Elizabethtown College’s Office of Institutional Advancement announced that this year’s class gift will be different from past years. While in the past, the College had asked students from the graduating class to pick a class gift and issue donations specifically for that gift, this year’s approach allows the student to pick a department on campus that they would most like to donate to.
Assistant Director of Annual Giving Blake Reed shared the change with the student body by emailing the graduating class. The email provided information about how students would be able to donate to this year’s class gift and shared the prizes that the students who donate may get.
“The decision to change the class gift was made to ensure that all students could feel good about leaving an impact at Etown,” Reed said. “Knowing that our student body has diverse backgrounds, skills and passions, we wanted students to have the opportunity to reflect that in their contributions.”
This is a historical change, making the Class of 2024 the first class to donate not a specific gift but to the area of campus that they love. A link was provided in the email that allowed students to go to the page where they can set up a one-time or recurring donation. Students are able to choose from four designations: Athletics, ECF Area of Greatest Need, Scholarships and Financial Aid or any other part of campus or athletics team on campus. Students are also able to combine multiple designations. For example, one would be able to donate both to Athletics and ECF Area of Greatest Need through the same payment.
“Students are encouraged to make a gift to whatever area of the College they are most passionate about, whether that is an athletic team, an academic department, or another area that they feel strongly about,” Reed stated. “This shift in focus reflects the direction that most other colleges are taking as well. The decision to move away from funding a physical object is not to say that there will be no on-campus component to the gift. There will be a plaque placed on campus to commemorate the Class of 2024 and the contributions they made to the campus throughout their time here, with a location that will be decided at a later time.”
There are incentives for students to donate. Students who donate $15 will receive a commemorative Class of 2024 mug and will be entered into a drawing for an Etown diploma frame, which is valued at $160. If a student donates $20.24 or more, they will also receive a medallion that they can wear at graduation.
Students who choose to set up a recurring monthly gift of at least $1 are able to receive all of the incentives mentioned. Recurring payments would need to be made online using credit or debit card, but students who received the email can use the link to make a gift using Paypal, Venmo, Apple Pay and student charge.
This change comes after last year’s Class of 2023 gift was updated from being a ramp on the Dell to an ongoing endowment aimed to expand accessibility on campus. Student Senate’s Class of 2023 announced the change roughly a month before graduation in an Instagram post.
The endowment, which is a deposit of money that will grow with interest, had a few goals in mind. These goals included ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), accessible dorm buildings and accessible bathrooms. Royer’s renovations, which were announced earlier this academic year, included an ADA accessible lift in the lobby that allowed students to go to the first floor without having to go around the building. The renovations also included ADA-compliant dorm rooms, restrooms and laundry rooms as well as doorways being widened for wheelchair accessibility. It is unclear whether these renovations used the funds allocated by the Class of 2023’s endowment.
“Our class gift was originally chosen to create a more ADA-friendly campus,” the post said, “and we the students have taken this initiative very seriously. This endowment is guaranteed to be used to these ends and so we are satisfied with this expansion upon our original gift.”
While some students value the freedom that this new change provides in choosing what area to donate to, many may find themselves unsure about donating because there is no concrete gift that they are donating to. The Office of Institutional Advancement and Student Assembly are expected to monitor how students react to these new changes to ensure that graduating classes leave a lasting legacy.
