Smith Launches New $10 Million Here for Every Voice Gift Matching Program
First match program for Smith’s endowed financial aid initiative inspires a second, sponsored by the same generous alum donor.
Published April 12, 2024
What makes a Smith education accessible for thousands of students who could not afford to attend otherwise? What can change the trajectories of families for the better, and help Smith enroll the most promising students? Financial aid, a top priority for the college.
For Smith students, the importance of financial aid is paramount. In the words of Peris Mwangi ’23, “Financial aid creates a ripple effect as Smithies have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of the social, economic, and political change that we all want to see in the world.”
Earlier this year we celebrated the impact of the first Here for Every Voice Gift Matching Program, which played a powerful role in growing Smith’s endowed financial aid funds and expanding access for students. Made possible by a transformational donation from an alum who wishes to remain anonymous, the $10 million Here For Every Voice Gift Matching Program made it easier for alums to create endowed scholarships by adding a substantial match amount directly to their funds. This program inspired more than 100 donors and donor groups to contribute, resulting in more than $26 million in new financial aid gifts.
This anonymous alum was so impressed by the eagerness of Smithies to support student financial aid with endowed funds, using the matching program to increase the impact of their gifts, that she has generously decided to sponsor a second $10 million match.
The new program, called the Here for Every Voice Gift Matching Program: Generation to Generation, offers a simple match structure, available to both individual and group donors:
|
Gift Amount |
Match |
|
$100,000 - $249,000 |
$50,000 |
|
$250,000+ |
$100,000 |
Here for Every Voice
The Here for Every Voice initiative is removing financial barriers so that students can attend Smith, regardless of family circumstances. It’s helping create equity in the Smith experience, providing opportunities for all students to find belonging and thrive. The initiative is also strengthening Smith’s future with greater endowed financial aid funds that can be used to attract, enroll, and retain the best students; increase diversity and inclusion in our community; and get us closer to removing financial considerations entirely from admission decisions.
Endowed scholarship funds are invested, allowing the college to draw income earmarked for financial aid today and forever into the future. Smith’s Investment Office manages the endowment with the aim to provide stable support to the annual budget, which includes financial aid, while preserving the inflation-adjusted value of Smith’s assets over time.
Smith is almost halfway toward meeting the initiative’s $200 million goal.
“Thank you to the generations of alums who have given and to those who will take advantage of this new endowed matching opportunity.”
Create an Endowed Fund With Friends
Collective giving is one of the exciting ways to contribute to the Here for Every Voice initiative. Many donors have joined a group, donating what they can afford individually (amounts can vary from person to person) while together attaining the amount required for the match. If the group collectively gives $100,000, the match catapults the fund to $150,000 and the level needed to establish an endowed fund.
Twenty classes, from 1959 to 2002, have received the match by creating a new endowed scholarship fund or adding to an existing one. Five giving circles — groups of alums whose reasons for joining together are as unique as the circle members themselves — have also received the match.
Read more about the Here for Every Voice initiative. To make a gift, please contact Betsy Carpenter ’93, associate vice president for development at ewcarpen@smith.edu or 413-585-2052.