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I have two very exciting announcements for the entire community.
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First, Harker alumnus and DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang ’10 has gifted $10 million to The Harker School to establish The Alumni Scholarship Endowment Fund. As some of you know, Andy co-founded DoorDash in 2013 with Stanford University classmates Evan Moore, Stanley Tang and Tony Xu. Their company went public in December 2020.
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This new fund will create a permanent legacy here at Harker to provide need-based financial aid to students who qualify for admission, but otherwise could not afford tuition and fees. It will support Harker’s commitment to diversity at the school.
In Andy’s words: “A great education is one of the best ways to even the playing field for underprivileged kids. I hope this endowment can help families from underserved communities achieve the American dream.”
Andy cited his experience at Harker as a motivating force. “With my philanthropy, I was looking to focus first on an institution that I knew could help the community, based on my personal experiences,” he said. “I’m thankful for the education I received at Harker, and I want to provide a way for more students to get access to Harker’s world-class education.”
Andy’s efforts to improve access to a Harker education is inspiring. He is doing something of profound impact for the school, and his vision, forethought and overwhelming generosity will have a significant effect on Harker and the community for generations to come.
Harker Board of Trustees chair and alumnus Albert Zecher, Jr. ’87 shared his deep appreciation: “Andy’s commitment to creating this historic endowment for scholarships at Harker is inspiring. As a young alumnus, his philanthropy is especially laudable.”
Increasing Harker’s endowment is an important goal of our strategic plan, and Kim Lobe, director of advancement, notes the long-term impact of this historic gift. “Andy established this Alumni Scholarship Endowment fund to inspire others to join him in giving to this very worthy cause. We couldn’t be more grateful, and we are excited to see others join Andy’s efforts in expanding scholarship opportunities.”
The second exciting announcement is that because of Andy’s transformational gift, we are now in the position to launch the public phase of our 125th Anniversary Gift Initiative, which was initiated when we celebrated our 125th anniversary in 2018.
Read more about our exciting 125th Anniversary Gift Initiative and how you can join the efforts to fund our strategic plan here. Read a message about the plan from our board of trustee chair.
A gift of exceptional generosity from an alumnus like Andy reminds me that it’s the “secret sauce” of our faculty and staff at Harker that makes this possible. Our faculty and staff establish relationships early on with their students by encouraging them to follow their dreams and know their possibilities are limitless. And with Andy’s gift, and his true appreciation of his Harker education, we celebrate our entire faculty and staff and their commitment to our students.
Once again, we are grateful for Andy’s vision and generosity, and for the historic impact this endowment will have on Harker and its students.
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Brian Yager, Head of School
The Harker School
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Copyright © The Harker School 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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