branksome makeway

WHEN WE INNOVATE THEIR EDUCATION, THEY REIMAGINE THE FUTURE… THEIR WAY

It’s time to Make Way. Branksome students are coming through. Join us so they can break barriers, balance scales, shatter ceilings, blaze trails and challenge the status quo. Thanks to your support they’ll be calling the shots, their way.
 
Support The Campaign  Name a Stepping Stone

MAKE WAY: Branksome Hall’s Most Ambitious Campaign for Girls’ Education

In September 2023, Branksome Hall launched the largest campaign in its 120-year history, with an unprecedented goal of $30M and three funding pillars. In an era of unprecedented disruption, we're transforming education delivery and preparing our students for success in the digitally driven workplaces of tomorrow. The centrepiece? The new Innovation Centre and Studio Theatre (iCAST).
WHAT IS iCAST?

iCAST is a 34,458 square-foot facility where arts and STEM will flourish in unprecedented ways. iCAST is a first-of-its-kind space for any JK-Grade 12 institution in Canada, offering a dress rehearsal for the future economy.
    • iCast hype

WHY iCAST?

A LOOK INSIDE iCAST

Inspiring community and sparking interdisciplinary learning, Branksome Hall's Innovation Centre and Studio Theatre embodies our commitment to arts and innovation, uniting scholars, experts and our community under one roof.
The schools of the future will use the potential of technologies to liberate learning from past conventions and connect learners in new and powerful ways, with new sources of knowledge, innovative applications and one another. - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Moving girls’ education forward

How iCAST will impact Branksome and the broader community

Closing the Gender Divide

As an innovation leader, Branksome has small spaces school-wide, devoted to STEM and entrepreneurship. By contrast, iCAST is a state-of-the-art facility for JK through to Grade 12, entirely focused on digital skill-building, design and fabrication. Research shows early exposure to STEM equals success in related careers. Women mentors and experts will ensure our students access real-world role models. iCAST will also scale up curriculums focused on experiential learning and problem-solving.

Preparation for a Changing World

Career opportunities are abundant for those with skills and knowledge for a world in flux. Canada is eager for STEM skills and the Innovator’s Mindset, transferrable to any career. This perspective — creative, collaborative and solutions-focused — is a new predictor of success in a digital, entrepreneurial economy. From JK to Grade 12, iCAST will provide skills and confidence for girls to find their passion and own their future.

University Differentiator

It’s not just the economy that will value Branksome graduates. Universities are also taking notice of our focus on innovation education. Equipped with the toolbox of skills plus mindset, our graduates differentiate themselves and Admissions teams take notice! Our students are exactly what they’re looking for, STEM-savvy problem-solvers ready to tackle real-world challenges.

Sharing an Innovation Academy

The Innovation Academy will extend learning beyond our walls, to students and educators, including those from priority neighborhoods. A key offering is “micro-credentials,” more typical at the post-secondary level. These are short-duration skills certification, i.e. digital design, fabrication and augmented reality. As a differentiator for university applications and jobs, students will also benefit from connections with mentors. Educators will have exponential impact, going on to share learning.

our progress

Fundraising goal

$30,000,000

student holding up sign

$25,000,000

Raised to date
(83% of goal)

 

7,218

GIFTS TO THE CAMPAIGN

1,176

GIFTS OF $2,500 OR LESS

40

GIFTS OF $100K OR MORE

8

GIFTS OF OVER $1 MILLION

502

FIRST-TIME DONORS

your opportunity

The time is now for girls’ schools to balance the scales of high-level philanthropy. iCAST has the potential to swing open doors to life-altering support and experiences for our students and beyond. They’ll be front of line for the top male-dominated STEM professional opportunities, and beyond. But we can’t make it happen without our community’s commitment to put girls first.

DID YOU KNOW?

YOU CAN PLEDGE YOUR GIFT OVER TIME:
For example, a $50,000 gift can be paid off over five years, i.e. $10,000 a year. Donors have the discretion to structure their pledge to best suit their financial circumstances, making a transformational gift more financially feasible.
Learn more.
THE TAX ADVANTAGES TO GIVING:
Learn the different ways to give and the advantages of each.
THERE ARE NAMING OPPORTUNITIES:
Depending on the size of your gift, you can name a space in iCAST! Contact Claudia Metelsky, Director, Campaign and Development, Advancement and Community Engagement to learn more!
YOU CAN DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT:
By directing your United Way donation to Branksome Hall through your employer’s United Way campaign, receiving credit for both campaigns. Donate now.
campaign cabinet group photo in front of school

MAKE WAY CAMPAIGN CABINET

Meet the individuals helping us challenge the status quo by bringing this first-of-its-kind space to life.
  • Don GuloienHonorary Chair
  • Michael & Julia Bratty
  • Monique MORAN’94
  • Tyler & Claire MacNamaraCampaign Chairs
  • CK PURKS Hoffler’80
  • John Ruffolo
  • Tristan & Tara Armstrong
  • Eva Lau
  • Jamie Scarlett & Vanessa Yeung
  • Clara Angotti Mathur
  • Christie Love Thomas & Jeff Thomas
  • Heather Simmons

INNOVATION COUNCIL

Our Innovation Council members are at the top of their field in innovation, tech and entrepreneurial spaces. We thank them for their strategic leadership, connections with real-world mentors and experts and contributions to our programmatic vision.
  • Clara Angotti Mathur Co-Founder and President, Next Pathway
  • Chanda Carr Chief Client Officer, Osler
  • Martin Kon President & COO, Cohere
  • Shelby Austin CEO, Arteria AI
  • Joe Cashion Managing Partner,
Prism Global Management

  • Monique Moran Founder, Goodenergii


  • Chad Bayne Partner, Emerging and High Growth Companies, Osler
  • Mark Cohon Chair, Toronto Global;
Chair and Partner, Georgian Bay Spirit Co.


  • David Boriss Managing Partner, NxtRnd; Partner, Fort Capital
  • Michael Ianni-Palarchio Chief Strategy Officer, Project X
  • John Ruffolo Founder & Managing Partner, Maverix Private Equity
iCAST is about introducing young girls to the ideas of entrepreneurship and innovation at the earliest stages of their education. Society has inadvertently been streaming them out of STEM-related fields, which are disproportionately male, especially in North America. It’s critical to even up the playing board. John Ruffolo, Branksome parent, Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity

FAQs

Answers to your most frequently asked questions about iCAST:

CAMPAIGN

iCAST ($25 million): a flexible, inspiring, collaborative space with cutting-edge technology, a “black box” performance theatre and applied learning spaces.

Student Financial Assistance ($3 million): to open the doors for exceptional students, regardless of their financial situation.

Opportunity Fund ($2 million): Donations can be directed to the school’s area of greatest need, as determined thoughtfully each year by senior leadership, or to a specific program, project or area, allowing us to respond quickly to new captivating learning opportunities to enrich our curriculum and set our students apart.

The Campaign began in July 2019, and was publicly launched on September 22, 2023.

As of December 2023, we have raised $25,000,000 towards our $30M goal.

To reach our goal, we are looking for participation from as many people as possible. We are looking to engage a number of stakeholders, including current and past parents, alums, grandparents, faculty and staff, and the wider community.

Tuition does not cover the cost of capital expenses, like iCAST. Indeed, even our Annual Fund Campaign exists because tuition covers just 70 per cent of a student's educational cost. Our alums, parents, faculty and friends provide the margin that bumps our educational experience and offerings from great to extraordinary and make projects like iCAST possible.

DONATIONS

Every gift positively impacts the student experience, and when combined, these contributions play a significant role in advancing the Campaign for Branksome.

Yes, by making your gift to iCAST, Student Financial Assistance or another area of need at Branksome, you will be supporting the Campaign.

There is tremendous flexibility in establishing a pledge. While most donors usually choose to pledge their gift over a span of five years, you have the option to customize the duration of the pledge, as well as the timing and amounts of the installments, according to your specific needs.

Yes. Tax receipts will be issued for all eligible donations. When you make a gift online you will receive your tax receipt automatically by email right after your donation is made. Branksome makes it easy for donors to contribute in convenient and tax-efficient manners, including options like flow-through shares or donations of stocks and securities.

Yes! We have a number of naming opportunities available at various giving levels. Naming opportunities are a meaningful way to leave a legacy at Branksome Hall for your family and daughter.

Depending on the giving level, we have a number of meaningful ways to recognize your generosity, including naming opportunities, signage, plaques, invitations to special events and visibility in Branksome communications.

Since the school’s founding in 1903, we have relied on the philanthropic support of the community. Families benefit from those that came before them, as your daughter has. It is about paying it forward. Just as your daughter benefited from the Athletics and Wellness Centre during her time at Branksome, the iCAST will benefit future generations to come. Those projects relied on the generosity of parents whose daughters graduated before the completion of the project, who recognized the importance of providing future Branksome students the best opportunity to succeed.

Building Timeline & Design

The project is a partnership between New York-based ENNEAD and Toronto-based MJMA (architect of the AWC). ENNEAD has experience redefining learning spaces, from Kindergarten to graduate school, establishing spaces that inspire student development, promote collaboration and strengthen connections within the classroom and to the broader community.

We anticipate the building will be completed in fall 2025.

Join us to prepare our students for the workplaces of tomorrow so they can lead the way, their way. Please MAKE WAY now.

LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP
MAKE WAY

Join us to prepare our students for the workplaces of tomorrow so they can lead the way, their way.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We wish to acknowledge this land on which Branksome operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and go to school on this land.

Setting the new standard for girls' education everywhere takes collective action. From all of us.
 
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