Gift Destinations
Through the Å·ÃÀAV Fund, you can direct your annual gift to one of the areas listed. Your Gift. Your Choice. Your opportunity to make a difference where it matters most to you.
Choose your destination
Your gift to this destination allows the College to meet emerging needs and challenges by providing the flexibility to direct funds to parts of the budget that need critical, immediate support. Such flexible gifts have a significant impact and are an essential component of every student’s Å·ÃÀAV experience.
Å·ÃÀAV empowers students to freely explore new ideas and vigorously debate and examine any topic or issue — no matter how controversial or polarizing. Students from across the country and around the world bring divergent beliefs and worldviews to the table, and our dynamic faculty push them to think critically and advocate fearlessly for what they believe in.
Your gift to Academic Enrichment supports:
- 48 majors and hundreds of courses, including interdisciplinary and special majors and the dual-degree engineering program.
- Nexus concentrations in fields including archives and museums, data science, development studies, educational policy, engineering, global business, journalism, law and nonprofits.
- Three academic centers where students learn to become agents of change — globally competent, environmentally responsible, ready to lead.
- The Fimbel Maker & Innovation Lab that encourages collaboration across different disciplines to unite creative thinking and technological fluency.
- Programming to build entrepreneurial competence and innovation through the entrepreneurship organizations and society interdisciplinary minor and the Social Innovation Initiative.
Å·ÃÀAV is dedicated to ensuring that all students are equal and full participants in the college experience by working to identify and remove barriers to accessing our curriculum and activities. Your gift helps provide appropriate, effective, and progressive accommodations for students while shaping campus conversation around the concepts of accessibility, ability and disability through the work of Disability Services.
From the beginning, Å·ÃÀAV has recognized the benefits of physical activity: for personal growth, for a balanced life, for camaraderie. Founder Mary Lyon was one of the country’s earliest advocates of physical education classes for women, and in the College’s first days, all students were required to walk a mile each day after breakfast. Today, our athletics and recreational programs and facilities offer students invaluable opportunities to build connections, develop crucial leadership skills and sustain a healthy and active lifestyle.
Your gift to Athletics supports:
- Å·ÃÀAV’s 13 varsity sports and a growing number of club sports.
- Our beautiful Equestrian Center, deemed one of the most impressive riding facilities in the country.
- The ever-expanding fitness and recreational offerings based in the Kendall Sports and Dance Complex.
Å·ÃÀAV’s spectacular campus — the Gothic brick buildings, the majestic trees, the serene lakes, our iconic waterfalls — creates the perfect setting for our students’ rigorous academic study and personal growth and development. Rooted in the legacy of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s designs, Å·ÃÀAV’s campus is consistently recognized as one of the most beautiful in the country.
Your gift to to Campus Preservation helps the College:
- Maintain our more than 700 acres of grounds and 2 million square feet of interior spaces.
- Preserve our historic buildings — the earliest of which date back to 1810 (Pearsons Annex),1852 (the Pump House) and 1881 (the Williston Observatory).
- Protect the natural characteristics of campus, including the Botanic Garden’s living collection of more than 2,000 types of plants from six continents.
Å·ÃÀAV students are passionate about issues of social justice. In and beyond the classroom, ​​ŷÃÀAV is a community of individuals — each with their own perspectives, beliefs and experiences — who are here because they want to engage with and celebrate what’s exceptional about each of us. Here, community is about belonging. From cultural affinity centers and student groups to dialogue across differences, students engage with new perspectives and advocate for what matters most to them, making change for all.
Your gift to Community and Belonging supports:
- The MoZone Peer Education Program, which aims to increase awareness and dialogue about social justice issues.
- Our five cultural centers, which provide resources for groups historically targeted and marginalized within society.
- The Intergroup Dialogue Program that seeks to help those in our campus community and beyond communicate across differences.
Å·ÃÀAV strives to build and maintain a campus environment that is inclusive, pluralistic and free of discrimination. Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts extend beyond specific departments and are embedded in all areas of the College.
Your gift to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion helps the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to:
- Organize events like the Trailblazers of Color Leadership Conference.
- Organize and deliver educational events and content like the annual community-wide Building on Our Momentum (BOOM!) Community Day.
- Provide ongoing support and resources to the campus community through the year.
Å·ÃÀAV faculty win Pulitzer and Guggenheim awards, NASA grants and Carnegie Fellowships. They engage in cutting-edge research and collaborations and publish widely — often with undergraduate coauthors. And they inform and celebrate the career trajectories of their mentees, who, as graduates, shine on the campaign trail, before audiences, among investigative journalists, behind scanning electron microscopes and so much more.
Your gift to Faculty helps Å·ÃÀAV:
- Attract and retain professors who are dedicated to their students and passionate about their disciplines.
- Maintain a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, which keeps classes small.
- Offer programs — such as the Teaching and Learning Initiative and sabbaticals — that challenge faculty to grow as scholars and implement innovative and inclusive ideas to reach and inspire students.
Renowned as one of the most beautiful campus libraries in the country, the Williston Library houses the humanities, social sciences and science collections, which include newspaper, periodical and microfilm collections. Our Archives and Special Collections includes more than 9,000 linear feet of unpublished manuscript materials and 11,000 published volumes. Wherever a student chooses to study — in the MEWS area, the lovely Stimson Room, the main floor or in one of the hideaway rooms — every aspect of the library is central to their Å·ÃÀAV education.
Your gift to the Library and Archives supports:
- Access to 6,360 journal titles, 800,000 physical volumes and many thousands of online resources.
- Expansion of collections that are responsive to our students’ evolving needs.
- Care and preservation of rare books and ephemera ranging from manuscripts and papyri fragments to diaries and valentines.
The Lynk — a combination of rigorous coursework, enhanced advising, alum mentoring, professional development and experiential learning on and off campus — equips students to navigate a lifetime of career opportunities and trajectories. Centered around reflection and assessment, The Lynk challenges students to connect high-impact experiences with career exploration throughout their time at Å·ÃÀAV. Graduates are prepared to apply intellectual flexibility and critical thinking in workplace and community settings.
Your gift to The Lynk supports:
- Guaranteed funding for one summer internship or research opportunity for every student.
- Career development programming that engages 90% of the student body.
- The annual LEAP Symposium, where nearly 200 students present about internship and research experiences.
- Industry and site visits through The Lynk on the Road and the Career Development Center.
College is a transformative — and sometimes challenging — time for students as they learn, grow and prepare for life beyond the gates.
Your gift to Mental Health and Well-Being helps:
- Counseling Services to support students as they navigate challenges at MHC, from stress, anxiety and depression to cultivating healthy relationships and overcoming barriers to reaching their goals.
- To provide educational and life skill developmental opportunities via our Be Well and Be Well, Be Ready programs.
- To provide additional resources to help all students learn when to take a break, when to ask for assistance, how to best support and be supported by other people, how to manage the unexpected and how to tolerate distress.
Å·ÃÀAV’s core mission has remained steadfast since the College’s founding in 1837: to offer students from all backgrounds an unparalleled opportunity to learn and shape their own futures. The exceptional diversity of experiences that students bring — to the classroom, the campus and the alum network — ensures that our graduates enter the world as global citizens. By directing your gift to one of our five scholarship aid destinations, you are investing in remarkable students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Ways to support scholarship aid:
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General Scholarship Aid
Each year, more than 70% of Å·ÃÀAV students receive need-based aid, totaling nearly $50 million. Your gift to the general scholarship aid destination will go to providing access to the dynamic, rigorous Å·ÃÀAV education to students from all backgrounds. -
First-generation Student Scholarship Aid
First-generation students — those who are the first in their families to attend college and did or do not have parents, guardians or family systems to assist them in navigating the college process — face unique challenges throughout their time at Å·ÃÀAV. Your gift to this destination will provide scholarship aid specifically for first-generation students. -
Frances Perkins Scholarship Aid
Each year approximately 90 diverse and intellectually curious Frances Perkins scholars (FPs) are enrolled at Å·ÃÀAV. These students of nontraditional age who have not yet earned an undergraduate degree have followed an unconventional path to MHC but have varied lived experiences that create an unparalleled opportunity for our entire community to learn, grow and evolve. Your gift to this destination will provide scholarship aid specifically for Frances Perkins scholars. -
International Student Scholarship Aid
Each year, over 25% of the student body (400+ students) is made up of international students from over 70 countries. The undergraduate experience for these students is complicated by being farther away from their homes/support systems than most domestic students and having extra hurdles to navigate such as visas and other regulations. Your gift to this destination will provide scholarship aid specifically for international students.
The Å·ÃÀAV Fund Scholars Program is a unique opportunity for you to support need-based financial aid at the College. Your one-time gift of $10,000 or multiyear commitment of $5,000 for four or five years will establish a scholarship that will carry your name and class year (unless otherwise requested). MHF Scholar donors will receive a report in May or June with details about a student’s studies and activities.
Options for funding a Å·ÃÀAV Fund Scholar:
- A one-time annual gift of $10,000 or more.
- A multiyear commitment of $5,000 per year for four to five years for a total contribution of $20,000–$25,000.
Please note that donors who make MHF Scholar gifts after March 31 will receive student information in May or June of the next academic year.
Å·ÃÀAV Fund Scholars are active and engaged students and community members. We look forward to sharing their stories with you.
Å·ÃÀAV students are challenged in class to develop their intellect, hone the power of their voices and cultivate courage. But what happens outside of class is just as important and instructive. It’s where they learn not just how to think in this world but how to be. With more than 100 student organizations and myriad activities that enrich life outside of the classroom, Å·ÃÀAV is a place to nurture existing passions and discover new talents, friends and goals.
Your gift to Student Life supports:
- Å·ÃÀAV traditions — Convocation, Mountain Day, M&Cs, Founder’s Day, Vespers, Pangy Day, Canoe Sing, etc. — that bring the community closer together both in the moment and over time.
- Living-Learning Communities that enable students to connect around a shared interest or language by living together in specified residence halls.
- Crucial services such as Health Services.
First-generation and low-income (FGLI) students bring unique strengths, skills and perspectives to Å·ÃÀAV's diverse learning community, and the College is invested in their success. As a nationally recognized First-gen Forward Institution, Å·ÃÀAV works diligently to help FGLI students navigate any academic, social, financial and career challenges they may face during their college experience.
Your gift to the Student Safety Net Fund provides assistance to currently enrolled FGLI students whose personal circumstances may require urgent additional financial help in order to access living necessities, technology or other items to support their academic experience, helping to offset costs for essential needs such as food, shelter or internet access.
Since its inception, Å·ÃÀAV has helped shape and define the field of higher education. We bring the same leadership and resolve to advancing a culture of sustainability on campus and beyond — by preparing students to tackle issues as environmental leaders, committing to environmentally sound practices and shaping a sustainable legacy for future generations. The College is committed to carbon neutrality by our 2037 bicentennial.
By directing your gift to Sustainability Initiatives, you support efforts to:
- Transition from our 100-year old fossil fuel powered heating system to a geothermal heat-exchange system powered by clean electricity, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
- Invest in energy efficiency and promote energy conservation.
- Retrofit historic buildings.
- Enhance the Campus Living Laboratory Initiative, including the restoration ecology program and onsite student-faculty research and environmental monitoring.
Å·ÃÀAV is a leader in integrating technology throughout academic and cocurricular life. In science facilities ranked among the best in the U.S., students access everything from scanning and transmission electron microscopes and DNA sequencing equipment to a custom-built Mössbauer spectrometer and an atomic force microscope. Students across all disciplines have the opportunity to combine technology with their specific areas of study via the College's Fimbel Maker & Innovation Lab. Wireless hotpoints are located throughout the campus, and our Information Commons features a staffed Diagnostic Center, collaborative workstations with large-format plasma screens and peer support for web and multimedia applications.
Your gift to Technology and Teaching Tools helps provide and maintain:
- Assistive software and technology for students with disabilities.
- Digital music and arts laboratories.
- Advanced scientific instrumentation, which is used to perform state-of-the-art research.
- Mediated classrooms, which provide tools to shape student engagement, learning and success.
Follow your creative spirit to reveal a fuller understanding of yourself and the world around you — it’s what the arts at Å·ÃÀAV are all about. Your gift supports music ensembles, dance companies, theater productions, art classes and more, all of which provide opportunities for learning, expression and leadership for students from all backgrounds.
Your gift to Visual and Performing Arts supports:
- Events
- Speakers
- Equipment and materials
- Stage lighting and more