Sallyportal: Madly Blogging Reed

Annual Fund Raises Record $4.6 million

By Matt Kelly on July 14, 2017 10:20 AM

Alumni, parents, and friends of Reed engaged in a flurry of passionate philanthropic support in the 2016-17 fiscal year, giving a record-breaking $4.638 million to the Annual Fund to support the challenging, rigorous, and transformative education that Reed provides.

Altogether, some 4,293 alumni made gifts to Reed, including 2,839 members of the Loyal Owl Society (for alumni who give for three years in a row.)

To inspire a strong finish, a challenge match was sponsored by trustee Deborah Kamali ’85 and Kevan Shokat ’86; trustee Konrad Alt ’81; and parents Steven and Diane Marrow.

I've given to Reed for many years, and for many reasons. Seeing, as a parent, the same power of a Reed education that I remember feeling as a student has affirmed and deepened my commitment to the college's support.
—Konrad Alt ’81

Donors cited reasons for giving that were as varied as Reedies:

Reed gave me the education that has made me who I am today. The materials I studied, the professors who taught me, the culture on campus, and the friendships I forged have all changed me for the better, and I want to support it so that students to come can have a similar experience.
—Spencer Trumm '14

As a student who wouldn't have been able to attend Reed without financial assistance, I want to make sure that future Reedies are given the opportunity to delve deep into the Humanities without being restricted by their financial backgrounds.
—Lucy Bellwood '12

Reed not only did a lot for my personal and intellectual development but embodies the best values of our civilization. If the latter does not make it worthy of support, I do not know what would.
—Adam Wilkins '65

Annual Fund donors support students on every step of their path through Reed. The college awarded more than $26 million in financial aid to 55% of its students over the past year. Annual Fund gifts supported the peer-tutoring program, the multicultural resource center and the health and counseling center, among others. From scientific instrumentation in the labs to the 7,800 new volumes acquired by the Hauser Library this year, donors helped fuel original research and a challenging academic program. Tireless hours were dedicated to the careful restoration and upkeep of the canyon, and the Center for Life Beyond Reed paired current students with illuminating experiences and paths to fulfilling careers.

In addition to giving to the Annual Fund, an inspiring number of alumni, parents, and friends were moved to create a scholarship in memory of Taliesin Namkai-Meche ’16. Gifts to the scholarship have now topped $120,000 from 289 donors, including professors, classmates, parents, family friends, strangers who read about his heroism, work colleagues and Taliesin’s employer, The Cadmus Group.

Donors to the Taliesin Namkai-Meche Scholarship shared some of their inspirations for giving:

Taliesin was such a genuine person it was striking. He was someone you could always rely on for a smile or some other simple kindness that can often be absent from a day. Rest in power, man. You stood up for what you believed in and it's a shame that we live in a world where such noble behavior is fatally punished.
—Josh Byron-Cox ’18

 I hope to honor this hero and all that he gave to those who touched his life, his family, his Reed friends, and especially strangers in need.
—Terran Williams ’06

 Taliesin was my HUM 110 student. I donate to celebrate his life and to honor his heroic death.
—Troy Cross, associate professor of philosophy and humanities

 The college honors the many reasons for giving to Reed and extends its thanks for all those who support this community of scholars.

Tags: Annual Fund, Philanthropy,