'The Endowment Needs To Grow'

BSS Trustee Tim Lazaris gives it to us straight.

By Rachel Hahn

The towering concrete and glass pillars of downtown Toronto are in stark contrast to the historical structure of BSS sitting atop a slope in Forest Hill, but Tim Lazaris feels equally comfortable and excited about his positions of infl uence in both worlds.

At a boardroom table with his back to a wall of glass that exposes the cluster of similar towers that dot the crowded Toronto fi nancial district, Tim makes himself comfortable and gently lays the ubiquitous Blackberry down. He wears a power suit with a burgundy tie, perhaps unaware of the BSS coincidence. Tim is a partner of a new company, GMP Investment Management, that he has been nurturing into maturity for the past 10 months. He is also one of the newest members of BSS’s Board of Trustees with many aspirations for the School’s financial well-being.

Until last year Tim describes his involvement with BSS as being limited to dropping daughter Zoe off, picking her up, and attending the occasional function. It wasn’t until he asked his friend and BSS Trustee, Blake Goldring, what the board was all about, that Tim saw an opportunity to, as he puts it, “wrap his arms around something.”

Blake explained to him that BSS has a Board of Governors, responsible for the operation of the School, and a Board of Trustees, responsible for the financial aspect of the School. With Tim’s experience in finance he realized he had some valuable and pertinent skills to contribute. After being offi cially welcomed to the Board, it didn’t take long for Tim to become completely committed to obtaining the goals that the Board has set, the most important of which, according to him and his fellow Trustees, is increasing the School’s endowment.

“The endowment needs to grow,” says Tim in a simple statement that reveals his belief that anyone questioning the fact is out of touch with the reality of today’s educational environment.

When Tim first enrolled his daughter at BSS he admits to not knowing what the endowment was or even having heard of it.

“As you can imagine I’ve gotten a big education in terms of its responsibilities and needs,” he says with a half laugh.

The endowment is something that causes confusion in people’s minds and yet it is integral in shaping the future of the School and its students. BSS’s annual report for the 2006-2007 school year states that, “currently at $14 million, BSS’s goal is to more than double the endowment in the next three years. This will enable the School to distribute twice as much financial aid, bolster the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) program curriculum, formally launch an Asian Studies department, and expand BSS’s excellent faculty roster.”

Tim explains that there is another happy reason why the endowment needs to grow: “There is more demand because the School is very popular.”

He believes the reasons why BSS is so popular are the same reasons why he hopes his six-year-old Zoe will become a BSS “lifer.” When he attends the Board of Trustees meetings at 7:30 a.m., he sees the way the Old Girls interact, he sees the life-long bonds that are made and he sees the successes of former students. He wants all that for Zoe, and, ultimately, that’s why he volunteers.

Aside from the goals that the Board has set for the coming years, Tim wants to educate the BSS community on what the endowment is and why it’s important. He believes there’s a simple reason why people don’t seem to pay attention to the endowment of BSS.

“People are very familiar with the capital campaign of the School which is building the bricks and mortar. The parents understand that because they see it every day,” Tim says.

“At BSS there’s no child that I know of that says ‘I came here on a bursary,’” suggesting that the community remains unaware of the way the endowment has already helped so many deserving girls achieve their dreams, which, in turn, helps all of us as these girls go on to take their places as leaders in a world desperate for their skills.

According to Tim, BSS is in great physical shape, as any visitor, parent or student can see, because of a real focus on capital improvements. The endowment, however, has taken second place in terms of importance, and the Board of Trustees is working to change that.

Tim sees the endowment as a pool of fiscal resources that will help create an even greater diversity and richness in the culture at BSS.

“I think all the parents appreciate the fact that the girls at BSS come from a variety of backgrounds and different economic conditions and it’s very important that their daughters be exposed to this kind of variety," he says. Tim and his fellow Trustees believe that the key to continuing the nurturing of a diverse environment is nurturing the endowment.

“BSS is a school that’s been around for more than 140 years and that didn’t justhappen because it’s got a lovely campus. There’s always been a fundraising backbone to the School’s success,” says Tim. “[The endowment] allows for the sustainability of the School. You want to attract the best students, you want to attract the best faculty, and all of these issues come up when people make their decision as to whether they want to go and spend their careers at a school. A school that has got a well-funded endowment is going to attract the best teachers.”

According to Tim, four per cent of students at BSS receive financial assistance from the endowment. He, the Board of Trustees and Kim Gordon, the Head of BSS, expect that percentage to increase over the coming years. This makes the job that Tim does even more essential.

As a parent who is now armed with the knowledge of what the BSS endowment is, Tim has become passionate about its importance and wants to educate everyone in the BSS community.

“When Zoe asks me why I’m not at the ski hill or taking her skating and I’m working on something to do with BSS she completely understands because it’s something that’s important to her and it’s important to our family so we find the time."

BSS Leadership Bolsters Endowment

We are pleased to announce that BSS’s Board of Governors and Trustees have raised over $3.75 million for the Endowment For Leadership—towards our goal of $15 million—in the past year alone. This overwhelming support from our community leaders demonstrates their belief that the endowment is the key to ensuring that BSS is leading the pack at the forefront of education—no matter what exciting changes and challenges the future holds. We thank our entire community for their support of this crucial initiative.


Posted May 12, 2008 at 12:26am






LEAVE A COMMENT






send this page to a friend   print this page