The entire Haverford community—students, faculty, staff, and alumni—celebrated the College’s culture of philanthropy (or “Fordlanthropy,” as they dubbed it on campus this year) on Feb. 16, with a fun-filled Day of Giving. The 24-hour extravaganza featured numerous opportunities to learn how to support the institution and to celebrate the history of giving back to the College. (For instance, did you know that Haverford was literally founded through the generosity of early “subscribers,” who backed the start-up school with $43,500, and that the first endowed scholarship, The Thomas P. Cope Fund, was created in 1842 and still makes awards?)
Day of Giving events included the Black Squirrel posing with students at spots around campus where they could make their donation to the College’s Annual Fund, the Ford S-Chords serenading diners in the DC, and the senior class launching the fundraising drive for their class gift. Faculty and staff were even invited to a special reception to learn about how they can support the College.
Over the course of the day, 309 students and over 100 alumni, parents, faculty, and staff members made a gift to Haverford, meeting a challenge goal to capture $100,000 in matching funds.
Additionally, the Day of Giving coincided with this year’s Scholarship Lunch, an annual event at which recipients of endowed scholarships are invited to share pizza and Hope’s Cookies while learning about “named” scholarships and what they mean for their time at Haverford and beyond.
The College offers 293 endowed scholarships that, this year, are supporting 298 students. And the DC’s Bryn Mawr Room was packed with many of them on Thursday.
“The scholarship program is an expression of our best self,” said Ann Figueredo ’84, vice president for institutional advancement and herself a donor to an endowed scholarship, to the standing-room-only crowd. “Donors who endow represent the best of the College’s past and their gift is an expression of their hope for the future.”
Haverford is committed to meeting all demonstrated need for qualified applicants, she reminded the audience, and its financial aid—which makes up the second largest part of the College’s budget—is need-based not merit-based. As a perpetual institution, each generation of Haverford students benefits from the generosity of those who came before. Students grow into their roles as the alumni who will support, govern, and steward the College, ensuring its future success for all who follow.
Figueredo told several stories about why and in whose honor different endowed scholarships were donated, driving home the point that these gifts are very personal to the people who are making them and that they represent an expression of their values
“Haverford College is important to them,” said Figueredo, “and also you are important to them.”
That sentiment was echoed by Provost Fran Blase, who spoke of being a scholarship recipient during her time at the University of Pennsylvania, and student speaker Sierra Berkel ’18, who talked about the bond she has forged with Ted Love ’81, P’15, P’17, as the recipient of the Love Family Scholarship for the past three years.
“My relationship with Ted and his family has been influential,” she told the students in attendance, urging them to be in contact with their own donors. “He cares about my experience at college.”
Donor-student interaction perpetuates the practices of giving back and paying forward, reinforcing a culture of philanthropy and dedication to making a Haverford education accessible to all qualified students. These values—and the scholarship donors and recipients themselves—are honored each year at the annual Celebration of Scholarships, which this year will be held April 29.
Learn more about Haverford’s commitment to access and affordability.
Scholarship luncheon photos by Lev Greenstein ’20. S-Chords performance photos by Wanyi Yang ’20.