By Kate Turner ’21
News Editor
Mount Holyoke College released its yearly report on philanthropy in an email update to community members on Dec. 2, 2020.
“As I reflect on the past year, I am uplifted by the generous outpouring of support from the generous alums and friends of Mount Holyoke College,” Vice President for College Relations Kassandra Jolley wrote in a letter to the community included in the report.
In addition to the usual donations and awards, the report detailed the “extraordinary” community support necessitated when Mount Holyoke shut down in March due to COVID-19. Between March and June, more than 600 students were supported by the Student Safety Net Fund which raised $346,000, according to the report. Support ranged from aid with housing, travel and storage to purchases of technology and other academic supplies.
“You shared not only your financial gifts but also continued the Mount Holyoke tradition of volunteerism — building connections with one another, and with our campus community,” Jolley wrote. “Your support ensures that the future of Mount Holyoke will be bright. Thank you for all you do to sustain our commitments to our talented and deserving students, faculty and staff.”
“In this moment of the pandemic, as well as the conversations on race and social justice and social inequality that we are having: First and foremost we need to affirm the need for the arts and the role that the liberal arts has in the world,” Interim Dean of Faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Spanish Dorothy E. Mosby wrote in the report. “To do that, we need to make decisions that will enable us to carry out our mission responsibly, not just for now, but for generations to come."
As previously reported by the Mount Holyoke News, the College lost upwards of $7.6 million in its initial COVID-19 pandemic response and anticipated losing substantially more. This loss was offset in part by a gift of $10 million from “a Mount Holyoke graduate and trustee” for the College’s financial aid initiative, though at their fall 2020 meeting, the Board of Trustees noted a continued “budget gap” caused by COVID-19.
Earlier in March, the College hosted March4MHC, a month-long fundraising challenge where the College matched gifts from community members with an additional $350,000. In total, the fundraiser raised more than $1 million in what the College termed a “truly impressive outpouring of support.”
The report highlighted the College’s Lynk program in particular, noting that over 1,150 students participated in summer internships or research in 2019. 75 percent of those internships, taking place in over 55 countries and 40 U.S. states, were funded through the College’s Lynk program.
“That’s another wonderful place where support from the College is then wrapping around and helping these students continue their work,” said Professor of Computer Science Valerie Barr on the Lynk program. Two of Barr’s students used their Lynk funding to continue the research they had begun with her in partnership with the Pioneer Valley local Girls, Inc. chapter “on asthma and lead levels in the neighborhoods and schools of their participants,” according to the report. Like Barr’s students, 46 percent of Lynk recipients reported finding their internship through Mount Holyoke community members or resources.
The report also broke down sources of financial support, including alums, parents, families, “friends” of the College, foundations, corporations and others. Of the roughly $30 million donated during the 2019-2020 academic year, Mount Holyoke alums were the highest donors, providing more than $26 million to the College.
“Fundraising for all purposes totaled more than $30 million — an incredible testament to the generosity of you, our philanthropic partners,” Jolley wrote.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, 77 percent of Mount Holyoke students received financial aid, totaling $52,253,000. The average financial aid awarded to Mount Holyoke students last year was $33,101.
“Alums are supportive of students financially, but also with networking, finding jobs, and socially,” Emily Carle ’21 said in the report. “I’m grateful for the support they’ve given me. A lot of what I’m able to do is thanks to them.”