
Endowment
Managing $1 billion
Investing & Planning
As the number of individual endowed funds grew and their value increased, Hamilton established an Investment Office staffed by full-time professionals to manage this increasingly vital and complex resource. Creation of the office, which is overseen by the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and the vice president for administration and finance, has coincided with accelerated growth in the value of the endowment, which now exceeds $1.3 billion.
In the current 2023 fiscal year, income earned from Hamilton’s endowment will provide nearly $51.1 million (31% of the total budget) to operate the College.
People
Historically, Hamilton’s students and professors are the primary beneficiaries of the largest share of philanthropic dollars received by the College, with student scholarship aid far surpassing all other charitable contributions. But donors also give generously to attract and retain America’s best faculty by establishing endowed professorships, creating funds for teaching innovation, and providing support for state-of-the-art research.





The SEAS Fund: Teaching Students to Fish
When Trustee Phyllis Breland ’80 was Hamilton’s Director of Opportunity Programs, one of her favorite meetings was for the Student Emergency Aid Society (SEAS), a campus committee that evaluates and supports emergency or exceptional one-time needs for students with extraordinary financial barriers.

Creating the Environment for Environmental Research
When Hamilton made significant investments in environmentally focused science offerings nearly two decades ago, Trustee Joel Johnson ’65, P’93 and his family wanted to ensure the brightest minds found among science faculty were at the forefront of environmental research. That’s when they established — what was at that time — the largest endowed professorship in the College’s history.



Places
Most of the renovation and new construction projects that take place on campus are funded through capital gifts and borrowing. There are a number of funds, however, that have been established by donors to maintain existing facilities and spaces, and to upgrade equipment and acquire additional teaching tools. These include, for example, funds for the upkeep of the Chapel, the Bristol Center, and the Anderson-Connell Alumni Center; ongoing maintenance of the Campus Arboretum and the Root Glen; equipment upgrades in the Taylor Science Center; and new acquisitions for the Wellin Museum.




“I’m most proud that there’s a continued effort to keep the campus beautiful.

In its first 10 years, the Wellin Museum of Art has become a model teaching museum bringing artists to campus to interact with classes, deliver lectures, engage with students by creating new works, and create scholarly publications. Johnson-Pote Director Tracy Adler and her staff work with artists years in advance of their exhibitions and support their unique projects. Donors make these opportunities possible.
Internships
Experiential Learning
Hamilton offers numerous options for internships that provide important ways to explore careers.

Surya Gowda ’23 didn’t know what she was committing to when she accepted the Jeffrey H. Long ’05 Internship Award to support her internship at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Surya said, “I’m getting out of my comfort zone, and I’m doing something that I never expected to do.”

Campaign Overview
Nearly 30,000 alumni, parents, and friends have made at least one gift to the Because Hamilton campaign, including almost 80 percent of all alumni. Because Hamilton has raised $364 million (91 percent) toward its goal of $400 million by June 30, 2023, with almost half (49 percent) of the gifts added to the endowment for College and donor priorities.
Contact
Office / Department Name
Advancement
Contact Name
Lori Dennison
Vice President, Advancement

The $400 million campaign to provide students with a life-altering education.
Learn More About the Campaign