It’s as true today as it was almost a century ago when Marietta College launched its first annual giving campaign. When you contribute to The Marietta Fund, your personal involvement makes a direct and immediate impact upon students and faculty by providing support for such key components of a Marietta education as financial aid, internships, athletics, technology, building improvements, and study abroad experiences. Put simply, your participation in The Marietta Fund underwrites much of what renders a Marietta College education distinctive and unique. Just as recent projects such as the Legacy Library have transformed the learning environment and contributions to the endowment perpetuate teaching and scholarship, The Marietta Fund underwrites virtually every aspect of the student experience both inside and outside the classroom. When you make the commitment to contribute a gift to the College’s annual giving campaign, You Are The Marietta Fund!
The Marietta Fund transforms your unrestricted gift into action with immediate results where support is needed most. Dollars raised throug The Marietta Fund are directed to three major areas that include Student Aid, College Priorities, and the Pioneer Club. More specifically, defining differences occur in: Financial Aid/Scholarships – The majority of Marietta College students receive some form of financial aid. Because their tuition does not cover the entire cost of their education, the College invests in their future success by helping bridge the gap between their ability to contribute and the true cost of earning a contemporary liberal arts degree. Faculty Development – Gifts to the Marietta Fund are more critical than ever as they are applied to the cost of both attracting and retaining outstanding scholars and teachers able to ignite the passion for learning in our students. Academic Programs – The vitality and depth of the Marietta College curriculum depend upon Marietta Fund gifts
to fuel new initiatives and encourage creative collaborations across academic disciplines. Technology – Twenty-first century students expect certain fundamental tools with which to pursue their education and fast, dependable technology provided by Marietta Fund resources remains a priority of annual fundraising initiatives. Athletics – The student-athlete experience has long been an integral element of a Marietta College education and your gift to Athletics through membership in the Pioneer Club ensures it remains a cornerstone of a complete undergraduate experience.
Each year more than 4,000 donors join together to help reach the Marietta Fund’s goal of $1.7 million. This landmark effort allows the College to maintain its margin of excellence ensuring that Marietta students continue to realize all the benefits and value added that comes with their education. That’s not an easy proposition these days, but Marietta Fund gifts have a tremendous impact when you consider: A $50 contribution will provide: • Six hours of student tutoring services • 30 gifts of $50 will purchase a microscope for a science lab A $100 gift allows for: • The purchase of 10 pieces of sheet music • 8 gifts of $100 will buy a projector bulb providing 240 hours of illumination for programming at the Anderson Hancock Planetarium A $500 gift furnishes: • One electronic journal subscription for the Legacy Library • A new computer for a student computer lab A $1,500 gift pays: • Royalties for 8 studio productions for the Theatre Department • To help provide one piece of exercise equipment; a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine A $5,000 gift funds: • A classroom Smart Board to enhance student and faculty interaction • One Charles Sumner Harrison ethnic minority scholarship Annually, gifts under $100 add up to nearly $100,000 of the Marietta Fund total, once again confirming that Pioneers understand contributions of any size help make all the difference.
Bill ’70 and Bonnie Donnelly ’91 are The Marietta Fund! Bill and Bonnie have been involved at Marietta College for so long it’s almost impossible for them to remember a time when it didn’t play a part in their lives. The Donnellys’ affinity for Marietta College runs deep and is evident in their regular contributions to The Marietta Fund since the 1970s. “Continuous giving retains the high value of our diplomas, by supporting the ongoing needs of the College,” Bill says. “At the same time, we feel connected to The Long Blue Line by understanding many, many others are helping as we are. We love our private, liberal arts college. We want to help maintain for others what we consider the turning point place of our lives.” “We live in Marietta, so we see the results of the continuous flow of yearly giving support. I look at The Marietta Fund as the river that helps keep the College afloat,” Bonnie says. “And the major gifts are for the beautiful riverboat Marietta College. She would be useless without the river, and, as part of The Long Blue Line river, we are proud to support and keep her beautiful.”
The Donnellys are The Marietta Fund.
When you contribute to the Marietta Fund, you not only directly support the current student experience, you indirectly have an impact upon future generations of graduates as well. When colleges fail in meeting their annual fund goals, it’s not uncommon for them to have to borrow against the endowment to meet expenses. Thanks to you, Marietta College has avoided such practices and as a result, the future has never looked brighter.
And, there’s one more reason to consider a gift to the Marietta Fund. When you answer the call to participate, others are watching. Potential partners such as educational and corporate foundations often determine whether they will engage in supporting the institution based upon current levels of alumni giving. Alumni participation also factors into how the College is ranked in such national polls as U.S. News and World Report and Forbes.com.
Each year Marietta College is ranked as one of America’s Best Colleges Your annual fund gifts helped make that honor possible! And it’s so easy to become a contributor to the Marietta Fund. There are three convenient ways to give: Give online at www.marietta.edu/Give Call toll-free with your credit card gift at 1-800-274-4704 Or mail your contribution to: Marietta College Office of Advancement 215 Fifth Street Marietta, Ohio 45750