St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, had an abiding faith in the power of education to transform students’ lives. Writing to Philip II of Spain in 1556, the early Jesuits expressed themselves clearly: “All the well-being of Christianity and of the whole world depends on the proper education of youth.” Ignatius desired that Jesuits run tuition-free schools available to all students who were qualified—”for everybody, poor and rich.”
It is in the tradition of St. Ignatius Loyola that Fordham Prep offers a limited number of full-tuition, merit-based scholarships. A growing endowment will allow us to expand this number—exponentially growing our support for truly exceptional students, and advancing the school’s strategic initiatives for the next 10 years.
The Prep will also grow its endowment to provide financial assistance to an increased number of qualified students from families with modest means. Our current endowment, while healthy, only generates a portion of the funds needed to support the demand for student aid. Increased investment in our endowment will exponentially increase access to a values-based, Catholic education for young men in perpetuity. A diverse applicant pool will benefit from the fortification of the one hundred and fourteen individual endowment funds that comprise Fordham Prep’s total endowment fund. This is the center of the Prep’s endowment target. The availability of additional tuition scholarships will make the difference between a student’s attending Fordham Prep—or even applying—and never having the opportunity to live the Prep experience.
Fordham Prep is also investing in an expansion of The Recruiting Excellence in Academics for Catholic High Schools Program (REACH), which seeks to identify, engage and prepare gifted Catholic young men in the 5th grade of area schools whose families have limited financial resources to qualify for merit scholarships. REACH helps to offset the cost for students with limited financial resources to attend Fordham Prep.
Increasing endowment levels ties directly to the Prep’s Strategic Plan, our goals as an institution, our Ignatian values, and our need to serve all socio-economic communities.
Igniting Our Mission 