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Bellarmine grad raises millions for alma mater

ByMary Gottschalk

Marc Rebboah is someone you can't just say no to, at least not if it involves Bellarmine College Preparatory.

Just as he expects a yes answer when he asks, Rebboah himself was quick to say yes when his alma mater asked for help in 2003.

At that time, Bellarmine was going into the fourth year of a five-year, $35 million fundraising campaign to bolster its endowment.

While it had $23.5 million in pledges, the campaign was at a standstill. The original campaign committee had given up, and the school's position of vice president for development had been vacant for a year.

The school's board of trustees was faced with trying to raise another $1.5 million and declaring success at $25 million, or recommitting to the campaign and going for the $11.5 million necessary to reach the original goal.

Rebboah, who is on the board, stepped forward, offering to chair the Phase II committee and go for it all.

Over the next year and a half, he and his committee raised the needed $11.5 million, and the campaign hit its target.

Now, the 1977 Bellarmine graduate is being honored as a distinguished volunteer fundraiser at the 2006 Silicon Valley Philanthropy Day awards celebration on Nov. 17.

Asked if he finds it difficult to ask people for money or if there are any tricks to it, Rebboah says, "No. When you believe in something, it's not selling. You just have to be very passionate and very sincere. I have no issue in asking people for $10,000 to $1 million.

"It's doing your homework, identifying who has philanthropic tendencies and then identifying the best approach and how much you can ask them for.

"You just have to be willing to ask."

Rebboah is quick to acknowledge the help he got, just as those who helped him are quick to acknowledge Rebboah's influence.

Mike Rosendin, a fellow 1977 graduate, says he joined Rebboah's committee because "Marc was really able to deliver a clear message as to the mission of Bellarmine and the fact they do subsidize tuition."

"I was shocked to hear how many students at Bellarmine are on student financial aid. Marc was able to articulate the needs the school has financially and how important it is to perpetuate it in the future."

Rosendin, senior vice president and director with Colliers International in San Jose, says his own donation to the endowment campaign wasn't his first.

"I've been a donor since I graduated," he says, "but not to the extent I am now."

Michael Smythe, a real estate developer, recalls Rebboah "asking me and Tom Hayes to join him to help raise money and awareness of the endowment campaign.

"He roped us all into the deal. Not only did we give personally, but we got some of our classmates to give."

Smythe says he and Hayes invited fellow 1978 classmates to join them for an evening at CB Hannegan's in Los Gatos.

"We raised close to $100,000 on Bellarmine's behalf, all triggered by the catalyst that is Marc Rebboah," Smythe says.

"It's one thing to get somebody to write a check, it's another thing to get somebody to join him in his efforts. It's not easy, and it's not fun; it's work. But he inspired us. He's a testament to what that school is all about."

Rebboah is well aware of the importance of financial aid and the impact the education students receive there has on their lives.

Rebboah's father was a third-generation French colonist living in Algiers when the revolution hit, forcing him to flee with his wife and young sons. They moved to Toulouse, France, for two years.

"My parents had four boys, and my uncle in San Jose encouraged us to move to the United States for a better life. My parents didn't speak a word of English, and they brought us here," Rebboah says of their move in 1965.

At his uncle's urging, Rebboah's parents approached Bellarmine about educating their sons, not understanding it was a high school.

"My older brother was 8 and I was 6 so we had to wait, but we both ended up going to Bellarmine," he says.

Rebboah doesn't dwell on his own difficulties living in a new land and learning a new language, but he does admit, "We were ostracized because we didn't have any way to communicate with the other kids.

"It was very difficult, especially for my parents. They never did adjust."

Rebboah learned English at school, and his parents took lessons. His father became a hairstylist and his mother opened a ballet studio in their home.

Both Rebboah and his older brother attended Bellarmine on full financial aid, something few, if any, of their classmates were aware of.

In return for the aid, he spent summers working on campus doing various jobs, including painting student lockers.

Rebboah remains very conscious of students with parents who can't afford Bellarmine's tuition and the impact the school can have on them.

"Bellarmine does a wonderful job of helping all kids who qualify, whether they have financial resources or not. If they get accepted, they are never turned down for financial reasons," he says, adding that last year the school gave out $2 million in need-based financial aid.

"I think the Jesuits really understand how to develop the whole person," Rebboah says. "Their motto is 'Men for Others' and they live that. They offer a real balance, not only in academics but also in spiritual development. A lot of kids realize they get far more out of Jesuit teaching at Bellarmine than they did in college."

Rebboah says there are fewer Jesuits on the faculty these days, and he feels strongly that the school community has a great responsibility to latch onto those ideals and help instill them in the young kids going through the system.

Although he says he realizes more each year how valuable a Jesuit education is, Rebboah recognized its importance right out of high school.

An Academic All-American, Rebboah had athletic skills that brought offers of full football scholarships from Stanford University, San José State University, Louisiana State University, Brigham Young University and others. Instead, he accepted an offer from Santa Clara University.

While at SCU, Rebboah became a U.S. citizen.

"I was a political science and history major, but I still had to take the test," he quips.

After graduating in 1981, Rebboah was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but a back injury soon ended his professional football career.

"I have no regrets," he says. "I learned a lot of the skills, and the success I enjoy today through the programs at Bellarmine and that would include playing football there."

Rebboah was accepted into law school, but says, "I did not want to be an attorney. I was fascinated by estate management and the fiduciary side of trusts."

His fluency in French helped him land a job with the Banque Nationale de Paris. He subsequently worked for several other financial firms, surviving mergers while gaining the experience and skills he wanted.

In 1995, Rebboah founded Enterprise Trust and Investment Company in Los Gatos.

Chairman of the board and president of the firm, which manages around $600 million for clients, Rebboah says, "We are the only fully independent trust and investment company chartered by the California State Department of Financial Institutions."

Rebboah says the things he is most proud of are founding his firm, the Academic All-American status he earned at Bellarmine and especially "my family."

Rebboah and his wife, Terry, have been married for 17 years.

They chose San Jose's Almaden Valley neighborhood to raise their children, he says, "because it's a great spot."

Their son Brandon is a sophomore at Bellarmine this year, and Justin is an eighth-grader at Brett Harte in Almaden, who is now going through the application process for Bellarmine.

When Rebboah was first contacted with news of his upcoming distinguished volunteer fundraiser award, he admits he didn't pay any attention to it.

"I saw an email and I thought it was junk mail, so I deleted it," he says.

"That's not why I do these things. I do it because I love Bellarmine."

It wasn't until Jeff Shilling, Bellarmine's vice president for advancement, called and asked Rebboah why he hadn't responded to the email that he took it seriously.

"He said, 'It's been three weeks. You need to respond to these people.'" Rebboah says.

"I was very surprised and I'm very honored, but at the same time, it's not necessary."

Shilling disagrees.

"This the first time in a long time that Bellarmine has nominated someone, and we did it because Marc is such a committed volunteer. We felt it was important to do it," Shilling says.

"Marc is one of our most enthusiastic and passionate alumni. He cares very deeply for Bellarmine and would do anything he could for the school. That's the kind of alumni you want leading your volunteer efforts, especially when it comes to fundraising.

"He really does a nice job of encouraging people to show their strong loyalty for Bellarmine by supporting the school financially. You can be a loyal alumnus and have great feelings and never send the school a nickel.

"Marc is a great spokesman for saying that loyalty is great, but the school can't meet its mission without strong financial support from alumni."