Founder’s Day for Scholars is an annual fundraiser to support financial aid. Formerly called 48 Hours for Scholars and, before that, A Night for Scholars, this fundraiser encourages our community to continue its support of a financial aid program that is one of the most generous in the Washington, DC, area. Sidwell Friends School provides financial support for 23 percent of our students, and this is only possible with your annual support, which provides the foundation we need to meet our goals and live our values.
This year, Founder’s Day for Scholars Giving Day will take place on Thursday, April 24, and our goal is $650,000. On Wednesday, April 23, we will come together as a community to celebrate the impact of financial aid and kick off Giving Day, and we hope to see you there. This will be an in-person, ticketed community celebration.
Founder’s Day has always been the one day each year when students from all three divisions come together in community. Now it’s your turn to join us and help us live our Quaker values. We look forward to your participation and we hope to see you at the event!
In-Person Event
Tickets
Make a Gift
Board of Trustees Challenge
Thanks to a generous challenge by several members of the Board of Trustees, all gifts received by our Giving Day on April 24 will be matched up to a total of $50,000. Giving early will double the impact of your support for financial aid to ensure that a Sidwell Friends education is accessible to the most talented students in the Washington, DC, area, regardless of their families’ ability to pay.
GIVING DAY
April 24, 2025 will be a special day for the Sidwell Friends community. It is a day when we ask our community to come together and make an impact for Sidwell Friends students. We have set an ambitious goal of raising $650,000 total in support of financial aid.
Help us spread the word by becoming an advocate for the digital campaign.
Contact
Amanda Meter
Senior Director of Individual Giving
metera@sidwell.edu
Dana Saab
Director of Annual Giving
saabd@sidwell.edu
Rebecca Sproul-Gushue
Assistant Director of Annual Giving
sproulgushuer@sidwell.edu
He learned by doing
and taught by being.
Founder’s Day honors Thomas W. Sidwell, who, in 1883, opened the institution we now know as Sidwell Friends School. From its humble beginnings, with seven students in a back room of a Quaker meeting house on Eye Street, the school grew in size and stature during his long stewardship, which ended upon his death in 1936. His legacy of integrity, ambition, and innovation lives on and today, 140 years after its founding, Sidwell Friends is a leader in educating ethical, forward-looking students who will take on the challenges of tomorrow. We remember him each spring on Founder’s Day.
Sponsorships
Leadership & Sponsors
LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
Allison Alexander and Gregory Coleman P ’25, ’29
JeanAne Hecht and Jonathan Hecht P '27, '29
Shannon Hill P '23, '27
Jennie McConagha and William McConagha ’85, P ’27, ’30, ’32
Belinda Nixon and Gregory Nixon P ’17, ’23
Janie Song and David Song P ’21, ’24, ’26
Sonia Talley and Christopher Talley P '37
Jennifer Wood and Michael Wood Jr. ’93, P ’21, ’23, ’29, ’32
SPONSORS
Anonymous Allison Alexander and Gregory Coleman P ’25, ’29Moina Banerjee and Amol Tripathi P '34
Susan Bralove and Steven Bralove ’60, P ’89, ’92, GP ’23, ’26, ’29
Lily Brown and Carter Brown P ’22, ’24
Alida Boer Reyes and Jason Carroll '96
Shelia Cheston and Graham Dower P '22, '25
Sherry Dadgar and Ehsan Nobakht P '34
Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan P '25
Remy Albertson and Ryan Drant P ’25, ’27, ’29
Holly Geist and Rudolph Geist P '29, '30, '33
Brittany Toscano-Gore ’03 and Albert Gore III ’01, P ’36, ‘37
Jamie Hechinger '96 and Jay Klug P '27, P'29
JeanAne Hecht and Jonathan Hecht P '27, '29
Fiona Hill and Kenneth Keen P '25
Shannon Hill P '23, '27
Kevin Johnson ’91
Michelle Joubran and David Joubran P ’24, ’28
Akemi Kawano-Levine and David Levine P ’30
M. Monique McCloud-Manley and Kwame Manley P ’24, ’28
Jennie McConagha and William McConagha ’85, P ’27, ’30, ’32
Charis Menschel P ’25, ’27, ’29
Cynthia W. Miller ’94
Tanaz Moghadam and Patrick Taurel P '35
Belinda Nixon and Gregory Nixon P ’17, ’23
Channing Paller ’97 and Brian Toll P ’35, ‘38
Kat Peters and Whit Peters P '87, '95, '98, '24, '25
Anjali Prakash and Gautam Prakash ’87, P ’22, ’25
Tara Primis and Craig Primis P ’18, ’20, ’23
Carol Quillian P '89, '98, GP '32, '38
Nicole Janin Sheehan ’85 and Andrew Sheehan
Tina Small and Albert Small Jr. ’74, P ’09, ’10
Namrita Sodhi and Manpreet Singh P '36
Janie Song and David Song P ’21, ’24, ’26
Sonia Talley and Christopher Talley P '37
Rima Toukan and Mario Toukan P '27
Sha Wang P ’34 and Joseph Wang ’34
Jennifer Wood and Michael Wood Jr. ’93, P ’21, ’23, ’29, ’32
Judith Wood and Michael Wood P '93, '96, GP '21, '23, '29, '32
Eva Zhang and Mike Liu P '36
*as of February 20, 2025