Reunion

Your gift to Bates this milestone year is a gift to your former Bates mentors and professors, a nod to the experiences and relationships you enjoyed on campus 25 years ago, and a gift to students on their own Bates journey at this very moment. It is a vote of confidence in Bates and an investment in its future. By making a 25th Reunion contribution, you’re paying it forward by ensuring that the fundamental aspects of a Bates education remain accessible to the most deserving students, regardless of their financial resources. There are many ways to maximize the impact of your Reunion-year gift:

• Pursue a corporate match: Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to support their colleges and universities. To find out if your company has a matching gift program and if it will match your gift to Bates, please check this website or contact your company’s human resources office. Most companies match dollar for dollar, but some will double or triple an employee’s gift! If your gift is eligible, please request a matching gift form from your employer and send it, completed and signed, with your gift to: Office of Advancement, Bates College, 2 Andrews Road, Lewiston, ME 04240.
• Join the Mount David Society: The Mount David Society recognizes alumni who make the college a philanthropic priority with a gift of $2,500 or more to the Bates Fund. MDS-level donors lead the way in supporting Bates by making significant, unrestricted current-use gifts each year — gifts that underpin the college’s ability to sustain excellence.
• Join the Phillips Society: The Phillips Society celebrates those in the Bates community who have provided for Bates in their estate plans, trusts, or other financial arrangements.

In order to count toward your Reunion class goals, gifts must be received by June 30, 2024. However, we encourage you to consider contributing by May 1, 2024, to ensure your gift is celebrated during Reunion Weekend!

The Bates Fund serves as a necessary complement to our endowment, fully dedicated to the present needs of the college. Every gift is transformational and enables the college to enhance the educational experience of students every day. By giving to the Bates Fund, you provide the next generation with:

• a best-in-class liberal arts experience spanning academic, athletic, and co-curricular programs
• funded internships and student-faculty research opportunities
• access to a global community of supportive alumni, forming a large and ever-growing Bates family
• generous financial aid (more than $51,000 per student on average) for nearly half of Bates students
• a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, with top-in-their-field faculty members
• technology resources to enhance the experience of students and faculty on our campus

More than 1,100 alumni and friends annually return to Bates for Reunion Weekend to reconnect and enjoy the beauty of the Bates campus in summer.

• Register your kids for fun-filled Camp Bates programming and turn Reunion Weekend into a Maine family vacation.
• Enjoy the annual Reunion Weekend lobster bake, golf outing, Bobcat Beer Garden, and barbecue picnic lunch.
• Visit familiar haunts and see how campus has changed, including the Bonney Science Center, new dorms, the new Bates College Store, and a fabulous dining hall.
• Cheer on alumni of all ages in the historic Alumni Parade.
• Hear from faculty and senior leaders, including President Clayton Spencer.
• Attend a lecture by distinguished alumni or join a Bates Outing Club excursion.
• And dance the night away at the annual Reunion Gala!

Regardless of your interests, there is something for everyone at Reunion!

Join the Class of 1999’s Facebook group and follow on Instagram at @batesclassof99!