A commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice

Bridge to the Future

NEC Strong! The end of the 2019–2020 fiscal year marked the official close of Bridge to the Future: The Campaign for New England College, the first truly comprehensive fundraising drive in College history. It was an absolute success! The campaign spanned nine years and, in that time, twice surpassed its working goals.

The campaign crossed its initial working goal of $25 million halfway through the timeline and then surpassed the revised goal of $37 million with just three years remaining. By the time the books closed for the final time on June 30, 2020, the College counted $42 million in gifts, pledges, and other commitments. Several campaign objectives were met or exceeded, and the College set multiple new benchmarks for philanthropy. Of note:

The College completed two key capital projects that were funded in large part by philanthropy: The John Lyons Center academic building ($10 million) and The Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts ($13 million). $8 million was raised for student scholarships and financial aid. A total of $5.6 million was raised through the Opportunity Fund. In FY20 alone—the campaign’s final year—the Opportunity Fund surpassed FY19 totals by more than 12%. This represented the highest year-overyear growth of the Opportunity Fund in the College’s history and was achieved within the context of a global pandemic. In a tangible demonstration of broad support for the College, the campaign received support from 5,661 donors since it began on July 1, 2011. Contributors came from all corners of the NEC community, including alumni, parents, faculty, and private foundations. Remarkably, the campaign had seven donors who gave $1 million or more. The single largest gift to the campaign was for $3.12 million—or about 7.5 percent of the total raised—and is one of the largest in NEC history.

5,661 7 $8

DONORS SINCE 2011

DONORS GAVE OVER $1 MILLION

MILLION RAISED FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

What’s Next?

New England College has enjoyed unprecedented success and growth in the last decade and is positioned to seize a new place in the competitive marketplace, secure an even stronger reputation, and launch new innovative programs.

The strong reputation that we now enjoy has greatly contributed to our fundraising success, and vice versa. In fact, we no longer need to approach planning as a way to correct faulty systems or build defenses against crippling budget shortfalls. We are in a new place and need to capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves to continue to grow and claim our place as a leader in higher education.

Led by President Perkins and the Board of Trustees, the College’s Strategic Plan has been updated and expanded to articulate a vision for what our College will be in 2025. The goals of the new plan are highly ambitious. They will require new levels of engagement and involvement from the entire community. And, not surprisingly, they will require increased philanthropic support from alumni, parents, and friends. Building upon the success of the Bridge to the Future campaign, we are well positioned to take a giant leap forward in generating sustained philanthropy that will undergird our plans. Several bold and inspiring fundraising objectives are included: • To raise $15 million for substantial expansion and renovation of NEC’s athletic facilities • To significantly grow the College’s endowment through outright and deferred gifts and pledges • To sustain the growth in support for current operations—annual fund, athletics giving, and other programs—with the ambitious goal of reaching $1 million in current-use giving by 2025 • To average $5 million in overall annual fundraising achievement by 2025 • To achieve alumni giving rate of 15% by 2025

Reaching these will require new levels of engagement and participation from the entire NEC community, and most especially our loyal alumni. Indeed, no college can succeed for the next 75 years without the continued encouragement, engagement, and investment from its alumni. NEC is poised to do just that.