A Holistic Approach to Giving

 

“We are committed to St. Stephen’s and to its values,” said Martin Taylor who, along with wife Michelle, appreciates the school’s inclusive, multicultural campus. “We spend a good amount of time teaching our children the importance of socioeconomic and social diversity in a school. We want them to be around kids of all walks of life so they learn about life in the real world.

 

“It takes significant diligence to build a school environment and boarding program with students representing diverse cultural backgrounds,” he added. “We want students to be exposed to that on a daily basis and learn how to navigate through it. We also want our own kids to recognize that they are in a special place.”

 

The Taylors knew little about St. Stephen’s when they moved to Austin, but were quickly introduced to the school by work colleagues. They were attracted to St. Stephen’s because of its long history of educating students of all backgrounds and cultures and of promoting social justice. They discovered that St. Stephen’s was the first coeducational Episcopal school in the United States and the first integrated boarding school in the South.

 

“We liked that St. Stephen’s was at the forefront of educating girls side-by-side with boys, has a strong history of integration, and has been diligent in building a diverse campus environment and boarding program,” Martin said. They enrolled their three children, Zoe and Zach (Class of 2019) and Ella (Class of 2022), in 2015.

 

Since joining the school community, the Taylors have been exemplary endowment donors who take a holistic approach to giving. Last year the family made a $1.3 million gift to the school that supports the Emerging Scholars Program, which aids low-income, first-generation college-bound students by removing the financial barriers to success, as well as the Annual Fund and Parents’ Association. They also established two significant named endowments that support scholar-athletes and enhance need-based aid and diversity at the school: the Taylor Family Financial Aid Endowment and the Taylor Family Diversity Endowment.

 

The Taylors hope their gift to St. Stephen’s will motivate others to support the school. “We believe it is important to nourish your environment so that it continues to thrive,” Martin explained. “We all need to do our part to keep the engine running. One way we do that is by helping to expose students to things they might not otherwise have access to.

 

“I fell into my career by accident,” explained Martin, operating principal of Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm with more than $28 billion in cumulative capital commitments. Prior to joining Vista, he worked for 13 years at Microsoft Corp. “I was never exposed to careers in finance or technology as a kid — that’s why programs like Emerging Scholars are so important. You just cannot take a student and drop them into a different school environment and expect them to do well. You need to close the achievement gap by providing the additional resources needed to help them succeed.”

 

The Taylors believe that good education can be transformational. “We’ve seen that firsthand — in other kids, as well as our own,” explained Michelle Taylor, founder and chief executive officer of The Zella Company, an Austin-based agency providing end-to-end event production, design, high-end furnishings and décor rentals. “St. Stephen’s is helping our children gain their independence. They are really coming into their own, exploring who they are as individuals.”

 

For the Taylors philanthropy is a family activity; the couple frequently involves their children in decisions about giving. “How we give is extremely important to us,” Martin said. “Our ability to focus on giving keeps us grounded. It encourages us to find a way to do better and give opportunities to others.”

 

“Philanthropy is an important outlet for making our world a better place,” Michelle concluded. “That’s an important lesson for us all.”