Endowments

“The Blanchet Fund” or the Bishop Blanchet General Endowment was started in 1980 through the guidance of then Principal Dr. Joe Haggarty. The purpose of the fund was to support Bishop Blanchet High School through the 1980’s and into the future. The fund’s beginnings were tied to a need to help stabilize escalating tuition and help fund needed capital improvements over time at Bishop Blanchet.

At the time the school consisted of over 1,300 students and the need have a reliable fund upon which to plan for the success of the school was needed. This fund was conceptualized as a supplement to other funding sources like tuition and donations to the school. The fund was originally invested by the Archdiocese of Seattle Investment Committee and now is maintained by the Fulcrum Foundation.

Because of the existence of this fund, Blanchet has been able to cover planned and unplanned expenses and ensure the continued ability to provide a Catholic education to thousands of students in north Seattle and the greater Seattle area. According to volunteers on the initial campaign, the idea of the endowment was twofold to provide for the current time and remain large enough to be beneficial for a long time.

Currently, the Endowment has a value 8.3 million dollars and remains available and intact to provide for Blanchet’s future in perpetuity. The Bishop Blanchet General Endowment is an important part of Blanchet’s future success and a testament to the work of our community of leaders and volunteers that had the foresight to create these resources so many years ago.

The original goals of long term stability and prudent planning are still at the core of the Bishop Blanchet General Endowment. You can make a donation to the Endowment online by clicking on the Donate Here button to the right. Donations will be added to the corpus of the fund and interest earned will be used to cover operating costs, financial aid, academic programs and capital improvements.

Make a Gift to the Bishop Blanchet General Endowment

The Bishop Blanchet High School Alumni Endowment was established to ensure all students have access to a BBHS education - helping them unlock a future of limitless potential. Gifts to the Endowment support tuition assistance of students with high levels of demonstrated need.

Make a donation to the BBHS Alumni Endowment

The Maury Sheridan and Kevin Twohy Speech & Debate Endowment was created to honor Dr. Maury Sheridan, a fixture at BBHS from 1960 to 1974 who helped to establish the BBHS Speech & Debate program and to honor Kevin Twohy ’71 who was inspired by Dr. Sheridan at BBHS and directly led to Kevin becoming a nationally recognized coach at the high school and collegiate levels of forensics.

Maury also worked tirelessly to inspire students on stage and in the classroom and had a passion for and commitment to effective communication. Mr. Sheridan, as he was known to his students, brought the best out in every student he reached. He demanded excellence and commitment. He was a teacher, director, mentor, and coach to countless students at Bishop Blanchet. 

Kevin “2E” Twohy was drawn to speech and debate when he first arrived as a freshman at BBHS. Kevin contributed to the production of the school annual, wrote regular sports columns for the MITER, and served as a team manager for varsity baseball, football, and basketball and found time to participate in the annual school spring musical directed by Dr. Sheridan. Kevin continued to be involved in speech and debate after high school serving as Coach Twohy at Jesuit HS in New Orleans, Carroll College in Helena, MT, and Diablo Valley Junior College.

This Endowment serves to honor both Maury and Kevin and their love of Bishop Blanchet and its Community. It will also endeavor to fund and preserve the Speech & Debate program at BBHS for the next 60 years and beyond giving current and future BBHS students the same opportunities that Maury helped to provide and Kevin experienced while a student at Blanchet.

Make a donation to the Endowment

The BBHS Inspiring Through Experience Endowment will fund extraordinary, life-changing experiences annually for Bishop Blanchet faculty and staff members, offering professional growth for them and academic enrichment for our students and our entire Community. This enrichment will come in the form of grants from the Endowment that seek to make experiential learning more accessible for those that are directly involved in shaping our BBHS Community.

A key part of this Endowment program takes place after the recipient returns to Blanchet. Upon return faculty or staff members will be required to present and incorporate their personal and professional enrichment in the form of a curriculum shared at a Faculty/Staff Meeting and possibly with students and the broader community. The Endowment seeks to utilize their experiences to further the goal of Bishop Blanchet to inspire transformation around the world.

This Endowment was created thanks to the 2022 Bear Country Auction Fund-A-Need. At the event over $230,000 was raised to initially fund experiences. The first experiences will be awarded in late 2022.

Make a gift to the Inspiring Through Experience Endowment

On November 17, 2014, the Bishop Blanchet community lost Chris Connors; a beloved faculty member, alumnus, coach, and fixture in the Bishop Blanchet community. On the one year anniversary of Chris’s passing the Connors family and Bishop Blanchet created the Chris Connors Memorial Endowment. Scholarships given from the funds created by this endowment will be awarded based on need and merit to students wishing to continue their Catholic education at Bishop Blanchet High School.

The creation of the Chris Connors Memorial Endowment and the types of students it will assist are specific to Chris’s wishes discussed before his passing. It was Chris’s desire that whenever possible recipients should be students from single parent families or students from families that have experienced the loss of a parent. Chris hoped that with the aid of a scholarship that recipients would be able to find strength and support from the school community, much like he did as a student and as a faculty member.

Chris Connors loved his family and he loved Blanchet. Chris’s family hopes the creation of this endowment will serve as a way to fulfill Chris’s wishes and to create a lasting impact for future students at Bishop Blanchet High School.

Make a Gift to the Chris Connors Memorial Endowment

Harry Purpur was a graduate of Bishop Blanchet High School from the Class of 1961. Additionally, Harry worked as a teacher and administrator in Catholic education for nearly fifty years. In addition to spending twenty of those years at BBHS, Harry also served as the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Seattle and the Diocese of Orlando.

Harry passed away in October of 2017 and this endowment serves as one way to honor Harry's commitment to Catholic education. This fund will serve to provide scholarships to students at Bishop Blanchet that experience difficulty in meeting the cost of tuition at BBHS.

If you are interested in honoring Harry by making a donation, please know that anyone can make a gift to the Harry V. Purpur Memorial Scholarship Endowment. All gifts made are 100% tax deductible and eligible for corporate matching gifts. All gifts to this endowment will be used specifically for the purpose of growing the Harry V. Purpur Memorial Scholarship Endowment. If you have any questions you can contact Robert Lukevich, the Assistant Director of Development, Alumni Relations & Planned Giving at rlukevich@uc-db.com.

Make a gift to the Harry V. Purpur Memorial Scholarship Endowment

“My greatest joy was to watch students grow and develop into successful actors.” Mo Merhson.

When Mo came to BBHS in 2000 she wanted every student who walked through the doors of the theatre classroom to be successful and have confidence in their talents. She believes deeply in the virtues of courage and truthfulness in drama and in life. Mo Mershon spent 17 years as the Drama Director at BBHS. Blanchet has been known for its arts program for the duration of its existence and Mo took the program to new heights during her tenure.

Upon her retirement as the Drama Director at Bishop Blanchet made possible by the Wiljanen Family the Mo Mershon Truth & Courage Enduring Drama Endowment was created.

In addition to Mo’s work, the foundation of BBHS Drama was laid by Dr. Maury Sheridan. Maury worked with students for many years at Blanchet as a teacher, coach, director and motivator of young people. The Truth & Courage Enduring Drama Endowment is a continuation of Maury’s legacy and represents Mo’s commitment to foster a love of education and of all things theatre and to provide for the future of Drama at Blanchet.

Gifts to this endowment are restricted to drama related needs like production costs, stipends, theatre enhancement or equipment purchases. Thank you for your support!

Make a Gift to the Mo Mershon Truth & Courage Enduring Drama Endowment

The Jim Pinsoneault Beyond the Classroom Endowment was established by Jim and his family in 2005. Jim was a fixture at Bishop Blanchet High School over 45 years. Mr. Pins loved Bishop Blanchet and its Community full of teachers, staff, students, parents and alumni. 

Initially the Endowment was funded by monies given to Jim upon his retirement from Bishop Blanchet, family, relatives and friends. The Endowment has grown to over $200,000 and welcomes gifts from every donor inside and outside of the Blanchet Community.

During his nearly 50 years of service at BBHS, Jim held nearly every influential position at Blanchet aside from Chaplin and Principal. Whether he was the Business Manager, Vice Principal for Activities, Wood Shop Teacher, Coach or Director of Development, his steadfast commitment to Bishop Blanchet was unquestioned. It is Jim’s firm belief that every employee at BBHS must be involved in co-curricular activities in the school and volunteer in the larger community.

Blanchet was second only to Jim’s family and in 2022, the Quad was officially renamed the Jim Pinsoneault Quad. The Pinsoneault family is full of alums, parents, supporters and friends of Bishop Blanchet.

Since 2005, the Endowment has given a cash award to one faculty member and one staff member each year who is nominated by their peers and best exemplifies the ideals of kindness, encouragement, involvement and preparedness in their communication and actions each day.

In 2018, the Endowment scope was expanded to include a Jim Pinsoneault Beyond the Classroom Professional Growth Award. This yearly award provides the opportunity for BBHS Faculty to seek continuing education that will enhance their skills and techniques in their respective educational field.

Click Here to Make a Gift to the Jim Pinsoneault Beyond the Classroom Endowment

The Michael Ufer Program for Academic Success at Bishop Blanchet, unique among the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Seattle, was established in 2001 in memory of Michael Ufer ’03. At the time of the program’s inception, Michael's parents established an endowment fund, which has enabled the program to grow and flourish.

Michael tragically passed away in 2000, the summer before his sophomore year at Bishop Blanchet. Michael, like other students who experience difficulties in the learning process, achieved success only through tremendous effort and significant support outside the classroom. He needed help to succeed, but did not want academic expectations lowered. Thus, Michael Ufer Academic Support classes are designed to help students help themselves within Bishop Blanchet’s rigorous college preparatory curriculum. These classes, along with the other educational resources and services, are the cornerstone of a collective academic support effort that enables our students to succeed at Bishop Blanchet and it provides students with critical life skills. 

The Michael Ufer Learning Program is a comprehensive support program to help students succeed in the classroom and be in charge of their own learning.

Make a gift to the Michael Ufer Program for Academic Success

Fr. Gordon Douglas (Fr. Doug) served as the Chaplain at Bishop Blanchet from 1972 to 2010. In addition to holding that title he served in a much greater capacity for many students and enriched the entire Blanchet Community. We all remember saying Hey Father, at the beginning of Mass or asking about one of his beloved dogs.

Whether it was as a teacher, friend, colleague, mentor or when performing a sacramental mass for alums or their family members, Fr. Doug served as a spiritual foundation at Blanchet for 38 years. This endowment was created in his honor at the time of his retirement. Today, it provides tuition assistance each year to many students with demonstrated financial need.

Make a gift to the Fr. Gordon Douglas Scholarship Endowment

The establishment of the Joseph R. and Margaret M. Haggerty Endowed Education Fund signifies Peg and Joe’s lifelong commitment to Catholic education, and their desire to make it possible for all children in the region. Joe served as Principal at Bishop Blanchet for 20 years starting in 1979 and retiring in 1999. Dr. Peg Haggerty is also deeply committed to education. She joined the faculty at Seattle University where she worked for 25 years eventually becoming the Dean of Education and retiring in 1997.

Peg and Joe shared a love for education and their Endowment has provided dozens of scholarships over more than a decade making Blanchet accessible for students and their families.

Make a Gift to the Joseph R. and Margaret M. Haggerty Endowed Education Fund

Created by the Wold Family in 2013, this endowment serves to celebrate Bishop Blanchet High School and Villa Academy for the contributions that they made to Henry Wold ’09 and the Wold Family. Henry is an alum of Blanchet and Villa Academy. The experiences that the family had at Villa and Blanchet inspired them to give back and support an incoming freshman boy from Villa Academy each year. Chosen by the family based on academics and other criteria, a scholarship is given annually to a freshman that is admitted to Blanchet.

Make a Gift to the Kevin, Linda & Henry '09 Wold Scholarship Endowment

Luke Little ’79  was an alum of Blanchet who passed away in 1990. After his passing, the Little Family established a fund that provides tuition assistance to students at Blanchet in his honor. Luke had many siblings and nieces and nephews that attended Blanchet, from the 1970s to present day. Scholarships are given to students who seek the opportunity to attend BBHS but cannot afford the full cost of attendance and have an identified educational interest, faith conviction and financial need.

Make a gift to the Luke W. Little Memorial Scholarship Endowment

Created in 2005 in honor of Janet Martin the mother of Andy ’89 and Jen ’91. Janet was a nurse, mother and friend to many and an incredible volunteer during her lifetime. In addition to volunteering at Children's Hospital and St. Luke’s, Janet spent time supporting Blanchet during and long after her children graduated. Scholarships from this Endowment support tuition assistance for students and families with demonstrated need. Scholarships are awarded annually to recipients who like Janet and the Martin Family are active members of the Blanchet Community.

Make a gift to the Janet Martin Memorial Scholarship Endowment

Brabant Scholarship Endowment
Brinck-Sauvage Scholarship Endowment
Forbush Scholarship Endowment
Gill Scholarship Endowment
Fr. James Healy Scholarship Endowment
Arlene Popovich Memorial Scholarship Fund
Marilyn Rey Sherman Faculty/Staff Appreciation Award
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary