Most donations to Oberlin are unrestricted gifts, which are directed towards the areas of greatest need. About 85 percent of each gift goes to scholarships and financial aid. The remaining 15 percent goes to a variety of current use projects around campus. While we can't quite match every dollar donated with every dollar spent, we can say that 'current use' covers many things people might not immediately think of supporting: research projects, building maintenance, and even the Artist Recital Series.

While The Oberlin Alumni Fund encourages unrestricted gifts whenever possible, we know some donors have stronger connections to particular parts of Oberlin. We therefore welcome gifts that are restricted to a particular use. When you make a donation, it goes where you say it should go - Allen Art Museum, the Geology department, or more general headings like 'student life' or 'scholarships.'

Below are some options you might want to consider supporting. Remember, Professor X will make a donation to the area of greatest need no matter where you decide to donate.

Scholarship Support
By designating your gift to scholarships, you'll know that all of your donation is helping current students who otherwise might not be able to afford a college education. Scholarship support remains one of the most popular designations among alums. When you add direct scholarship support to the 85 percent of each unrestricted gift that support scholarships, alumni, parents and friends gave $3.5 million in scholarships to Oberlin last year.

The Young Alumni Internship Fund
This great new fund, established last year by the classes of 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, provides stipends to low income students so they can pursue low- or non-paid internships. Internships are a key way for students to learn about career options, explore jobs they might or might not like, and gain experience that gives them a leg up in job and grad school applications. Unfortunatly, undertaking an internship often entails significant costs in housing, food, transportation, etc., making internships another potential class-based dividing line in higher education.

Demand for these stipends is very strong - the inagural grant last year was awarded out of a pool of several dozen applicants, and Career Services expects even more interest this year. This fund is current-use, with every dollar contributed going directly to students for their projects.

Conservatory Dean's Student Assistance Fund
The Oberlin Conservatory is one of the finest in the world, teaching students who will go on to play with major orchestras, win competitions, and impart their knowledge and share their talent with students of their own. The student assistance fund provides assistance to Oberlin musicians to travel to competitions throughout the year. By playing with the best, Oberlin students can continue to grow as musicians and performers.