2010-2011 Report on Giving
Programmatic Giving
Support of Cornell’s academic and co-curricular programs allows our students to participate in extraordinary opportunities in the classroom, on campus, and around the world. The continued generosity of Jim McWethy ’65 and Susan McWethy to the Berry Center and a $100,000 commitment from Tom Jarom ’66 for the Center’s Leadership Program bolstered this distinctive academic enrichment program in applied economics and public policy. Cornell’s emerging Center for Literary Arts received generous support from Linda Webb Koehn ’66 and Tom Koehn, Dan Wilch ’81, Mark Van Etten ’76, Katharine Warmbrod ’51, Mary Geisinger Nakayama ’65, and David Meyer ’67. Giving to the Center for Law and Society (formerly Pre-Law) propelled our Mock Trial team to yet another national championship tournament experience. Finally, thanks to a previous gift from Bob McLennan ’65 and Becky Martin McLennan ’64 we were able to purchase a property for the McLennan Center in Chicago near Wrigley Field.
Capital Projects
Our buildings are much more than just a container for what happens on the Hilltop—our edifices facilitate the rigorous, personal learning experience that personifies Cornell College. We learned just two weeks after the close of the fiscal year of a $5.6 million gift from the James Russell Estate to support the Thomas Commons project and an endowed scholarship fund. Mr. James’ daughter, Dr. Jean Russell, is a graduate from the Class of 1965 and long-time supporter of her alma mater. Thanks to the Russell gift and generosity of alumni and friends the Thomas Commons renovations will be commencing in the near future. The King Chapel project received better than $500,000 in new commitments including leadership support from the Helen Danforth ’42 Estate, Evelyn Steinway Spletter ’43, and Chuck Warden ’41. The chapel has a new roof and carpeting and we are about to commence work on an elevator. The Ash Park project, which will include field turf, a new grandstand and a renovated press box, received a lead commitment from Charlie Bray ’58 and important support from Ed Truelson ’63, Tom Cox ’52, Ben McAdams ’50, and Rainey Brown ’89.
Annual Fund
The college’s Annual Fund increased this fiscal year (July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011) to $2.055 million. We continued to see a steady return in contributors and our donor count reflected the biggest growth in several years. In 2008-09 we lost nearly 500 donors due to challenges in the economy; this past year we returned to our pre-downturn numbers with 3,537 Annual Fund contributors.
Thank you
I recently read a letter from Griffin Litwin ’11 to the donors of his scholarship. His words are far better than mine in expressing what your gifts mean to our students:
“Thank you. Those two simple, unassuming words do little to communicate the depth of the gratitude that I feel for your gift. The word gift is truly appropriate: you didn’t simply sign a check, magically reducing my tuition. You gave me the gift of experience, an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. An experience I wouldn’t have had without your generosity.”
We are grateful that Cornell College is among your highest philanthropic priorities even in times of economic uncertainty. Thank you.
