We are now entering a phase in Olney's history where we have an opportunity to take the longer view and create a lasting positive legacy for the school.

The time has come for us to accomplish this through investment in the school's permanent endowment and enhancement of existing buildings. The A Time to Build comprehensive campaign gives Olney's supporters the first opportunity in decades to invest in capital campus improvements and an endowment with the capacity to provide significant support to the school in the 21st Century.

We are extremely excited to be planning construction of the Olney Friends School Activity Center. The new environmentally friendly, "green" Activity Center will be an inviting campus centerpiece that will house a new gymnasium and function as a multi-purpose community gathering and classroom space. Those familiar with the school's current gym understand that this project is long overdue. It is the first new construction project on the Olney Friends School campus since the girls dorm was completed in 1968. more info

Over the course of the last six years, the trustees have engaged in both short-term strategic planning as well as long-term campus planning. Input solicited from staff, board members, students and their families helped us establish priorities and a vision for first priority improvements.

During the past four years Olney Friends School has received donations of over $3.6 million for the A Time to Build Campaign. Many loyal Olney supporters have participated and we are very grateful for their investments in A Time to Build Campaign goals.

The economy has had an impact on the Campaign, just as it has on similar efforts across the world of independent schools. The Olney Board of Trustees approved a year-long extension of the A Time to Build Campaign, through December 31, 2011, including a revision of the goal to $4.5 million.

During the final year of the Campaign the focus will be on Main Building exterior restoration, gifts to Endowment and increased gifts to the Annual Fund.

Months of planning for a new Activity Center have produced architectural and engineering drawings, ready for the bidding process when sufficient funds are realized for construction. True to Olney Friends School’s core values, the Board of Trustees and school administrators are clear that this is not a time to borrow money in order to begin building. Efforts will continue to find further funding sources to see a new Activity Center accomplished.