Annual Funds Soar

GAMBIER, Ohio (July 28, 2005) Kenyon alumni and parents have made 2004-05 a landmark year, contributing nearly $4 million to the annual funds that support teaching and learning at the College-and setting records in the process.

The Kenyon Fund, to which alumni contribute, surpassed
$3 million for the first time in the College's history. The Kenyon Parents Fund also hit a new high, approaching $770,000, 14 percent more than in 2003-04. Adding foundation grants, corporate and matching gifts, and contributions from other supporters, Kenyon received a total of $24,051,443 this year, an increase of almost 25 percent.

"This big step forward for Kenyon is made up of many individual acts of generosity from more than 6,100 alumni, parents, and friends," said Sarah Kahrl, vice president for college relations. "We're grateful for the devotion to Kenyon that was so wonderfully evident in this year's success."

At the close of the 2004-05 fiscal year on June 30, the Kenyon Fund had received $3,136,764, an 11 percent increase over last year. Alumni celebrating their reunions provided more than one-third of the total. Five alumni became charter members of the new President's Society, established to honor donors giving $50,000 or more.

The $769,068 total received by the Kenyon Parents Fund represented a record-high 54-percent participation rate, an 8-percent increase and one of the best participation rates in the country. "Kenyon parents are extraordinarily loyal and incredibly generous with their time and resources," said Shawn Dailey, director of parent giving. "They are one of the College's greatest assets."

The Kenyon Fund and the Kenyon Parents Fund are the College's largest sources of unrestricted operating support. Benefiting virtually every aspect of campus life, the annual funds enable Kenyon to offer a consistently superb college experience beyond what could be provided from tuition and endowment income alone. The nearly $4 million in annual-fund gifts this year is equivalent to the income that would be generated by approximately $86,800,000 in endowment.