CAMPAIGN CASE FOR SUPPORT
“The Onward, Upward, Christward, Together campaign will unite our community around a shared vision for Visitation’s future, ensuring that we continue to lead as a pioneer in Catholic education for women.”
DR. BARBARA MCGRAW EDMONDSON PRESIDENT
In the fall of 1945, Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM, ’48 & ’50 arrived at Visitation as a student. Following the end of World War II, America was buoyed by optimism that is reflected in her class’s motto: Onward, Upward, Christward, Together.
Today, we embrace that same sense of confidence and shared purpose. It beautifully captures what we hope to do with this campaign: look forward and foster growth, rooted in our legacy and united in our faith.
GENERATIONS OF SISTERS gifting students with the faith and knowledge to Live Jesus
A beautiful 23-acre campus in the heart of Georgetown with AGING HISTORIC BUILDINGS
A longstanding commitment to ENSURING THAT COST IS NOT A BARRIER to receiving a Visitation education
EDUCATORS challenging students to expand their horizons and empowering them to embrace their unique gifts
LAY FACULTY AND STAFF who carry on the Sisters’ legacy by learning, living, and teaching in our Catholic, Salesian tradition
REVITALIZED BUILDINGS that honor our history and respond to the ever-evolving needs of students and faculty
A ROBUST ENDOWMENT that ensures reliable annual income for financial aid to continue to foster a diverse community
An EXPANDED ANNUAL FUND that provides for curricular innovation, generous faculty benefits, enriching professional development, and state-of-the-art technology and tools
For more than 225 years, Georgetown Visitation has been a pioneer, offering an exceptional Catholic, Salesian education and empowering young women to be faithfilled leaders. This is our heritage and our vision for the future. Our world needs women with the technical and communication skills, team-oriented approach, and—most importantly—moral compass to create solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges.
“Be who you are and be that well.”
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
“I entered adulthood as a woman with not only faith in myself to accomplish my goals, and the vision that dreams do not have glass ceilings, but also a purpose: to leave this world better than I found it. Visitation taught me that nothing is unattainable if I put my mind to it.”
TERRI BULLOCK ’11
“Our calm, quiet years of learning at Visitation prepare us well for the future: we are women of faith who can offer hope in the midst of darkness and doubt; women of vision who can see a better world; and women who purposefully channel our strengths for the good of others.”
CAITLIN DUFFY ’00
“At Visitation, I learned the value of hard work and perseverance while sharing each day with women who remain my most cherished friends today. There were plenty of stumbles along the way, each softened by the embrace of the Sisters, the faculty, and my classmates. Three decades after graduation, I remain grateful for my home on 35th Street.”
BETH LAMANTIA RAFFERTY ’95
“At Visitation, in the heart of historic Georgetown, girls become young women, joining a long line of alumnae who bring the enduring truth of Christ’s love and wisdom to a chaotic world. We are bound together by the Salesian way of life—the Sisters’ gift to students, faculty, and the larger world. It is what makes Georgetown Visitation the very special place it continues to be.”
ANNE GRIFFITH HENNESSY ’79
Visitation is at an exciting and pivotal moment. With the leadership transition from the Sisters to the lay, growth of the student body, 200-year-old buildings requiring upgrades, and an increase in financial assistance, the need for investment is pressing. Visitation is embarking on an extraordinary $40 million campaign to boldly move forward into its next 225 years. This campaign will ensure Visitation remains a beacon of faith and excellence for generations to come.
MILLION
Increasing the Salesian Center’s endowment and bolstering its operating budget will enable it to expand, deepen faculty and staff formation, enhance Salesian programs for students, carry the Sisters’ way of life beyond our walls, and preserve Visitation’s incredible heritage.
BUILDING REVITALIZATION $20 MILLION
GOAL
$40 MILLION
The time has come for a transformation of Gallerie, the 1829 building that runs along the lane. A much needed reimagining of several floors will create a cohesive, updated academic wing with bright, open classrooms and study areas that encourage collaboration and interdisciplinary learning. With early support from donors, a renovation of the Catherine E. Nolan Center for the Performing Arts completed in October 2025 created a more welcoming and functional space for our community.
ENDOWMENT $10 MILLION
Increasing Visitation’s endowment will ensure that we can continue to honor the Sisters’ commitment to supporting all Visitation families with the aid they need. Endowment funds will also support our dedicated faculty and staff, providing competitive salaries and benefits and continued professional development.
ANNUAL FUND $3 MILLION
Tuition does not cover the full cost of a Visitation education. Our Annual Fund provides vital resources for our students, faculty, and staff and ensures an exceptional education for every student.
This campaign will propel Visitation into the future today.
Salesian Spirituality, rooted in the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal, calls us to live with gentleness, humility, and deep trust in God’s loving providence. At Visitation, this way of life shapes our days and strengthens our community as Catholics. Through the St. Jane de Chantal Salesian Center, we continue to nurture and share this spirit, ensuring that the heart of Salesian life endures for generations to come.
To safeguard and continue the Sisters’ simple, Christ-centered way of life, Georgetown Visitation founded the St. Jane de Chantal Salesian Center in May 2016. The Salesian Center offers us the assurance of a permanent home for the tangible and intangible treasures of our school history and of the Sisters’ spiritual endowment for generations to come.
FOR THE EXPANDED SALESIAN CENTER
INCREASE staffing from three to four people to meet the growing demand for Salesian Center support
INSTILL the Sisters’ way of life, spiritual guidance, and educational philosophy in Visitation’s lay faculty through formation, education, and mentoring
ENHANCE the digital platform for our school archives to share the remarkable and layered history of Georgetown Visitation more broadly
RESEARCH and reconcile our history of enslavement to help practice and promote the Gospel values of peace and justice in our world today
RECORD the inspiring stories of how the Visitation Sisters Live Jesus
SHARE the Sisters’ wisdom with our community and beyond the Green Gate
STRENGTHEN our network of Salesian educators and reach a wider national audience with the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal
The Salesian Center has been incredibly successful since its founding, prompting ever more requests for spiritual nourishment and historical insights through programming and resources.
There is an immediate need for $7 million in investment in the Salesian Center. These funds will be split between an endowment to ensure funding in perpetuity for caring, committed staff and operational funds to provide for additional programming, expanded national reach, new materials, and the digitization of Visitation’s historical records.
Visitation’s embrace of Salesian Spirituality is simple and life-affirming, and ultimately transformational for our students. Funding support for the Salesian Center will help us continue our work to share the Salesian teachings with our students and foster our students’ most treasured aspect of a Visitation education: a faith-filled experience.
$20 MILLION
For more than two centuries, Gallerie has stood at the heart of our school, adapting to meet the needs of generations of Visitation students. Now, the time has come to renew this historic space, and with it the student experience within its walls.
With a cost of $18 million, a significant renovation of Gallerie will result in a new multi-story academic wing; an integrated spiritual life center overlooking the Quad and the Monastery Garden that brings together campus ministry, Christian service, and the St. Jane de Chantal Salesian Center; and an administrative office suite that better serves the needs of our faculty and staff. Updating Gallerie will allow Visitation to carry forward its mission with bright, beautiful, and functional spaces that support dynamic, collaborative learning and shared spiritual life.
With the successful completion of the Nolan Center renovation in October 2025—a $2 million investment that included a full interior refresh, expanded seating capacity of more than 600, and state- of-the-art sound and lighting systems—Visitation now turns with urgency to Gallerie. Revitalizing these buildings—which have not been renovated in three decades—will ensure that our campus can continue to serve the needs of today’s students and that our Catholic faith will anchor and animate campus life for decades to come.
Erected in 1829 as a dormitory, the building today known as Gallerie was expanded in 1838 to provide additional classrooms, a dining room, and the Playroom, which is still used today by juniors as their common space. After the closing of the boarding school in 1975, Gallerie, which is named for the first Visitation house in Annecy, France, primarily housed offices and storage spaces. Following the great fire of 1993, the original wing was transformed in less than two months to provide much-needed classrooms. These quickly built spaces have not been significantly modified since then.
PROVIDE a healthier environment through a new central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system.
REIMAGINE classroom and study spaces to create a new academic wing, increasing the number of classrooms from 6 to 9, designed and upgraded to encourage collaboration and discussion.
MAKE
accessible to all members of the Visitation community by installing a new elevator and ramps.
MODERNIZE the administrative offices and update the short-term residential space for the school’s and the Monastery’s guests.
$18 MILLION
Support through the campaign will power a long-overdue transformation of Gallerie. While this historic building has been lovingly cared for, a significant upgrade is needed. We need to bring Visitation’s collaborative and vibrant approach to teaching and learning to this treasured space, while preserving its heritage and making it inviting and accessible for all.
The cramped classrooms and offices in Gallerie are among the last spaces on campus without central heating and air conditioning. Newly designed spaces in Gallerie will be flexible, comfortable and climate-controlled.
CREATE a new home for Campus Ministry, Christian Service, and the St. Jane de Chantal Salesian Center.
LANE
Includes
QUADRANGLE
“Through years of campus renewal, Gallerie has served as a much-needed flex space, enabling Visitation to grow and evolve. Now, it is time to transform this historic building to meet the needs of today’s students.”
BARBARA MCGRAW EDMONDSON
SPIRITUAL LIFE CENTER
As part of Gallerie renovations, the two large classrooms along the porch will be transformed into a large, bright spiritual life center, bringing together the St. Jane de Chantal Salesian Center, campus ministry, and Christian service, with both offices and a large common space for students.
Originally built in 1935 during the Great Depression as the school’s first gymnasium, the Nolan Center was expanded and transformed in 1998 to serve as our liturgical and performing arts center. It is our modern-day Odeon.
$2 MILLION
Set in the middle of campus, Nolan is the center of our school’s community and liturgical life. Thanks to early support from donors, we completed the Nolan Center renovation in October 2025. Originally built as a gymnasium in 1935, it was transformed into an auditorium in 1998. Since then, our student body has grown by 25%. Now, this state-of-theart facility can welcome all our students, faculty, and staff for Mass, community gatherings, and performances.
INCREASED capacity to more than 600, so that our entire community can celebrate Mass together
CREATED a welcoming entrance and brightened, refreshed lobby
ENHANCED prayer and sacramental celebrations with a new altar and other liturgical furnishings
ELEVATED state-of-the-art sound and lighting technology
In keeping with our Salesian values, Georgetown Visitation has a strong tradition of generosity from alumnae, families, and friends. Thanks to forward-looking fiscal management and our loyal donors, our endowment has grown to more than $35 million. To remain competitive and ensure our long-term financial strength, we seek to raise an additional $10 million to invest in the endowment through this campaign.
Visitation’s endowment enables our school to serve students and families today while evolving to meet the changing needs of our students tomorrow.
EXCELLENCE Endowment funds allow us to not only attract and retain brilliant, committed teachers, but to invest in their professional development and keep Visitation at the forefront of academic excellence.
AFFORDABILITY The endowment helps the school curb tuition increases, making Visitation education accessible to more families. In addition, the endowment funds scholarships and vital tuition assistance to families with financial need.
RESILIENCE The endowment gives the school flexibility to use operational funds to address the most pressing priorities, strengthening the school’s long-term financial health.
ASSURANCE The endowment ensures financial security for the school, providing a reliable annual source of funding in perpetuity and relieving pressure on the operating budget.
The value of a strong endowment cannot be overstated. It enriches every opportunity on campus and has a lasting impact on students. It is a signal of our school’s financial strength and longevity, ensuring that we remain strong for the next 225 years.
Nearly $3 million in tuition assistance is awarded to 33% of the student body every year and this need continues to grow. In fact, Visitation’s budget for financial aid has increased more than 50% in the last decade. We are committed to ensuring that bright, talented young women from across our Washington community benefit from a Visitation education regardless of economic background. Visitation’s endowment provides critical financial aid, ensuring that tuition remains financially feasible for families who value a Catholic, all-girls education. Additional funding for Visitation’s endowment will generate hundreds of thousands of additional dollars for financial aid every year.
“The
Sisters believe cost should not prevent deserving young women from receiving an exceptional education at Visitation. Since our school’s inception, we have honored this commitment with the help of our generous community.”
SR. MARY BERCHMANS HANNAN, VHM, ’48 & ’50
Visitation is blessed with teachers who are not only experts in their fields—many hold doctorates— but are also committed to the art of pedagogy, taking great care to adapt how they teach to engage the students in front of them. For these dedicated women and men, teaching at Visitation is their vocation.
In order for Visitation to continue attracting, retaining, and supporting the growth of these bright, devoted, and innovative teachers who inspire and care for our students, we must invest in them. Endowment gifts, including endowed faculty chairs, provide critical funds for salaries, benefits, professional development, and the needs of our teachers. Supporting our educators through endowment signals our gratitude to those who devote so much to our students.
“With the pace of change faster than ever, investment in professional development is truly mission-critical. Robust endowment funds allow our faculty today to create curricular innovations that challenge our students and expand their horizons.”
PRINCIPAL LEONOR LIMARZI PONZIO ’97
Georgetown Visitation has three main sources of funding: tuition, endowment income, and annual fundraising. This campaign includes full support for The Visitation Annual Fund for three consecutive school years, helping the school meet rising costs while keeping tuition affordable for more families.
Visitation is mindful of the tremendous financial pressures placed on hard-working families committed to a Catholic education and is intentional about keeping tuition increases modest, while continuing to provide an exceptional education. The Visitation Annual Fund helps us do that by bridging the gap between tuition and the full cost of a Visitation education, bolstering the school’s operating budget to achieve educational excellence.
THE VISITATION ANNUAL FUND SUPPORTS
We invite you to join us in this campaign to propel Visitation into the future today.
We invite you to join us as we venture Onward, Upward, Christward, Together.
CAMPAIGN CHAIRS
Shawn and Cassie McLaughlin P ’20, ’24
HONORARY CHAIRS
Sister Mary Berchmans, VHM, ’48 & ’50
Vincent C. Burke III P ’95, ’01
Rev. Msgr. John Enzler
Katie McNerney ’93
“With hearts full of gratitude for the faith-filled education our daughters received at Georgetown Visitation, we feel personally called—just as St. Francis de Sales encouraged—to put love into action. Visitation helped our daughters grow into confident, compassionate young women. Supporting the capital campaign is our way of helping ensure that future generations of girls can experience the same transformative education and become strong women of faith, vision, and purpose.”
SHAWN AND CASSIE MCLAUGLIN
P ’20, ’24
ONWARD • UPWARD • CHRISTWARD • TOGETHER
ANNUAL FUND
$3M
$7M
URGENT REVITALIZATION FOR HISTORIC GALLERIE BUILDING
$18M ENDOWMENT
$10M ST. JANE DE CHANTAL SALESIAN CENTER
NOLAN CENTER
$2M
The Onward, Upward, Christward, Together campaign will ensure that Visitation continues to educate women of faith, vision, and purpose for generations to come.
