gem.
We got this, we got you.
Heather '00
Coalition Team
Friends of Sandy Spring Friends School