The Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel—Concord Academy’s “House of Stories”—holds special meaning for the CA community. Our donor recognition circles tell the story of how the Chapel was built and how, through the work of many hands, it became the heart of our school.
Every year, Concord Academy’s Annual Fund is built anew. Within the framework of the Chapel, we recognize our loyal annual donors and underscore the Annual Fund’s importance as a cornerstone for this school.
5+ YEARS OF CONSECUTIVE GIVING
We gather in the Chapel, CA’s “house of stories,” to share and to listen.
Members of the Storytellers Society have made gifts to the Annual Fund for five or more consecutive years, helping CA continue its own story.
$1–$1,921
The first step in bringing the Chapel to CA was moving it, board by board and beam by beam, from Barnstead, N.H., to Concord, Mass.
Members of our Movers Circle make important gifts that move CA forward together.
$1,922–$4,999
After the Chapel was relocated to CA, it had to be rebuilt.
Much like the Chapel’s original builders, the members of our Framers Circle construct a framework for success for CA.
$5,000–$9,999
Once CA began using the Chapel in May 1957, 20 students, under the tutelage of teacher Molly Gregory, began creating the carvings we know so well.
Through their generosity, our Carvers transform the Annual Fund with gifts that allow students to create their own unique CA journeys.
$10,000–$24,999
In October 1961, the steeple was added to the Chapel to honor all whose memory lives on at Concord Academy.
Our Steeple Raisers are leadership donors and difference makers. Their combined support significantly changes the composition of the Annual Fund, just as the steeple reshaped CA’s Chapel.
$25,000–$49,999
The bell was installed in the Chapel in 1962, completing the six-year building project.
Ringing across campus, it reminds us of what it takes to make CA the special community it is. Our Bell Ringers’ gifts to the Annual Fund sound their support for the school—a peal that all can hear.
$50,000+
A single lantern above the Chapel’s doorway guides students, faculty, staff, parents, alums, and friends of CA inside.
Our Lamplighters are our guides, our visionaries, and our believers. Their support for the Annual Fund illuminates the way for us all.
2010–2014: $500+
2015–2019: $250+
2019–2024: $100+
The Senior Steps, across the Academy Garden from the Chapel, have long been a place for reflection and transition.
Young alums in our Senior Steps Circle demonstrate their belief in the value of a CA education and inspire a new generation of support for CA.
heartwood society
In June 1957, the carving of 1 Corinthians, verses 1 through 8, was installed in the Chapel. Over the course of a year, students had chiseled each letter in pine heartwood, taken from the dense inner core of the tree. Strong and particularly resistant, this material ensured that these words would remain a fixture at CA.
Our Heartwood Society members have named Concord Academy in their estate plans or made planned gifts or bequests to the school, preserving their belief in CA’s mission and extending their support into the school’s next century.
Shep Shepard
Director of Major and Planned Giving
Concord Academy
166 Main Street
Concord, MA 01742
(978) 402-2258
shep_shepard@concordacademy.org