Frankfurt International School Receives a Major Donation

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce a significant milestone in the history of Frankfurt International School that is cause for celebration.

During the FIS Board of Trustees’ regular 21 September meeting, it was announced that FIS has received a donation from the estate of the Stroth family of approximately €26 million.

Dr. Rolf-Rüdiger Stroth and his wife Dr. Hazel Stroth were a German/American couple who were among the founders of our school more than 50 years ago. Dr. Rolf-Rüdiger Stroth provided the critical legal advice associated with establishing FIS in Germany and served on the Board of Trustees until 1984; his wife Dr. Hazel Stroth was active within the school’s Parent Teacher Group (PTG). The Stroths continued to be involved at FIS long after their children left, attending school events up until the last few years.

We are greatly honored and deeply indebted to the Stroth family for their generous gift to FIS. Our belief is that these funds should be used to ensure that the school and its students continue to thrive for many generations to come. Toward this end, the Board of Trustees plans to establish a new Foundation whose purpose will be to preserve and grow an endowment for the long-term benefit of the school. The new Foundation will help FIS to strengthen its exceptional education long into the future, as well as remain a pillar of both stability and opportunity for the school and local community.

It is common for schools in many parts of the world to have endowments that use their income to support their educational visions. FIS plans to earmark the vast majority of this remarkable gift to establish this new endowment Foundation. The remaining funds will be used to accelerate the completion of the FIS Facilities Master Plan, which is a beacon for our highest standards for education.

Approval of the establishment of this new Foundation will require that we amend our Articles of Association. To accomplish this task, the Board of Trustees is calling an Extraordinary General Membership Meeting (EGM) to be held on 16 November at 19:30 in the FIS Auditorium. We strongly encourage you to attend the EGM to honor this truly historic event at FIS and approve the amendments needed to change its Articles of Association as a necessary next step to the Foundation’s creation.

As far as we are aware, no other international school has ever received a single bequest of this size. It is a legacy both to the Stroth family’s longstanding relationship to our school and their commitment to international education.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact usshould you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you on 16 November to again celebrate this news.

Sincerely,

Paul M. Fochtman Jonathan Clenshaw

Head of School Board of Trustees Chair

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