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GAC is a great school.

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Your Gift Makes the Difference.

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A gift to GAC is a gift to the future.

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GAC is a community where every member of the family has a place and a responsibility. Through structured giving opportunities, we work together to provide the highest quality academic and extracurricular selections, parent programs, and mission opportunities near and far.

Our commitment to Be Greater is a promise and an investment. Our mission is to help each child grow as Jesus did, in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Given the right tools, space, and faithful guidance, our students grow into capable people who understand the value of generous support.

We invite every family to join us in helping our students grow to be greater in every way.

Giving at GAC

Annual Fund

The Annual Fund is our most important giving initiative. Because tuition only covers 85% of the cost of a GAC education, we depend on the Annual Fund to make up the difference.

Capital Giving

Your unwavering support and commitment to the improvement of our facilities, teacher development, and student scholarships makes all the difference for the entire GAC experience.

Gift Planning

Planned Giving is a way to integrate your personal, financial, and estate planning goals. The right planned gift may provide you with tax income benefits while helping GAC further its mission.

By The Numbers

$60

Million endowment

7

Capital campaigns

$150

Million raised

100%

Board participation in the Annual Fund

97%

Parent participation in
Annual Fund

100%

Faculty and staff participation in Annual Fund

Donor Spotlights

Enduring Influence: Bill and Betty Long

Fifty-two years. That’s how long Greater Atlanta Christian has been transforming children into young men and women of leadership and character. While there have been many friends and families from the beginning as well as recent years who’ve blessed the school, few have been more vested throughout the five-plus decades than the Bill Long family.

Fifty-two years. That’s how long Greater Atlanta Christian has been transforming children into young men and women of leadership and character. While there have been many friends and families from the beginning as well as recent years who’ve blessed the school, few have been more vested throughout the five-plus decades than the Bill Long family—for four generations including children, grandchildren...and great-grandchildren.

Bill was the younger brother of first President Jesse Long. From the birth of GAC and still today, Bill and his gracious wife Betty support GAC, with vision, heart, gifts, and encouragement. Recently, in honor of the legacy of both Bill and Betty, their family honored them with the establishment of the Bill and Betty Long Scholarship Fund, providing financial aid for GAC Alumni who wish for their own children to attend Greater Atlanta Christian School. Family members offered two main reasons for setting up the scholarship fund. “First of all, we want to honor GAC. The education and experiences from our time at GAC have been lifechanging for all generations of the Bill Long Family, and continue to influence all of us, even today. Another reason is to honor our dad and Betty for the loving examples they are to us and for the many contributions our dad has made over five decades to this school. Dad and Betty are deserving of honor and we feel grateful to show appreciation to them in this small way.”

Bill’s connection to GAC precedes even the school’s opening. He participated in the planning that birthed what would be far more than “just another Christian school”. In the early 60s, Bill was an Atlanta minister. Then he left Atlanta for a few years, both to minister and serve as president of another Christian school that had been in existence since the early 1900s. That time of firsthand leadership elsewhere expanded Bill’s outlook on how GAC could thrive for the future. Returning in 1971 to minister in what is today North Atlanta Church of Christ, he preached and ministered until he retired. Yet Bill says — what really drew him back to Atlanta was GAC.

Bill’s family always stayed involved. He gave the first baccalaureate speech for a GAC graduating class. Bill served as Campaign volunteer and chairman on multiple fundraising campaigns. He made scores of speeches and personal appeals for support to help GAC reach its best. Bill volunteered as dad throughout his two boys’ school years. In 1977, he was named to the GACS Board of Trustees, and still serves today, often offering just the right faith-filled clarity that the Board and President need. In later years, he advised GAC’s second president, Dr. David Fincher, who welcomed Bill’s wisdom and clear vision in shaping the school’s future. David commented that Betty has been such a supporter and encouragement to him in every way he could imagine. Bill and Betty have had four grandchildren graduate from GAC, and last year a great-grandchild became a student in GAC's Young Learners.

Thanks to the Bill and Betty Long Scholarship Fund, the family’s care and influence will be felt for decades to come. The new fund will provide a scholarship every year in perpetuity to a deserving student who could not otherwise be at GAC.

Read More about Enduring Influence: Bill and Betty Long
Vorpahl and Barron Give Back

The idea for Southern Commercial Roof Tech came to GAC alumni Thomas Vorpahl and Brandon Barron during a family vacation. Friends since the 6th grade, they put their plan into action in 2014, opening the doors to their roofing company in a low-rent warehouse with an unyielding commitment to success but zero employees. 

The idea for Southern Commercial Roof Tech came to GAC alumni Thomas Vorpahl and Brandon Barron during a family vacation. Friends since the 6th grade, they put their plan into action in 2014, opening the doors to their roofing company in a low-rent warehouse with an unyielding commitment to success but zero employees. Since then, their company has been extremely blessed, and Vorpahl and Barron want to return the blessing. They recently gifted GAC with in-kind roofing services.

Owner Thomas Vorpahl said, “Giving back to GAC is a way for me to show my thanks for the positive influence that GAC has had in my life. From helping to build strong foundations in faith to fostering lifetime friendships, the environment that GAC provided for me had a profound and lasting effect on my future. I am excited that my skills are now able to contribute to continuing this opportunity for others, which now includes my children.”

Vorpahl believes that one of the main ways GAC influenced his life was developing his faith at an early age. He said, “The guidance of my teachers and the biblical learning provided in our daily Bible classes and chapel services created an early foundation of faith that was much more impactful than I realized at the time. It reinforced a moral standard that helped steer my compass when confronted with many challenging ethical dilemmas and life decisions. Without the influences of those teachers, classes, and classmates, I’m certain that I’d not be on the same path that I am today. Now as a parent, I’m excited to provide a similar environment to my children. I know that the teachers have and will continue to pour their love into our children to watch them flourish and achieve even greater things.” Vorpahl has three children attending GAC.

Read More about Alumni Thomas Vorpahl ‘92 and Brandon Barron ‘92 Give Back
Kester Family

Steve and Kris Kester have a special heart and love for GAC secondary mathematics and the good work of our math faculty. They are a long-time GAC family with three children who have attended GAC: Lauren, Brett, and Sarah. Steve and Kris have been active volunteers in the swim, track, and cross country communities here on campus.

Steve and Kris Kester have a special heart and love for GAC secondary mathematics and the good work of our math faculty. They are a long-time GAC family with three children who have attended GAC: Lauren, Brett, and Sarah. Steve and Kris have been active volunteers in the swim, track, and cross country communities here on campus.

The Kesters' aspiration is to strengthen and sustain GAC mathematics for the future with a sizable endowed gift. The returns on this investment will support GAC mathematics year after year. Because of their support, the school has renamed Spartan Hall as Kester Hall. In addition to providing the tools and resources for top-notch mathematics instruction, we made physical improvements to Kester Hall this past summer.

Steve said of his gift, "We are delighted to support quality, Christ-centered education, and we encourage others to endow their passions. My personal love for math came from a high school teacher, so I know the impact a teacher can have on a student."

Read More about Kester Family: More Than Just a Name

We are a Community

Dr. Katherine White

"Over the years, thousands of families have blessed GAC with their giving. They gave because they believed in the present but also in the future. The results of their generosity surround us, from 35 state-of-the-art facilities, to the highest caliber teachers, to the 5,000 graduates that have gone on to pursue meaningful lives as leaders in their communities. We cannot underestimate the value of a gift, and the result it can have on society."

VP of Advancement