Storm Lake Donors Step Up to Fund $1.5M St. Mary’s Renovation

St. Mary’s Catholic School in Storm Lake has set its Fund‑A‑Cause for this year’s Ball and Charity Auction, and the community is already stepping up in a big way. The focus is a $1.5 million renovation of the community gym entrance and first floor of the high school—spaces that haven’t seen major up

The announcement places the renovation at the top of this year’s fundraising priorities for the parish school and links the project directly to the school’s marquee social fundraiser. The available report fragment does not include a full description of the planned work, a timeline, or any pledges and the sentence describing the condition of the space ends mid-word; school officials have not released further specifics in the material provided to this newspaper.

For local students and families, a $1.5 million upgrade to the gym entry and first floor could affect daily routines, after-school athletics, community events, and accessibility for visitors and younger students. The Ball and Charity Auction traditionally draws parishioners, alumni, and local business sponsors; designating the renovation as the Fund‑A‑Cause means the project will be the primary beneficiary of auction proceeds and targeted appeals at the event.

The St. Mary’s campaign comes amid a broader national wave of large-scale philanthropic gifts to educational institutions. In Los Angeles County, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott recently announced multimillion-dollar donations, including $15 million to Mount St. Mary’s University of Los Angeles and $12 million to Whittier College. Scott also made unspecified gifts to Genesis LA, United Way of LA, YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles and YWCA of Greater Los Angeles. She announced the latest gifts in a blog post, saying she asked her team to figure out how to give away her fortune faster.

Whittier College President Linda Oubré framed the $12 million gift as both recognition and fuel for access programs. "Whittier prides itself on being a national model for providing access to higher education to students from all backgrounds," Oubré said. "This transformative gift — the largest from a single donor in the College’s history — allows the College to further invest in this mission. It is also an affirmation that the innovative work we are doing at Whittier College is having an impact and being recognized beyond our campus." Mount Saint Mary’s University President Ann McElaney-Johnson said she is thrilled about the donation.

Financial context reported with those gifts notes that Scott is described as the world’s 18th-richest person and that "Scott’s wealth has climbed $23.6 billion this year alone, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as Amazon.com Inc, the primary source of her fortune, has surged." The reporting also frames those L.A. gifts as part of "her $60 billion giving spree."

Locally, the St. Mary’s fundraising drive illustrates how smaller community campaigns coexist with headline-making philanthropic rounds. Storm Lake residents can expect more details from school officials about the scope, timeline and fundraising progress as the Ball approaches. For now, the designation of the Fund‑A‑Cause and the community response offer an early signal that parents, alumni and local donors are prepared to invest in upgraded school facilities.