History of Giving at Grove City College

Even though Grove City College was founded in 1876, the history of fund-raising at Grove City College is relatively new.  Prior to 1971, J. Howard Pew was a very generous benefactor of Grove City College. He was a 1900 graduate of the College and he felt so strongly about the mission of the College that he personally supported the financial needs of the school.  He served as the Board of Trustees Chairman for more than 50 years. During his time as Chair, he helped the College remain debt free and independent. He believed that a large endowment would interfere with the fiscal responsibility policy of earning the money and then spending it.

Over the years since Mr. Pew’s death in 1971, some alumni and friends have supported the financial needs of the College through estate gifts, restricted projects and special campaigns while some have supported the College through unrestricted annual gifts. But it has mostly been the financial management of the College that has kept the tuition low and fund-raising at a minimum. Since the College declared its independence of the federal government support in 1984, the need for independent fund-raising has increased.

Why is giving so important?

Foundations evaluate the annual alumni giving participation as a benchmark for their own grants to colleges and universities for building programs. Rating services like U.S. News and World Report take into consideration the alumni giving participation when ranking colleges with their peers. These groups use the alumni giving percentage as an indicator that a college has strong alumni satisfaction. Many of our neighboring or peer colleges have alumni giving percentages well above the national average of 35%. With a current participation percentage of 23%, our goal is to be better than average — that’s where we need your help!   

Rankings?

Each year sources such as the U.S. News and World Report, Princeton Review and Barron’s/College Review evaluate colleges and universities based on a number of criteria, one of which is the alumni giving percentage. Prospective students as well as foundations and corporations look at this ranking as an indication of the strength of the College.  Improved annual alumni participation can positively affect the rankings. Colleges ranked directly above Grove City College are at 28% and 29%. Other private colleges have rates upward of 40%. By coming full circle every year alumni can positively affect the College’s rankings.

How can you help?    What is Full Circle?