The Case for the Bates Fund        

Over the past year,  the economic landscape for colleges and universities has been extraordinarily difficult, and the case is no different for Bates. Endowment spending, which normally accounts for 13% of the operating budget, will be down by about $2 million again this year. Bates’ only other sources of revenue are student fees, which account for 70% of our revenues, and gifts to the College, including the Bates Fund. Even with our wise investment strategies and cost-saving initiatives in place, we face unprecedented challenges. Now more than ever, there is a meaningful gap between our resources and our aspirations.

In 2009, the Bates Fund will be crucial to making up that difference. The Fund provides unrestricted, current-use dollars that can be spent immediately and is one of the few sources of income bridging the gap between what tuition provides and the total operating budget.

Our famed ability to “do more with less” will not work anymore. Bates cannot keep exceptional faculty, offer strong financial aid packages, and maintain a competitive educational experience with its current resources. The only way for Bates to stay true to its core values is through increased giving from alumni, parents, and friends like you.

 

 

 
A strong Bates Fund…
• Supports academic excellence. A stable operating budget reinforced by generous annual gifts allows the College to hire and retain outstanding faculty who are the best within their areas of expertise.
• Ensures Bates’ academic standards and diversity. Over 41% of our students will receive financial aid this year, and we expect an increase in requests, straining the current budget. Financial aid is the best way to attract and retain the most academically qualified students regardless of their financial circumstances.
• Helps us stay strong by being flexible. Your gifts allow Bates to address underfunded, unmet, or emergency needs and give us the ability to respond quickly to new challenges and opportunities that will advance our mission.
• Makes a substantial impact. It would take an additional $86 million in the endowment, or an increased tuition charge of $2,400 per student, to support what the Bates Fund provides annually. Donors who make unrestricted, current-use gifts have the greatest impact in enabling Bates to meet its mission―right now.
• Bears witness to your faith in Bates and in the future. Your generous gift to the Bates Fund reaffirms your commitment to the College and its values. One student educated at Bates can positively impact the lives of thousands.

Imagine the possibilities…
If alumni, parents, and friends like you were to increase your Bates Fund gift by 25%, your combined support would provide Bates students and faculty an additional $2 million in current-use, operating funds. You can be confident that your gifts are being used immediately and effectively to enhance the quality of the student experience at Bates.

Make a gift now.
• Make your gift online.
• Call us toll free at 888-522-8371.
• Send your check payable to The Bates Fund, to 2 Andrews Road, Lewiston, ME 04240

Bates needs and welcomes gifts of every amount from all alumni, parents, and friends. Small gifts, when added to the efforts of others, multiply into major support for the important work of Bates students and faculty. For those who can consider it, one way to set a goal for personal annual giving to Bates is to join Mount David Society, the leadership society of the Bate Fund.   

For more information, please contact:

Christina Wellington Traister '94
Director of Annual Giving
Bates College
2 Andrews Road
Lewiston, ME 04240-6028
207-786-6478
etraiste@bates.edu

The Mount David Society