Financial Base
Whitman’s endowment per student is significantly less than schools with which it regularly competes to enroll students and hire faculty.
Endowment per Student at Comparable Colleges in 2010
Annual gifts provide ongoing support for overall educational quality and immediate funding for special opportunities. Robust financial growth will make our aspirations for Whitman students’ experiences a reality.
Whitman must
Expand its unrestricted endowment
A practical means of “paying it forward,” gifts to Whitman’s endowment connect alumni and students and help ensure that the educational opportunities provided to past graduates will be available to future generations.
Increase annual giving
Annual gifts to the College provide the opportunity for all alumni and friends to participate in making the student experience at Whitman outstanding. Participation by alumni of each generation will be vital to making the vision for the future of the College a reality.
Whitman’s endowment symbolizes its commitment to the enduring values of education and makes possible the achievement of the College’s mission. At this time, less than one-third of Whitman’s yearly operating budget is supported by income from its endowment. This campaign seeks to expand Whitman’s endowment resources, assuring long-term competitive strength for our academic program and improving access for deserving students.
In addition, Now Is the Time calls on each of our alumni, parents and friends to make a difference through gifts to the Annual Fund. Unrestricted gifts, in particular, give Whitman the ability to respond immediately and aggressively to new challenges and provide extraordinary opportunities for students each year. During this campaign, we hope to increase giving through the Annual Fund by 45 percent.
With your help, this campaign will provide both long-term financial stability and the flexibility to meet emerging educational needs in the years ahead – setting a Whitman education apart and ensuring that our graduates of tomorrow are as prepared as their predecessors to pursue their goals and address the seen and unseen challenges of the 21st century.