Comprehensive Campaign
2026 Update
A Message From Kathy and Dan Gilheney
“Dear Class Reps and Friends of Bishop Ludden-Grimes,
We have met and exceeded our fundraising goal for our $2 million Scholarship and Academic Enhancement Campaign!
We are very grateful to our very generous donors who believe in and support Catholic education in Central New York. Together we did this, and together we can go even further!
A Heartfelt Thank you and Blessings,
Kathy and Dan Gilheney – Campaign Co-Chairs and Members of BL Class of 1980″
The Comprehensive Campaign is a $2 million ambitious Scholarship and Academic Program Enhancement Campaign that will provide for the long-term financial health and academic strength of the school.
This Campaign will open up the opportunity to attend Bishop Ludden-Grimes to all qualified students desiring a college preparatory education through additional scholarship monies raised.
2025 Update
Update: The Comprehensive Campaign has now raised $1.9 million in response to the the new challenge pledge explained below! We are almost there, thank you for your support!
Heather Ann (Gould) Williams was a proud 1981 graduate of Bishop Ludden High School. Many in our community know that we unexpectedly lost Heather on February 15, 2023. Many also know that Heather lived an amazing, accomplished life after her years at Bishop Ludden; attending St. John Fisher College, meeting her beloved husband, Jon, raising four wonderful children and founding, with her husband, the OSC Charitable Foundation of which she was Executive Director. Heather would often look back on her life and would cite her Bishop Ludden education as a foundational element of her life and an experience that changed her trajectory. Heather’s many talents were recognized at Bishop Ludden, and she became a great, faithful-filled student and friend who immersed herself in Ludden’s student life. Heather was a Ludden cheerleader and participated in the fine arts programs.
In honor of Heather, and in honor of what meant so much to Heather, Jon and their family have made a charitable pledge to support Bishop Ludden-Grimes in our Comprehensive Campaign. Jon’s pledge is a challenge to all of us, as through their family’s charitable foundation, Jon and their family will donate $100,000 this year to Bishop Ludden-Grimes, and an additional $50,000 a year for the next three years, if our alumni and friends will join them and match their donation.
This meaningful pledge, in the name of Heather Ann Williams, has the potential to bear a full fruit of $500,000 for Bishop Ludden-Grimes from 2024 to 2027. Please make a gift today, knowing that your donation will count twice. Thank you to Jon and the Williams family. We are thankful that through this legacy gift, and through her friendship, Heather will never be forgotten by the Bishop Ludden-Grimes community.
May 2, 2023
Dear Members of the Bishop Ludden Family and Community:
It is a pleasure to announce the first Bishop Ludden Comprehensive Campaign. There is something exciting happening at Ludden and we want you to be part of it! Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 for financial assistance and $1,000,000 for the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). We are on our way. Today, we are delighted to also announce that we have already raised $1.3 million toward our goal. Bishop Ludden is going places, but it needs your help. We are asking for your support to help us get the rest of the way to $2 million. What will your contribution allow the School to do? Bishop Ludden’s strength is its people, the students, the faculty, the coaches, and the staff. You know this already. But tuition only pays for part of every student’s education, not all of it, and many of our families cannot afford full tuition. Financial assistance helps us bridge these gaps. With greater scholarship resources Ludden can offer more members of our community the promise and potential of a Ludden education.
This campaign is also about Ludden’s place in the 21st Century and what it means to have a Ludden education. At Ludden, some things will always stay the same, like the virtue of a Catholic education based on service, community, and character. But some things are changing, including what it will take for Ludden students to pursue professional lives of meaning and purpose in the 21st Century. The IB program is a transformational educational opportunity for Ludden learners to become creative, critical, and global thinkers. Your contributions will provide the school’s IB foundation for years to come by providing training for teachers and upgrades to our science and library facilities.
Bishop Ludden’s faculty, coaches, and staff change lives. They change the trajectory of lives. Your contributions will allow Bishop Ludden to impact more lives across our community. Your contributions will also help our students meet the challenges and opportunities of the century ahead. Therefore, we ask that you to please make Bishop Ludden a giving priority. Every dollar counts because every dollar makes a difference, to our facilities and resources and by helping to bridge the gap between what families can afford and the threshold cost of bringing a young learner to Ludden. A gift to Ludden is an investment in our students, our community; it is also a gift to the future and to the century ahead. Please let us tell you more. Come by the school, email, or call. We would love to hear from you. Please contact our Director of Development, Mrs. Kathleen Gilheney, to set up a call or meeting. Kathleen’s phone number is 315-579-0061 and her email is kgilheney@syrdiocese.org.
Very Truly Yours,
Daniel Gilheney, Board Chair and Michael McAuliff, Principal