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As if you needed a reason to support Oberlin.
As if you needed a reason to support Oberlin.
Why is your annual gift so important to Oberlin’s students? Gifts to the Oberlin Annual Fund help sustain Oberlin’s tradition of scholastic excellence, academic innovation, and musical artistry. These current use funds support scholarships, student life, and teaching and learning programs.
1. Because your gift shows a commitment to an innovative academic model that creates connections between music, art, and the sciences – and fosters a spirit of life-long learning in students.
2. Because your gift will help Oberlin remain accessible to students from all backgrounds by providing the financial aid they need to make an Oberlin education possible. More than 80 percent of Oberlin students will receive financial aid this year – your gift counts!
3. Because learning happens everywhere at Oberlin! Your gift to the Annual Fund helps support:
Master Classes taught by mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.
Guest speakers for the annual Convocation Series, including comedians Daniel Radosh ’91 and Ed Helms ’96, as well as Jesse Milan Jr., JD, president and CEO of AIDS United.
The Ninde Scholars Program – a collaboration between the College, the Oberlin City School District, and several community groups – which provides tutoring and college advising services to local high school students.
The Creativity and Leadership Program’s intensive venture boot camp, LaunchU, which gives aspiring student entrepreneurs an opportunity to refine their ideas, develop skills, network, and compete for a venture development grant.
New equipment and uniforms for Oberlin’s athletics teams, as well as improvements to campus athletics facilities (including the Patricia '63 & Merrill '61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center that provides wellness programs for students, faculty, staff, and the Oberlin community).
The Spanish in the Elementary Schools Program (SITES), in which college students teach local elementary school students to speak Spanish.
A revamped Career Center, which will increase networking opportunities for students and help them better connect with alumni, parents, and other Oberlin community members through programs such as PAL and SOAR, and the new Summer on the Cuyahoga Internship Program.
4. Because tuition only covers 50 percent of the actual cost of educating an Oberlin student each year. Your gift (when combined with the gifts of other alumni) will help bridge the gap between what tuition covers and the college’s total operating budget.
5. Because your gift will help support first-rate faculty! Gifts to the Annual Fund help provide library books, journal subscriptions, lab equipment, and access to streaming, remote learning, and new media technologies to enhance the classroom experience for students.
6. Because you truly believe that one person can change the world!
Talking Points for Conversations with Your Classmates
Talking Points for Conversations with Your Classmates
Any dollar amount is worthwhile to Oberlin. If the amount of the gift is meaningful to you, it’s meaningful to Oberlin and it makes a difference for our students. The average gift to the Annual Fund is $300, but we receive thousands of smaller gifts each year – without them, we wouldn’t have raised $4.7 million in 2020.
Participation is important. Participation is how college ranking services and grant funders decide alumni are satisfied with their Oberlin education. Higher alumni participation means higher college rankings and more funding for faculty/student research, all because more alumni decide to give to Oberlin.
Each person can be a “participating donor.” It sounds obvious, but no one can make your gift for you. Each person making any gift helps us reach our yearly goal.
Annual Fund gifts are important. Annual Fund gifts go to work immediately in support of Oberlin students and programs. While the endowment is a central source of support, it would have to grow by more than $100 million to generate enough interest to equal the $4.7 million raised in 2020. Annual Fund support is essential to Oberlin each year as part of a larger effort.
Tuition covers just part of the cost of an Oberlin education. More than 80 percent of Oberlin students are on financial aid, but even those paying full tuition don’t bear the full cost. Oberlin has always relied on the generosity of the Oberlin community of alumni, parents, and friends to help keep Oberlin accessible to students from every walk of life.
Even if you disagree with something at Oberlin, its students are worth supporting. You may encounter a classmate with an objection to giving for philosophical rather than financial reasons. Encourage them to look at giving as a way to stay engaged with Oberlin; we welcome feedback about concerns they might have. They’re also welcome to give to a specific area (like scholarships) or a specific department, so they can be sure their gift is used for something they support.
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