ENDOWMENT AND IMPACT GIVING
The alumni, parents, parents of alumni, and grandparents who establish endowments and impact gifts with O’Dowd are incredibly instrumental for maintaining the exceptional programs and socioeconomic diversity that makes O’Dowd so unique. You can establish an endowment to honor a family member, friend or mentor. Starting with a minimum commitment of $50,000, endowments can be made with cash, securities, real estate, or a life-income gift, as well as a will/living trust bequest or via a retirement plan/insurance policy beneficiary designation.
Faculty and Teaching Support
You can establish an endowment to support faculty and teachers at O’Dowd, including investing in professional development, program enhancements, educational technology, leadership training, or other areas of teaching and student formation that most matter to you and your family. Current endowments of this kind include the Fund for Faculty Excellence.
Student Scholarships
The most popular endowment form, you can establish a scholarship endowment in the name of a beloved teacher, student, friend, family member, or mentor, to support O’Dowd students who would otherwise not be able to attend. Some endowed scholarship funds designate areas of academic interest, strength of character, co-curricular involvement and more, such as the James Barbagallo '70 Memorial Scholarship Fund for music, the Elizabeth J. Cabraser '70 Scholarship Fund for community service, and the Sister Katharine Emery Memorial Fund for language arts.
Academic Program
Many families and individuals choose to create an endowment that strengthens O’Dowd’s academic programming and enriches the high school experience for students. Examples of such endowments include the Forensic Competitive Team Fund, which supports our mock trial, debate, speech and academic decathlon teams, and the Lew Hong Suey Inclusion Fund, which benefits the Black Student Union. These endowments present a meaningful opportunity to give back to O’Dowd in the specific ways the school impacted you or your student.
Facilities Support
Your endowment can be designated to support our campus and facilities. These endowments are a powerful way to create a lasting footprint on our 20-acre campus, enriching the experience of students for generations. An example of such an endowment is the Anna Costa '90 Tree Fund, which plants trees in Anna’s memory, expanding the forest canopy and making our campus greener, while addressing the ravages of our rapidly changing climate.
Endowment Funds
In May of 2011, the Bishop O’Dowd High School community established the Joseph Salamack scholarship fund as a fitting tribute to Mr. Salamack as O’Dowd’s first lay principal and for his great dedication to the students.
Established in 2016 by Lillian and Stewart Fong (Tiffany ’04 and Stephanie ’08) in honor of their daughters’ maternal grandmother, an immigrant from China who encouraged learning and generosity in her family, this fund benefits O’Dowd’s Angel Fund and the Black Student Union Club.
This scholarship was established by the Tom family in 2015, on the 10th anniversary of Stephen’s death. It provides assistance to students in need of financial aid who reside in Oakland and who excel academically.
This fund was established in 2021 by the Valvas to ensure that deserving students in need of tuition assistance, particularly those from Oakland, have the opportunity for a transformative O’Dowd education.
Established in 2001 in memory of Lee Veneklasen by his wife Mary and his family. This fund provides assistance for students with learning challenges who are unable to afford educational testing.
Doug was a proud O’Dowd alumnus and attributed much of his success to the education he received at O’Dowd. This fund was established in 2023 in memory of Doug and in honor of his formative experience as a student-athlete at Bishop O'Dowd High School, including as a varsity quarterback on the football team. Doug and his family were grateful for the help of scholarships and other financial assistance that allowed him to attend O’Dowd. This endowed fund provides tuition assistance to students with demonstrated financial need. Give now!
Established in 2012, in memory of Devin Wixson ’81 and Charlotte Bettencourt Wixson ’59, and in recognition of the transformational and empowering benefits of an O’Dowd education, the Wixson Family scholarship fund will support deserving students who would otherwise be denied the opportunity to attend and graduate from Bishop O’Dowd High School.