Kenyon Fund Chair Letter

Dear Fellow Alumni,

Working with an ever-improving influx of high school graduates, Kenyon College continues to develop a steady stream of well-educated college graduates with a broad spectrum of academic backgrounds. Along the way, the College imparts each student's version of the Kenyon Experience, through which the bachelor's degree is enriched by the College's unique sense of community.

Alumni generosity to the Kenyon Fund makes all of that possible -- year in and year out, and through the ups and downs of the world at large. This past fiscal year (running from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011), in the face of a continuing adverse economic climate, Kenyon alumni stepped up their annual giving to the Kenyon Fund by over 7 percent, to $3,429,273. Along the way, the Kenyon Fund's contributors met the Trustee Challenge to provide $1,050,000 in new gifts and increased giving in 2010-2011, thereby triggering matching Trustee contributions which further enhanced available scholarship dollars. Moreover, thanks to the new dollars from contributors who combined to meet the Challenge, the Kenyon Fund's support to all facets of life at Kenyon College was compounded more than usual.

In recognition of all the hard work and generosity that went into meeting the Trustee Challenge and far surpassing the Campaign's annual giving objectives, this year's Kenyon Fund solicitations will be targeted to meet the express wishes of contributors. Speaking for my fellow volunteers who also serve as Class Agents, Reunion Giving volunteers, and members of the Kenyon Fund Executive Committee, I'd like to thank you for your generosity this past year - and urge you to stay generous, and bring a friend, in supporting the 2011-2012 Kenyon Fund.

Most importantly now, though, let me say it one more time: Thank you for supporting the 2010-2011 Kenyon Fund! Your generosity makes the Kenyon Experience that much better.

Sincerely,

R. Benton Gray '73
Kenyon Fund and Kenyon Fund Executive Committee Chair