NDA receives historic $11 million contribution

GREEN BAY – The Norbertine Order announced two transformative gifts to Notre Dame Academy (NDA) last week totaling a historic $11 million, including $10 million to the Premonstratensian Fathers Endowment for the benefit of NDA and $1 million to the school’s Investing in the Future capital campaign.

“They’ve always been great supporters of our school and they’ve supported us throughout the years,” said NDA President Amy Ott. “It just happens to be that this particular gift to the endowment and to the capital campaign is one of the largest we’ve received in our history and it really helps set Notre Dame up for long-term health as we make improvements to our facilities and as we prepare for the future.”

The $10 million endowment gift will be invested permanently, with the principal preserved and annual earnings used to support the school’s mission, meaning this gift from the Norbertine Order will continue to serve students, faculty and staff at Notre Dame for years to come.

“That, to me, is the way of the future of schools like ours that have to always work to cover that gap between what we charge for tuition and what the actual cost is to operate our school,” Ott said. “Things like endowments help fill that gap… We have this source of consistent income to support our students and programming for our faculty, staff and students over the long term… We want to make sure we have great teachers in our building and that they have the resources they need. Endowments help us ensure that we can continue to offer that excellent education to our students, to our families and to our community that they deserve and that they’ve been used to over the years. [Endowments] really help create that consistent source of help.”

Endowment earnings, Ott said, go towards making sure that students have what they need to be successful.

“Part of the goal is to help improve academic achievement,” she said. “We have a pretty robust students services department — that means that in addition to the amazing teachers in the classroom, we have teachers available to help improve academic performance. If, maybe, some students come in that aren’t necessarily at a high school level, there’s a reading interventionist or a math interventionist. We have learning resource teachers as well who help students who have been identified with some additional issues to give them the support they need. And we’re making sure we have high-level courses for our academic high-achievers in the building. [The endowment] makes sure that the resources are there to support not only our high-achieving students, but also students who need additional support to get up to being college-ready when they walk out the door.”

The additional $1 million contribution to the capital campaign will support the completion of the Tuition Assistance Endowment as well as renovations to various classrooms throughout the building.

“We’re actually just wrapping up a $10 million capital campaign that’s been going on for almost two years — [the Norbertines] helped us meet our phase one goal with that million dollar gift,” Ott said. “Last summer, we improved some of our exterior facilities, so we improved our stadium with new turf because it was time to replace that, a new track and a new tennis court and also improved safety in the building… Next summer, a lot of the funds in that million dollar gift were to support classroom improvement, so we’re going to be doing probably about eight of our classrooms. We did one last year like a model classroom, so we’ll be starting to update some of the original sections of our building from the 1950s and improve those to what’s needed in this day and age in a classroom… We’ll also be able to fill some additional endowments to support maintenance of the building, our faculty and staff endowment and our tuition assistance endowment.”

These gifts, according to a press release from NDA, reflect the long-standing relationship between the Norbertine community and NDA since its founding in 1990 and demonstrate their confidence in NDA’s mission and the importance of Catholic education in the Green Bay community.

“This extraordinary generosity is an expression of faith in the future of Notre Dame Academy,” said Abbot Dane J. Radecki, O. Praem, in the release. “From the earliest days, we have believed in the power of Catholic education to form young people of character, compassion, and service. These gifts reaffirm our enduring partnership with Notre Dame Academy and our shared mission to serve God and neighbor through education.”

In addition to supporting NDA, the Norbertine Order also made a recent $15 million commitment to its endowment for St. Norbert College (SNC) to support the college’s annual operating budget in perpetuity.

“This gift is an investment in the future of our shared mission. For more than a century, the Norbertine Order has sponsored St. Norbert College as its higher education apostolate,” Radecki said in a press release from SNC. “This commitment reaffirms our deep conviction that Catholic, liberal arts education rooted in our Norbertine heritage transforms lives and will continue to flourish. We entrust these funds with a spirit of love and confidence in the impactful work of the College today and for generations to follow.”

“We are profoundly grateful for this extraordinary gift,” said President Laurie Joyner. “This bold commitment from the Norbertines is a strong vote of confidence in SNC’s direction and future. We will honor it through effective stewardship, ensuring that it has a positive impact on our community. We have integrated our Catholic and Norbertine identity across the College and strengthened our academic offerings, operations and financial position. Yet, this is a pivotal moment for all of higher education, and we invite others to join us on this journey.”