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Dear Dickinsonians,

This is the first Report on Philanthropy Dickinson has published since my inauguration as the college’s  30th president, and it’s my pleasure to convey just  how meaningful your gifts and your philanthropic  spirit have been to the college. It is that spirit—your abiding generosity to the institution we all  hold so dear—that advances the college in leaps  and bounds and ensures that we help launch the  next generation of leaders.

As an alumnus, parent and former chair of Dickinson’s Board of Trustees, I have, of course, long been aware of how much your gifts mean to the college and its place in the ranks of higher education. But now, as I settle into my office in Old West as Dickinson’s president, the pride I feel for your efforts is amplified.

It’s clearer than ever to me how the future leaders we produce here at Dickinson will benefit from initiatives you’re helping the college launch and complete through Dickinson Forward. On the following pages, you can read updates on these efforts to innovate with our wider alumni and parent community on initiatives to secure and advance Dickinson’s place as a higher-education leader. This includes updates on the Campaign for Scholarships, the John M. Paz ’78 Alumni & Family Center and our plans to enhance academic excellence and the student experience through the college’s strategic plan.

It’s also clearer than ever to me that moving Dickinson forward in these ways is only possible with your involvement. Last year, for example, Dickinsonians made $38.9 million in gifts and commitments to the college and added $10.9 million in gifts to the endowment—the largest one-year addition to the endowment in more than a decade, nearly doubling our 10-year average of $5.7 million in annual endowed giving. This is a perfect illustration of how much our dedicated donors care about Dickinson and sees themselves propelling it into a bright future—and also that each of you see yourself as a part of the future that you’re helping to build at Dickinson.

After all, no one gives to a cause and then walks away. People give because they care and want their gifts to matter—to the people, places and things they love. You’ve given to Dickinson because as Dickinson was an important part of your past, you want to be an important part of its future.

To keep the momentum going—for Dickinson’s fiscal future and the good we all can do—I’ve set a high bar for our endowment. My goal is to grow our endowment to $1 billion to help Dickinson become the school of choice among the most prestigious higher-education institutions. That may sound like an ambitious number, but make no mistake, this is a goal we can reach together. In the last decade, the endowment has grown from $355.8 million to $629.3 million. That’s a 77% increase in 10 years. If we can maintain that pace, then a $1 billion endowment is well within reach over the next decade.

However, reaching this goal depends on your continued support and involvement. That 77% growth over the last decade results from both a sound, long-term investment strategy and—more significantly—new gifts during that period. Your gifts provide constant growth, and as the endowment grows, the growth compounds, steadily rising to new levels that we could have only once dreamed of.

Coming together to accomplish this isn’t just about helping Dickinson to continue what it’s been doing. It is about significantly advancing the college into the future, one in which we’re positioned to become one of the world’s premiere liberal-arts colleges. This is something we have the potential to do. But we can only do it together.

What should encourage every Dickinsonian is that gifts to the college are both a smart investment and a sound one, as you’ll see in this report. Our financial foundation is sound, with a 9.8% 10-year average annual rate of return on the endowment, a balanced budget, solid fundraising year after year and an A+ bond rating. As I told attendees at our Dickinson Forward celebration in September, I’m all in. My commitment to Dickinson and its future is unshakable, and my focus is unwavering With your help, we will continue to move  Dickinson forward, for our students, our alumni and the  extended Dickinson family. The time is now, the opportunity is ours. I hope you will  join me.

Sincerely,

John E. Jones III ’77, P’11
President