Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge

Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge is officially over and we are thrilled that we not only met, but exceeded our goal!  Of course we couldn’t do it without the help of all of you. Your generosity helped us raise a tremendous $3,259,711 from 3,679 alumnae, parents, students and friends in just one month’s time. A huge ‘Thank You’ to all who participated.

Now that our gift entry is complete, check out the chart below to see how your class finished out the campaign:

While Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge has concluded, we still have the last of the gift entry to finish up from the year end rush. We should soon have an official final total for you. In the mean time, check out the latest class-by-class scorecard to see your class participation and dollar figures. And if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to watch J. Courtney Sullivan’s ’03 thank you video below.

Class  Count     $                       

Happy New Year! 

Thank you to all who participated in Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge. We still have some offline gift entry to do, so final totals will be announced in early January. Stay tuned...

All hands on deck!  Today is the last day of Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge and we still have a ways to go. We need your help.

The following email was sent earlier today to those that we haven't heard from yet this year. We would greatly appreciate it if you would share this info with all your Smith friends and colleagues. Our fantastic Gift Accounting team, who has been working all week long while the college is closed, will work
extra hours (as noted below), today to take as many gifts as possible
and to answer any gift related questions.

As 2015 comes to a close, I want to thank all alumnae, parents and friends who have participated in Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge.

If you have not yet had an opportunity to give, there is still time! This challenge ends tonight at midnight Eastern. Your gift or pledge will push us forward and help ensure our success.

If you prefer to make your gift by phone, or if you have questions regarding your gift, our Gifts and Records team will be in the office today, December 31, until 6 p.m. Eastern.  Please call 800-526-2023 (option 5) or email giftaccounting@smith.edu.

Thank you for your support,

Maria Held

Smith Fund Director

As always, thank you for your continued support of The Smith Fund!

There are only two days left to get contributions for the 2015 tax year in AND to help us meet our challenge goal. Erika Smith Brewer '86 is increasing her support of Smith this year to help encourage others to give as well. Please share her message (and challenge), to help us raise $3.1 million in just 31 days!

By now, I hope you've seen information on The Smith Fund's Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge and are as excited as I am about meeting the Challenge and powering our alma mater!  We only have two days left to meet our $3.1 million goal. I say "we" because, as Smith Fund chair, I feel invested in the success of everything that The Smith Fund makes possible and as a fellow alumna, I hope you do too.

The Smith Fund is current use, unrestricted money vital to fund the College's operating budget. Gifts to the Smith Fund are used now, not later. Essential Smith, where gifts to the December Giving Challenge will go, are resources essential to the success of Smith College, funding financial aid, Smith's incredible facilities, and the many student organizations available for the women on our beloved campus right now. It is money that we need to raise before the end of the month.

I am celebrating the New Year and all the gifts my Smith education has given me by adding to my Smith Fund gift with a challenge to you. I will give an additional $25 for every donor who makes a gift today, Wednesday, December 30, up to $1,000! Please join me by ringing in 2016 with your gift to Essential Smith!

In gratitude for Smith and her alumnae,

Erika Smith Brewer '86

Smith Fund Chair

Don't forget to check out the Class-by-Class Scorecard posted below and videos of just a few of the students that your gifts support.

Just two days left and we still have a bit of ground to make up to meet our goal! Please share this challenge on your class Facebook pages and encourage your friends and classmates (or fellow parents), to give generously!

Since Saturday, we’ve had two new classes move into the $70,000 or more club—the Classes of 1971 and 1972!  These classes join nine other classes who reached this threshold earlier this month. Great work!

Also a few new classes now have 50 or more participants—the Classes of 1956, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1972. The Classes of 1958, 1975, and 1981 are so close! Three other classes are easily within reach. The Classes of 1965, 1983 and 2001 only have 5 or less donors to go to meet this threshold. You can do it!

Class of   # of Gifts  Dollar Total                       

1936            1            $100                                   

1938            1            $10,000           

1940            3            $5,150

1941            2            $7,052

1942            3            $12,100

1943            8            $21,725

1944            11            $1,800

1945            9            $3,125

1946            15            $13,035

1947            9            $5,645

1948            9            $3,800

1949            22            $76,399

1950            27            $28,635

1951            39            $77,220

1952            31            $23,313

1953            28            $13,995

1954            32            $48,362

1955            36            $47,538

1956            53            $53,304

1957            38            $26,349

1958            49            $178,871

1959            53            $37,545

1960            69            $76,864

1961            50            $29,745

1962            64            $63,583

1963            50            $62,615

1964            56            $52,295

1965            45            $50,975

1966            105            $216,385

1967            59            $84,051

1968            59            $43,849

1969            58            $39,738

1970            36            $19,847

1971            59            $72,822

1972            53            $73,457

1973            58            $70,138

1974            48            $33,985

1975            49            $22,790

1976            41            $59,181

1977            62            $78,002

1978            57            $21,597

1979            37            $62,370

1980            55            $16,247

1981            49            $40,800

1982            43            $32,938

1983            45            $9,315

1984            37            $22,511

1985            57            $20,014

1986            44            $25,370

1987            35            $13,562

1988            35            $42,314

1989            44            $8,140

1990            33            $14,015

1991            35            $16,141

1992            40            $8,631

1993            42            $22,781

1994            37            $6,243

1995            26            $2,940

1996            29            $6,660

1997            31            $5,030

1998            28            $2,613

1999            32            $2,259

2000            23            $1,333

2001            45            $3,845

2002            35            $3,954

2003            30            $2,246

2004            26            $1,603

2005            35            $1,356

2006            25            $5,245

2007            25            $1,060

2008            29            $1,663

2009            30            $1,371

2010            26            $816

2011            26            $1,088

2012            33            $845

2013            26            $1,146

2014            23            $3,368

2015            19            $545

2016            1            $10

2017            2            $20

2018            1            $10

ADAs          100         $16,509

Parents       305         $79,801

We will post another class scorecard update on Saturday, but full challenge stats won’t be available until after the New Year as we have a lot of gift entry to do to include all calendar year end gifts.

As always, thank you for your continued support of The Smith Fund. 

Support of The Smith Fund is not just important to students on campus--it is important to faculty too. Being able to offer opportunities that reach beyond the classroom enhances the student (and faculty) experience. 

One of the joys of teaching is to be witness as a student discovers something new, even a small something. I see this happen every day, this beauty of the liberal arts, where students are encouraged to wander and be in wonder, where they can struggle and find solace in the act of knowing.

The best way to inspire this kind of intellectual practice is by providing students from all backgrounds and in all areas of study with opportunities to pursue research outside of the classroom. Experiential learning is at the heart of what we do here at Smith, and the benefits are undeniable. When students engage in inquiry in a deep way, when they encounter the investigative wildness that is finding and tracking an idea, they become less afraid of failure, they become human beings more capable of their promise. This is a powerful way of learning, and students who get a taste of it want more.

This month, The Smith Fund is challenging alumnae to raise $3.1 million to ensure that students today have access to all the essential elements of a Smith education, from scholarships and financial aid to research opportunities and internships--all things that enhance the traditional classroom experience.

This is an important--and worthy--cause, but we still have a ways to go before reaching our goal. I hope you will consider making a gift to Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge before December 31 so that we continue to have the resources to guarantee every student a taste of what it's like to use their education to think critically and creatively, solve problems, and make things better.

Your gift matters. Please give as generously as you can.

With thanks,

Kevin Quashie

Professor, Africana Studies

Cherilyn is making the most of her time at Smith, including taking advantage of many things that make Smith so special, like Junior Year Abroad and a Praxis Internship.

We hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season. We know that you are anxious for the latest update on class stats, so we are here to deliver. 

Two classes have already exceeded $100,000 in Smith Fund revenue for the month of December. The have raised a collective total of $387,911! A few other classes are close behind—the are each at $70,000 or more (or very close to it)! 

We also have a number of classes who have 50 or more participants in . The leads the way with 100 donors, but the following classes have also surpassed 50 challenge participants: .

Keep up the good work everyone! We have just six days left to meet our challenge goal. Please share on your social media sites (especially class Facebook pages) and encourage your friends and classmates to give.

Class of    # of Gifts   Dollar Total         Class of    # of Gifts     Dollar Total
1936               1            $100                  1980             54            $15,947
1938               1            $10,000             1981             45            $34,600
1940               3            $5,150               1982             39            $31,428       
1941               2            $7,052               1983             42            $9,105
1942               3            $12,100             1984             34            $21,711
1943               8            $21,725             1985             53            $18,328
1944              10           $1,550               1986             40            $24,840
1945               5            $2,400               1987             31            $11,162
1946              13           $9,535               1988             35            $42,314
1947               9            $5,645               1989             42            $7,940
1948               8            $3,750               1990             31            $9,015
1949              16           $74,929             1991             30            $12,740
1950              22           $26,935             1992             36            $7,745
1951              33           $69,450             1993             40            $12,256
1952              25           $22,338             1994             34            $6,175
1953              25           $12,880             1995             24            $2,865
1954              26           $22,062             1996             26            $6,035
1955              32           $45,013             1997             30            $4,955
1956              46           $46,634             1998             27            $2,103
1957              29           $21,749             1999             30            $2,009
1958              43           $175,676           2000             22            $1,233
1959              48           $36,235             2001             44            $3,420
1960              60           $68,489             2002             34            $3,904
1961              41           $25,020             2003             27            $1,966
1962              56           $60,433             2004             23            $1,378
1963              43           $37,990             2005             34            $1,306
1964              51           $45,320             2006             25            $5,245
1965              44           $48,725             2007             23            $1,000
1966             100          $212,235           2008             27            $1,138
1967              54           $83,426             2009             28            $1,241
1968              54           $42,099             2010             24            $786
1969              49           $31,088             2011             25            $938
1970              33           $17,347             2012             29            $740
1971              56           $71,272             2013             24            $626
1972              49           $58,207             2014             22            $843
1973              53           $67,563             2015             19            $545
1974              43           $28,005             2016              1             $10
1975              45           $21,890             2017              2             $20
1976              39           $58,681             2018              1             $10
1977              53           $75,147             ADA              93            $14,759
1978              53           $20,872             PARENT      285           $79,676
1979              33           $59,570

Watch for another class stats update on Wednesday, December 30.

Apologies on the crazy formatting. This is being updated from out of town on a computer that isn't accepting the scorecard chart as one piece.

Smith's open curriculum inspired Yashna to explore something out of her comfort zone--and she's been changed ever since.

Katharine Swibold '82 (P'15) went to Smith, and so did her daughter, Hannah.

Did you feel like me when your young loved one received her Smith acceptance letter? Of course I felt immense pride and a sense of hopeful opportunity... followed by apprehension. Would she grow and thrive as we hoped? Would Smith live up to her expectations? 

For us, the answer to these questions is "yes". When my daughter Hannah arrived at Smith, she could have pursued her interests in science and math. But Smith's open curriculum allowed her to explore all of her passions, and she graduated with a major in Spanish and a minor in Linguistics. Smith gave Hannah the confidence to follow her dream of living abroad. After graduating last spring, she now teaches English in Barcelona (where she spent her JYA).

Watching Hannah's experience has been fascinating for me as an alumna. There is no question about our distinct experiences--Smith's culture has evolved, and we are different people. But we both gained so much from our time at Smith: confidence, fierce independence, intellectual curiosity, and friendships that will last a lifetime. 

Hannah and I both received financial assistance from Smith. The school provides financial aid to approximately 60% of its students, a commitment that enables young women who traditionally may not be able to afford a Smith education to attend. The result is a student body that is both ethnically and socio-economically diverse. Making friends of different backgrounds is part of what makes the Smith experience so special.

As a parent I am asking you to join me in making a gift to The Smith Fund to ensure that Smith remains the welcoming, exciting, and academically rigorous place it is today. Gifts to The Smith Fund are applied to financial aid, and also allow the College the flexibility to respond to programmatic needs and opportunities throughout the year. 

I thank you for joining me in support of Smith, and wish you a happy holiday season with your loved ones.

Katharine M. Swibold '82 P'15 

As you can see from the scorecard below, parents play a big role in helping to power The Smith Fund. We know it is hard to think about donating money to Smith when you are already paying for (or paying back) your child's education, but parent support is an important part of ensuring that your child--and the next generation of Smithies-- have the same opportunities as those who came before them. 'THANK YOU' to all our Smith parents, for supporting your child's education--in every way.

Thank you to all of you who have participated in Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge! We are just hours away from completing our second challenge-within-a-challenge, but could use your help to get there. Please share this campaign with your friends and classmates to help us secure $25,000 from Lois Hoffman Thompson ’66.

We would also like to acknowledge all of the classes represented on the class-by-class scorecard below—beginning with the Class of 1936 and ending with the Class of 2018. That is 82 years of Smith giving represented in the month of December alone!

Check to see how your class is doing:

Lois Hoffman Thompson, a generous member of the class of 1966, will give $25,000 to Smith if 300 other alumnae, parents, and friends make Smith Fund contributions of any size, in just three days!

Our deadline to secure this gift is Friday, December 18, at midnight (Eastern).

Please share this information with your friends and colleagues to help spread the word of this tremendous gift.

J. Courtney Sullivan ’03 shares why SHE gives to The Smith Fund.*

Chapter 3: The Old Girls' Club Is Alive and Well.

Before my senior year at Smith, I took a year off and moved to London. I had never been out of the country before. I didn't have a job or a place to live. But I did have Smith women in my corner.

For the first month, I stayed with a Smith friend in her study abroad dorm room. I contacted a Smith alumna who worked as a book editor at Random House. She didn't know me, but she knew I went to Smith. She found me a great job at a literary agency. Six months later, I became a nanny to a family with three boys under the age of two. One afternoon, pushing a double stroller over cobblestone streets, I noticed a woman in a BMW, honking her horn. She had actually stopped traffic. She waved me over, shouting something. I assumed she was in trouble. When I got closer, I heard what she was shouting. Two words: "Smith College!" She had noticed that I was wearing a Smith sweatshirt. I went up to her window and she handed me her card. She said she was a Smithie, and if there was ever anything she could do for me, I should give her a call.

Later, in my mid-twenties, I worked at the New York Times. On my left sat a Smith alumna. On my right, another Smith woman. My first novel, Commencement, was about a group of Smith alumnae. When I traveled the country to promote it, I noticed that if I read in a town with a Smith club, I had a full house. Otherwise, three people showed up.

Attending Smith made me a part of a network of incredible, generous women, including some of my dearest friends. Without The Smith Fund, I might not know them today. Smith women have helped me personally and professionally, time and again. And when I hear of a young Smith grad looking for work in my field, or advice about life, I try to help her too. In recent years, I've met members of the new generation of Smith women, many of whom could never dream of attending Smith if it weren't for scholarship funds.

I give to Smith because of all the gifts that Smith has given me. I urge you to consider what Smith has given you and to keep this spirit of generosity going. You're just a couple of clicks away from enriching the life of another Smithie. Please make your gift to The Smith Fund now and help us reach our goal of $3.1 million in 31 days.

Thank you,

J. Courtney Sullivan '03

*Read Chapters 1 & 2 below.

Unsure that a women's institution was for her, Precious decided to learn more about Smith.  

Want to know how your class is performing? Check out the week two scorecard below.

We currently have six classes/groups that have 30 or more donors: the Classes of 1960, 1962, 1966, 1977, Ada Comstock Scholars, and Smith Parents. Way to go! Not far behind them are the Classes of 1964, 1965, 1968, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1993, and 2001.

Shout out to the Class of 2006, who has raised $4,560 so far this December-- the most out of all our graduates of the last decade.

Don't forget to share this campaign and encourage others to give. Use the link in the Advocates tab to track your success!

J. Courtney Sullivan ’03 shares why SHE gives to The Smith Fund.*

Chapter 2: Praxis Paved the Way

When I go on a book tour, there are four kinds of people who show up to my events.

1. Those who have actually read my novels.
2. Those who have come for the free cheese plate.
3. Blood relatives.
4. Aspiring writers who want to know how I got an agent.

On this last point, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that I owe it to The Smith Fund.

The summer before my junior year, I got offered an unpaid internship at The Atlantic magazine. A fantastic opportunity, except for the unpaid part. Up until then, I had worked every summer, saving as much as I could to put toward my education. I worked during the school year, too.

But because of Praxis funds--funds donated by Smith alumnae--I was able to get paid to do the internship of my dreams. I got some plum assignments at The Atlantic, including getting to fill in for the fiction editor's assistant. That editor, an incredibly generous man, asked me if I was a writer. When I shyly shared some of my short stories (leaving them on his office chair, then running away while he was at lunch...), he was kind and encouraging.

A few months later, another Atlantic editor told me she had read my stories and would like to send them to a young agent who was also a former intern. The agent called me and we had lunch. Fourteen years and three novels later, she is still my agent. A connection I made in my Smith summer internship turned out to be the most important of my career.

This is one of so many reasons why I give to The Smith Fund. I want to make sure that future Smithies have access to Praxis and other programs that can help them achieve, regardless of finances. The Smith Fund's "Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge" does just that. All money pledged in the month of December helps to ensure that Smith's remarkable student body continues to flourish on campus and beyond. Please give what you can today.

Thank you,

J. Courtney Sullivan '03

*Read Chapter 1 below.

What does it mean to be a Smithie?

For Zarah Ferrari '18, it means being part of a thriving and diverse community. It means sharing lifelong connections with an incredible network of women worldwide, and it means taking part in beloved traditions and passing them along to a new generation of Smithies.

A quick shout out to Smith's largest class, (and the only class that keeps on growing), the Ada Comstock Scholars ('AC).  The Adas currently have the highest number of participants in the Essential Smith: The December Giving Challenge! They have 7 more donors than the next closest class (the Class of 1966).  A full update of class-by-class stats will be posted on Friday. Stay tuned!

A generous member of the Class of 1977 (who wishes to remain anonymous), will give $50,000 to Smith if 500 other alumnae, parents, and friends make Smith Fund contributions of any size--but we only have five days!

Our deadline to secure this gift is Sunday, December 13, at midnight (Eastern).  

Please share this information with your friends and colleagues to help spread the word of this tremendous gift. 

Want to know how your class is performing? Check out the handy chart below.

Special shout-out to the 55 Smith Parents and Families who have participated, and check out the Class of 1958's amazing $127,517!

Don't forget to share this campaign with your classmates and encourage them to give. Use the Advocates tab to track your success.

We know that the Smith community likes a good challenge and some healthy competition, so starting tomorrow we will be sharing a class-by-class, donor scorecard each Saturday. Today however, after just two days of the challenge, we wanted to send a quick shout out to the Class of 1960 who is currently in the lead with the highest number of donors so far this December. 1981 and 1988—you are each only one donor behind the Class of 1960. Keep sharing this page and encouraging your classmates to give! 31 Days. $3.1 million.

J. Courtney Sullivan ’03 shares why SHE gives to The Smith Fund.

Chapter 1: A Smithie Walks Into a Bar

On a Friday night in 2005, I was standing in a crowded bar in Greenwich Village chatting with a friend, when my cell phone rang. I looked down at the screen and saw the familiar 413-585...

Smith was calling. Presumably to ask for money.

Call me crazy, but I was excited. This was the first ever call of its kind I had received. I pushed through the crowd and rushed out to the sidewalk to answer the phone.

To me, it felt like a rite of passage. Two years earlier, when I was still a student, my friends were on the other side of the conversation, working in The Smith Fund phone bank in the Quad, where a perk of the job was that you got to make the odd free phone call home. (Recent graduates will be horrified to know that most of us did not have cell phones yet.) The alumnae on the contact list were incredible women, living fascinating lives all over the world. They provided a glimpse of the future. Many wanted to know what was happening on campus, and took the time to ask what we hoped to do next.

On that Friday night when I got the call, I was 24. I was paying for my college education on my own. I worked as an assistant at a women's magazine. My monthly salary barely covered my student loan payments and the rent on the tiny apartment I shared with a friend. But I wanted to contribute something. I gave $25.

In the decade since, I've continued to answer the call each year, giving whatever I can, making sure to ask the young woman on the other end of the line what's happening on campus now, what she hopes to do next. This December, I hope you will do the same. We are trying to raise $3.1 million in just 31 days. This is no easy task. Please give what you can--no donation is too small.

Thank you,

J. Courtney Sullivan '03

Why do YOU give? Share your story with Smith Fund staff: thesmithfund@smith.edu