Menu
View from the library

Planned Giving

Create a legacy.

You can support the School’s mission as part of your legacy by making a planned gift to The Ethel Walker School. These gifts can benefit you, your family and The Ethel Walker School together.

Planned gifts are special donations that involve giving part of an estate, a charitable trust, an IRA or pension fund. Such major gifts will have a significant impact on Walker’s mission, while increasing the financial stability of our endowment. Planned gifts are also great vehicles for honoring graduates, friends, faculty and family.

There are many ways to plan a gift to Walker’s. Learn more about the benefits of different giving vehicles below.

If you are contemplating including The Ethel Walker School in your estate plans, please consult your attorney or accountant for the vehicle that best meets your needs. There are many ways to make a planned gift to the School. Click the links below for more information or contact Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org or +1-860-408-4260.

The information provided on this website is made available by The Ethel Walker School for illustrative purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of various planned giving options. It is not intended to provide specific legal advice to your individual circumstances or legal questions. The information provided on this website should not be used as a substitute for seeking competent legal and/or tax advice from a licensed professional attorney, accountant and/or tax advisor in your state. Readers of this information should not act upon any information contained on this website without seeking professional counsel.

Ethel Walker Smith

The Ethel Walker Smith Endowment

In the fall of 1911, The Walker’s School for Girls opened its doors with 10 students, seven teachers, one dog, and Ethel Walker’s courageous and resolute leadership — her dream becoming reality with a $10,000 loan from an acquaintance and fellow Bryn Mawr alumna whose interests were educational and philanthropic. For several years, Ethel continued as principal decision maker for the School, a role that included the pursuit of increased enrollment, oversight of business and operational duties and relocation to the Simsbury campus in 1917.

When Ethel died at age 93 on June 14, 1965, she had peace in the knowledge that her foresight and generous transfer of wealth would aid in the perpetual support and welfare of her beloved School. In the fall of 2016, assets totaling approximately $7.4 million from the first trust were transferred to The Ethel Walker Charitable and Educational Foundation. As a result of this first transfer to the Foundation, the School’s operating budget will now receive an annual payout from The Ethel Walker Smith Endowment, a fund held by the Foundation, of approximately $370,000, or 5% of the assets, which the School will apply to operating expenses.