Anonymous donors have pledged $1.3 million to Wisconsin Academy, sparking a matching fundraising initiative. The funds will help more students attend the Columbus, Wisconsin boarding school, according to Principal Derek Timms.
While Timms can’t share details about the anonymous donors, he’s clear about the purpose. “The intention is always that it helps students attend here…to be used for students in situations where their families really wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
In June 2024, Timms began his role at WA when outgoing principal, Ken Smith, offered to introduce him to individuals connected to the academy. The initial conversation went well and Timms thought nothing of it. Then, Smith died that August, in a devastating loss for the WA community. Sometime after, the donors contacted Timms wanting to do something for the school. Their proposal: To provide funds to help create “a true endowment to help students attend Wisconsin Academy,” he recalled.
It was a gesture Timms welcomed, not in small part because of his vision to revive enrollment numbers and keep WA from the pitfalls of closure that has impacted other Adventist academies across the country.
The Wisconsin donation is the second major donation for a Lake Union-based senior academy. The first was announced at the Indiana Academy alumni reunion in October 2025.
The initial seed of generosity sparked a fundraising drive in Wisconsin that has leveled up at various times. The base donation, $600,000, preceded a 2:1 matching campaign for additional donors. Once funds surpassed that level, the original donors pledged an additional $300,000 for a new round of matching. Now, after four rounds of pledges and matches, the total raised or given is approximately $1.65 million.
Fundraising in Wisconsin began in earnest in 2025 and the matching challenge has drawn in a range of support. “It’s usually small donors,” Timms observed, saying there’ve been one or two other major gifts. “But most have been different people and places combining forces. It’s been a team effort.”
Donations have come in from churches in Oklahoma and Nebraska, and Timms visited camp meetings to appeal for support. “We’ve got people coming from all different places to try to help.”
Those who give are driven by seeing their funds matched and knowing their gifts will go towards helping families afford the cost of education, at a time when the cost of so many things is increasing, Timms said.
“The donors, whether the original ones or the people that are partnering with them, they see the need. They’re filling a need and they know their faith isn’t misplaced.”
Ensuring that students who want to receive Christian education won’t be shut out due to finances aligns with Timms’ vision to grow the academy.
“I’m doing a major enrollment push and God keeps providing people and finances in a way that’s sustainable,” Timms shared, adding that when he started at the academy there were 66 students; this year there are 93 students. With the funding support, the goal is to eventually reach maximum capacity at the school, 120-130 students. “This is going to help a lot of people from a lot of places,” he said. “That’s my overarching thing, I want to combine all the different people groups from across the state of Wisconsin” at the school.
The campaign is slated to end October 2027. The funds will start being distributed a year or two after, Timms said.
The pledge and subsequent funds spark hope for continued turnaround for WA. While Timms has been focused on gradually increasing enrollment, a common obstacle is financial limitations for interested families, including many from outside of Wisconsin. “The state of Wisconsin has something called the Choice program…and it pays for students’ tuition here,” he said, but only if a Wisconsin resident that’s income eligible. Many interested families don’t meet that criteria, Timms said, so he’d like to see some of the raised funds help applicants from Northern Illinois, Eastern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Overall, the goal is to make WA more accessible to students beyond Wisconsin’s borders.
The momentum and support for Christian education are not lost on Timms. “We’re very humble and very grateful for the original donors and all the donors that have partnered…to provide a Seventh-day Adventist education for our young people.”
Barring the Lord’s return, he believes the funding can help strengthen the academy. “I want WA to still be here over 20 years from now. It’s a legacy that can stand.”
Kaara Baptiste is assistant professor of communication at Andrews University.