Ann and Charles Quilter Commit $1 Million Lead Gift to Launch CST’s Bridge to the Future Campaign
Claremont School of Theology (CST) has received a $1 million lead gift from Ann and Charles Quilter of Laguna Beach, California, helping anchor the early stage of the $20 million Bridge to the Future Campaign. This announcement follows another recent $1 million lead gift, making this moment especially significant as momentum continues to build in the campaign’s earliest stage.
The Bridge to the Future Campaign—Securing the Future of Leaders the World Cannot Afford to Lose—is being launched at a time when universities and core freedoms are under increasing pressure. The campaign seeks to rebuild CST’s endowment, expand scholarship access, and sustain the faculty and programs that form leaders grounded in compassion, justice, and belonging.
Ann Quilter, recognized as Laguna Beach Woman of the Year, has long been a civic and philanthropic leader committed to issues of justice and inclusion. Her work reflects a belief that freedom must be actively protected and that faith communities have a moral responsibility to stand with those whose voices are marginalized.
“Charlie and I believe this is a moment that calls for moral courage,” said Ann Quilter. “When freedoms feel uncertain and inclusion is contested, we need institutions that form leaders who can stand steady—leaders shaped by compassion, justice, and belonging. Claremont School of Theology is doing that work. Supporting this campaign is our way of helping protect that witness for the next generation,” Quilter said.
The Quilters’ commitment comes as CST experiences enrollment growth at a time when many peer institutions are in decline, with students repeatedly citing the school’s progressive, inclusive identity as central to their choice. Graduates are serving congregations, launching and leading nonprofits, advocating for justice and equity, providing chaplaincy and counseling, teaching in universities, and organizing communities where inclusion is not optional—it is life-saving.
The campaign is intentionally structured as a decade-long effort. It is not about short-term survival but about bridging from resilience to flourishing—ensuring that CST’s mission will outlast today’s faculty, students, and trustees and endure for generations.
Steve Horswill-Johnston, Senior Vice President for Advancement & Communications at CST, described the gift as direction-changing. “This commitment sends a clear signal,” he said. “In a time of moral conflict, there are leaders who refuse to retreat. Ann and Charlie are helping secure the financial foundation that allows CST to keep equipping leaders for pulpits, classrooms, and nonprofit boardrooms. Their generosity strengthens our capacity to move from survival to sustained impact.”
Rev. Ginny Wheeler, chair of the Bridge to the Future Steering Committee, emphasized the broader meaning of the moment. “This gift sets the pace for the early stages of the campaign,” she said. “It affirms that CST’s mission—to educate leaders rooted in enduring faith traditions and committed to justice and belonging—matters deeply right now. We are building a bridge to a future that includes everyone.”
Early gifts to the yet-to-be-publicly announced campaign are already building momentum and demonstrating confidence in CST’s future.
For alumni and friends, the Quilters’ leadership is both an encouragement and an invitation. The Bridge to the Future Campaign is not simply a fundraising effort; it is a strategic initiative designed to move the school forward.
As Horswill-Johnston noted, “We are not asking people to fund buildings. We are asking them to help protect courageous education in a time of moral crisis. This gift moves us forward with clarity, conviction, and hope.”