May 1 Deadline for $1 million Dartmouth Hall Scholarship Challenge

Dartmouth alumnae, who are redefining women’s philanthropy in higher education, have a new challenge in their sights: securing more than 400 gifts of any size by May 1 to grow a new scholarship fund by $1 million.

In 2019, alumnae took the lead in raising $25 million for the renovation of Dartmouth Hall, the iconic heart of the College’s renowned liberal arts experience, and within six months they completed fundraising for the project.

They didn’t stop there. As soon as that first goal was met, organizers pivoted to establish the Dartmouth Hall 250th Anniversary Alumnae Scholarship Fund so more Dartmouth women would have the opportunity to participate—and be recognized on a donor wall within the venerable building.

To date, more than 2,050 donors have been inspired to give to Dartmouth Hall and the scholarship fund, and now organizers have upped the ante again. An anonymous challenger has pledged to donate $1 million to the scholarship fund if the total number of donors reaches 2,500 by May 1.

Answer the Challenge

“This challenge is jet fuel that will accelerate the philanthropic achievements of Dartmouth women,” says Caroline Hribar ’00, a member of the Campaign Executive Committee. “The most rewarding aspect of the Dartmouth Hall initiative has been seeing women coming together, expressing their hopes and confidence in Dartmouth through philanthropy, and becoming partners in directing the College’s future.”

With the challenge emphasizing participation, gifts of any size will count toward the challenge and will grow the scholarship fund’s endowment. All donors will be listed alphabetically on the special donor wall that will become a permanent fixture in the renovated Dartmouth Hall.

“Alumnae from every class year from the early 1970s to the Class of 2020 have participated in the Dartmouth Hall initiative, and we’ve even had current undergraduates make gifts to this project. Imagine the pride they’ll feel when they come back to Hanover for their 50th reunion and see their names on the Dartmouth Hall donor recognition wall,” says Beth Cogan Fascitelli, a member of the Board of Trustees.

"A vibrant center of scholarship"

Twice destroyed by fire, Dartmouth Hall was the principal building for the College in the 18th century—housing classrooms, the library, a chapel, and dorm rooms—and it continues to serve multiple academic departments today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Dartmouth Hall in 1962, and the building hosted a landmark conference in 1956 that helped launch the future of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The planned renovation will preserve the building’s timeless exterior, renovate interior spaces, and ensure full accessibility to the building.

“Dartmouth Hall is a treasure, a physical connection between the students and faculty of today and the earliest years of the College,” says Elizabeth Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “We’re inspired by the leadership of our alumnae, who are committed to making sure Dartmouth Hall will be a vibrant center of scholarship for future generations.”

The 250th Anniversary Alumnae Scholarship Fund is one more example of how Dartmouth women are setting a new national standard for alumnae philanthropy during The Call to Lead campaign—a model that many other leading universities are eager to duplicate.

Other alumnae-driven giving initiatives that have sparked national attention over the past several years include the Centennial Circle of Dartmouth Alumnae, a community of Dartmouth women who have made gifts of $100,000 or more to provide scholarship support through the Dartmouth College Fund or other annual funds. To date, 273 members of the Centennial Circle have raised more than $60 million for financial aid through Dartmouth’s annual funds.

Also, 87 women have made campaign gifts of at least $1 million toward a goal of 100 women donors at that giving level.

“The passion and resolve behind these accomplishments aren’t new,” says Hribar. “Dartmouth women have always been amazing over-achievers. That’s been true since the first women came to campus in the 1970s.”
 

Please answer the challenge and become one of 2,500 donors giving to the Dartmouth Hall 250th Anniversary Alumnae Scholarship Fund. For more information, please call 603-727-6637.