|
Making a Difference :: The Oberlin Alumni Fund
The St. Andrew’s Refugee Ministry is an oasis of calm amid the noise and confusion of downtown Cairo. In summer 2007, St. Andrew’s, as it has done for nearly three decades, attracted displaced men, women, and children who had fled from Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, and other countries in an attempt to start new lives. And it was also the destination for 19-year-old Amina Hassen, who, weeks after completing her freshman year at Oberlin, had come to help.
In a little over a month at St. Andrew’s, Hassen taught English to children and adults, who in turn helped her with her Arabic. She breakfasted on foods popular with the locals, like batatis,which essentially are sandwiches of French fries and ketchup on pita bread. She listened to stories of conflict, persecution, and violence as her new acquaintances recounted tales of life in their homelands.
 |
Children at the St. Andrew's
Refugee Ministry in Cairo, Egypt |
She came away from the experience with new insight into her major—she plans to tailor-design a major in public health—and herself. “What struck me most was how optimistic everyone there was about their future,” she says. “I’m confident that I can succeed in making a difference in people’s lives.”
What made it possible for this experience to make a difference in Hassen’s life is the Oberlin Alumni Fund. A special Alumni Fund internship program provided her with a stipend that covered her travel and living expenses. Stipends from the program are awarded based on financial need, and without it, Hassen would not have been able to go to Egypt.
As the second largest source (behind endowment income) of direct operating support for Oberlin each year, the Alumni Fund is vital, and its impact is far-reaching. It helps to pay for scholarship support, academic programs, library resources, student research and travel, faculty development, instrumentation for the science labs, athletic teams, student clubs and organizations, and many other initiatives across all areas of the College and Conservatory.
The largest portion of the Alumni Fund—85 percent each year—goes toward need-based scholarships and financial aid, to help keep the door to an Oberlin education open to qualified students across the socioeconomic spectrum. Sixty percent of Oberlin students demonstrate financial need, and the College fully meets that need by awarding aid packages that average $25,000 per recipient each year. Fiscal year 2007 was a record year for the Alumni Fund as giving topped $5 million, an all-time high, with gifts ranging from $1 to $100,000. (The average was $322.) To put this in perspective, it would take roughly $100 million in endowment to generate that much income in a given year.
 |
The Alumni Fund provides vital support for a broad range of Oberlin programs and resources, including the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. |
Just as important as the total amount contributed is the number of alumni who contribute. The participation rate—the number of alumni who make annual gifts divided by the total number of alumni that can be solicited—is a key indicator of a college’s overall health, and one that’s examined closely by college ranking organizations and by corporations and foundations looking to make grants. Forty-two percent of alumni contributed to the Alumni Fund in 2007—a strong figure, but one that leaves room for improvement. Oberlin ranks 54th among liberal arts colleges in annual fund participation, according to the most recent U.S. News & World Report college guide. Carleton College is the leader in this group with 64 percent, and Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, and Swarthmore all top 50 percent. If only half of non-donors contributed, Oberlin’s participation rate would climb near those of the nation’s leaders.
As with all things annual, there’s always next year, and next year is now this year, and the 2008 Oberlin Alumni Fund campaign is underway, full of optimism for continued progress. Please contribute—your support makes an important difference for Oberlin.
For more information about The Oberlin Alumni Fund, contact the Development Office at 1-800-693-3167 or giving@oberlin.edu.
|
