A New Reason to Support the College

Written by Doug Goodnough

When it comes to Hillsdale College, what do you care about?

For me, it was the baseball team, Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, the English and History Departments, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and The Collegian, not necessarily in that order. As a student, I was involved in all of the above, thankfully not all at the same time. But my time at Hillsdale was defined by what happened in these areas, and I am grateful for having these opportunities.

How grateful? Several years ago, I decided to give back to the College in many of these areas. It takes resources for the College to support and operate these programs, clubs, and organizations. And tuition revenue does not come close to funding these efforts.

So, we fundraise. Hillsdale has been remarkably successful in this area, and the College is truly fortunate to have so many who believe in its mission. How about alumni support? It varies by year, but about 14 to 16 percent of alumni annually give back to the College.

Does that surprise you?

According to organizations who track such things, Hillsdale is above the 7-9 percent average for small, liberal arts colleges in the region. However, for an institution that does not accept a penny of government money, I would have expected that number to be much higher.

The reasons are many, and I have heard some of them since my time back at the College. In fact, there are approximately 8,000 or so alumni who have never made a gift to their alma mater.

May I provide a new reason you should support the College? On April 15 (Tax Day!), the Alumni Office is hosting its first Alumni Day of Giving event. Over a 24-hour period (and well before that), we will be promoting more than a dozen College programs, clubs, and organizations that want to partner with us to raise money for their causes. Led by Associate Director of Alumni Annual Giving Braden VanDyke, ’21, the Day of Giving will try to persuade alumni to give back to the cause of their choice. Here are some of the groups participating:

  • Mu Alpha men’s music fraternity
  • French Department
  • Spanish Department
  • Track and field/cross country
  • Baseball
  • Women’s basketball
  • Women’s swimming
  • Sigma Chi fraternity
  • Delta Sigma Phi fraternity
  • Hillsdale Homestead club
  • Tower Light

These partners will help the College fundraise for their particular cause/project in a “crowdfunding” type of way. On April 15, we also will have a livestream event on campus featuring these groups to help raise awareness and have a little bit of fun along the way.

The Day of Giving’s focus is on increasing first-time alumni donors to the College, and the hope is that alumni can be made aware of specific needs of programs and organizations that they once participated in during their time as students. If you don’t see your “cause” on this list, no matter: you can designate your gift to whatever area you would like.

Look for more information on the Alumni Day of Giving soon. If you’ve never donated to the College, make this year the first!

Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s senior director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.

 

 

Published in February 2026