Major Fundraising Campaign Aims to Aid School Construction
CONCORD, N.C. — The Cannon School in Concord recently unveiled a multimillion-dollar campaign to pay for a new art, athletic and middle school facility.
The $7 million campaign is the largest fundraising effort in Cannon School’s history. It began last year in its “quiet phase” and managed to raise $5 million.
The 900-student private school is home to grades K-12 and attracts students from across different communities. The campaign was initiated in order to keep facilities modern and up-to-date to keep student enrollment up while giving students the best possible facilities to learn in.
The campaign will pay for several improvements on the campus including a large focus on a $3 million performing arts center that will include a 450-seat auditorium and an art gallery. Another project funded by the campaign will be the new athletic facilities, totaling $2.5 million, which will include strength training and conditioning, renovated locker rooms and a new Randy Marion Family Field House at the football stadium.
The school was founded in 1969 as Cabarrus Academy and only moved to its current site in 1994. In 1998 the school was renamed to Cannon School and graduated its first class of high school students at the new site in 2002.
The new projects will also target LEED certification, although specifics have not yet been made public.
The contributors for the campaign include school alumni, families in support of the school as well as the Cannon School’s Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees pledged $1 million last year as well as an anonymous donor from a Cannon School family for $1 million for the school’s performing arts center. Another big contributor is the Marion family, who pitched in $500,000 to name the new Randy Marion Family Field House.
“It’s an amazing show of support that we have raised so much in a year and a half, most from current parents,” said Todd Hartung, director of advancement at Cannon School. “That speaks well of their experiences here.”
The campaign is not over yet, and Hartung is currently in the last phase of funds. The school will be reaching out to the community for support and funds to complete the campaign this year.