The GIFT Campaign
Grow ·Invest ·Form ·Transform
Forming Saints & Scholars for Generations to Come
“Every good and perfect gift is from above.” — James 1:17
Make Your Gift
Every gift builds what endures.
Your gift sustains the teachers, the sacramental life, and the small classrooms that form Aquinas students — and it builds a permanent foundation for the future.
Independent 501(c)(3) · Gifts are tax-deductible · EIN 84-2997990
Prefer to mail a check? Aquinas Classical Academy, PO Box 2422, Bremerton, WA 98310
Ways to Give
Two Ways to Build the Future
One is forever; one is right now. Both build the same future.
Invest · Tomorrow
Guardian Legacy Endowment
$25M vision · permanent
A permanent endowment across seven named categories that funds teachers and scholarships for generations to come. The principal is never spent.
Grow · Today
Guardian Sustaining Fund
$2.5M over five years
Near-term operating support that sustains teacher salaries and financial aid as the school grows to full enrollment. Every dollar goes to work this year.
Building a Legacy
Named Endowment Opportunities
Seven named categories, $25 million in total. Naming opportunities are available at every level — each a permanent source of support for future generations.
The Catholic Educator
$7.5M
Twelve Named Full Scholarships
$5M
Twelve Named Partial Scholarships
$3.5M
Latin Faculty
$2.5M
Art Faculty
$2.5M
Performing Arts Faculty
$2.5M
Teacher Professional Development
$1.5M
The Framework
What GIFT Means
G
Grow the mission
More sections, more faithful teachers, and room for the families already asking.
I
Invest in the future
A permanent endowment so the school no longer depends on the generosity of one year.
F
Form the whole person
Faith, reason, and virtue taught as one thing, by teachers who believe what the Church believes.
T
Transform generations
Priests, religious, spouses, parents, and civic leaders formed on the Kitsap Peninsula.
The Moment — A Proven School at a Pivotal Point
56
students, grades 9–12
32
alumni, three classes
3
discerning the priesthood
12
to Newman Guide colleges
Why Aquinas
What a Student Finds Here
Rooted in Christ
Every subject points to the true, the good, and the beautiful. Every teacher is a teacher of the faith.
Sacramental access
Daily Mass, frequent confession, adoration, and priests on the Holy Trinity campus.
Small classes, 12–15
Socratic seminars where students engage primary sources, defend conclusions, and everyone is known.
Human, low-tech culture
Phones at the front desk. Swing dancing, football, and real conversation at lunch.
The Fruit
~1 in 10
graduates discerning the priesthood — all three accepted to Mount Angel Seminary
“We’re already bearing fruit — even though we’re still a work in progress. The community being formed, the kids graduating: it’s really happening.”
Fr. Lappe, Pastor, Our Lady Star of the Sea
The Need
Built on tuition, generosity, and sacrifice
This is not a request to rescue a struggling institution. It is an invitation to strengthen a flourishing one by laying a foundation for continued tuition support, revenue growth, and fair compensation for our teachers.
The gap per student
$8,900 vs. ~$16,300
Tuition is deliberately set below the true cost of educating a student, so families can say yes. Donors close the difference, every year, for every child.
Revenue growth
$487K → $889K
Revenue has nearly doubled in five years, carried by the Benefit Brunch, the Guardian Fund appeal, and early endowment gifts. Generous — but not recurring, and not predictable enough to hire against.
Teacher compensation
Below market
Many teachers serve at below-market pay. Even a salary approaching $60,000 falls short of what it takes to recruit and keep excellent, faithful educators supporting families in the Pacific Northwest. Their sacrifice is a witness — it cannot be the staffing model.
“If a teacher is called to teach, that teacher should be able to answer the call without compromising the ability to provide for a family.”
John Boyle, Executive Director
The Vision
The Path to 2031
Enrollment
56 → 120
Faculty
8.4 → 14 FTE
Tuition
$8,900 → $12,500
Endowment
$260K → $25M
✓ Independent 501(c)(3), governed by its own board
✓ NAPCIS accredited (2024)
✓ Board finance committee
✓ Full transparency and annual review
The Invitation
Help form saints and scholars
You are invited to join a thriving school that is forming young men and women in a holy atmosphere that promotes humility and human flourishing. We invite you to prayerfully consider a transformational gift that will make the school accessible to anyone, sustain the teachers who make it possible, and preserve a vibrant Catholic culture on the Peninsula for generations.
Include Aquinas in your estate plan
A bequest costs nothing today and endows a teacher or a scholarship forever. Suggested language:
“I give and bequeath ____ to Aquinas Classical Academy, a Washington nonprofit corporation, EIN 84-2997990, of Bremerton, Washington, for its general purposes.”
Prefer to mail a check?
Aquinas Classical Academy
PO Box 2422
Bremerton, WA 98310
Talk with us
John Boyle, Executive Director
360.620.9622
boylej@aquinasclassical.com