1794 Society Fiscal Year 2023: A Story of Participation, Inspiration, and Gratitude

By Bowdoin College

An impressive $9,776,617 in gifts in support of Bowdoin’s Alumni Fund from 8,560 alumni donors helped make Bowdoin’s 2022–2023 fiscal year a great success.

1794 Society members play an instrumental role in their support of the College by continuing to make Bowdoin a philanthropic priority. Nearly $8 million of Bowdoin’s Alumni Fund revenue was contributed by generous 1794 Society members.

Contributions from the 1794 Society compose 81 percent of this fiscal year’s Alumni Fund, and 15 percent of Alumni Fund donors come from its membership. Your generous donations make it possible for students to experience the fullest possible range of opportunities and experiences as part of their Bowdoin education.

Highlights from this year’s Alumni Fund campaign:

BowdoinOne Day was a campus-wide effort this year, with more than thirty departments and groups hosting “kindness stations.” Together, 2,120 members of the community made gifts and unlocked $212,000 in generous challenge support.
The GOLD (graduates of the last decade) Financial Aid Challenge in November aimed to increase the collective participation from the ten youngest alumni classes. The challenge, issued by an anonymous alumni couple who are passionate about financial aid, inspired 600 GOLD alumni and seniors to participate, unlocked $100,000, and raised an additional $15,770 to support Bowdoin. Classes competed to have their class banner hang in Thorne Hall for the year; exceeding expectations for such a young group, the Class of 2020 won the honor!
The Go U Bears Athletic Fund Challenge in May inspired 2,323 people to step up to the plate, reminding us how much Bowdoin athletics brings everyone together. Gifts in support of student-athletes and coaches came from players and fans of all types and raised more than $536,800 this year.

The 1794 Membership Committee had a particular goal this fiscal year of educating and inspiring young alumni in classes 2013–2022 to join the giving society.

Two committee volunteers used a portion of their annual gifts to leverage 1794 Society-level gifts from this population, highlighting the collective power of philanthropy and leadership among their peers.

The challenge resulted in more than 120 members, nearly half of whom were new leadership donors this year.

A number of 1794 Society members helped Bowdoin’s reunion giving program and increased 1794 Society membership along the way:

Ingrid Anid ’08 (above right) organized a successful 15^th Reunion Challenge, asking eleven classmates—most of them new leadership donors—to join her in making a 1794 Society-level gift.

Together, they inspired 56 percent of their class to participate in giving to Bowdoin.

An anonymous group of 1993 classmates used their leadership gifts to inspire the class to give its largest class gift ever for their 30th Reunion.

The 40th Reunion class of 1983 also challenged classmates to reach 60 percent participation with a $100,000 incentive. They ended up with 71 percent participation, showing everyone how it’s done!

The 1978 Reunion Giving Challenge, in which gifts up to $500 were matched by two anonymous donors, led the class to reach thirty-five leadership donors—its highest 1794 Society donor count ever.

The Class of 1963 celebrated its 60^th Reunion with another incentive: Barry Wish challenged classmates to raise $100,000, which he would match with another $100,000. They had great success and collectively raised $208,634 for Bowdoin!

Published July 21, 2023