Funding the Future: An Update on Smith’s Women for the World Campaign

With close to 35,000 donors already contributing to the effort, Women for the World: The Campaign for Smith has raised well over half of its fundraising goal of $450 million to increase access by the best and brightest students to all that a Smith education has to offer.

The latest figures from the Office of Development show that the campaign raised $292 million by the end of October—including more than $65 million for financial and scholarship aid.

Since it launched in 2012, the campaign has also raised $70 million in unrestricted giving for the Smith Fund, which supports core classroom initiatives and programs that benefit all students on campus.

In celebration of National Philanthropy Day, the Smith Fund has issued a special challenge to alumnae, parents and friends of the college: Make Smith Your Cause. The one-day effort on Wednesday, Nov. 12, will include several opportunities for donors to have their gifts matched by alumnae sponsors.

Beth Raffeld, vice president for development at Smith, said leaders of the Women for the World campaign hope to reach, or even surpass, the $450-million goal by December 2016.

“There is great energy and excitement about the campaign among alumnae, parents and friends,” Raffeld said. “Women for the World is important as a statement about philanthropic support for women’s education. And Smith women want this campaign to succeed.”

Nearly half of the total campaign goal is targeted to financial aid, Raffeld noted. By increasing its endowed financial aid funds by $200 million, Smith aims to secure its ability to attract the best-qualified students from around the world who are seeking access to a top-notch college education, she added.

Smith is already a leader among elite U.S. colleges in the proportion of undergraduates who receive federal need-based Pell Grants—around 22 percent of admitted students. The New York Times recently ranked Smith fourth on its list of the most economically diverse U.S. colleges. Yet Raffeld said less than half of the college’s financial aid budget is currently endowed.

President McCartney noted that Smith has been committed to access and equity since the college’s founding.

“One of my highest priorities is strengthening and securing our financial aid program, now and for the future,” she said. “I want to make sure that a Smith education is an achievable goal for ambitious young women around the world.”

In addition to financial aid, Raffeld said funds raised through the campaign will help transform Smith’s academic program to better prepare college women for global leadership.

The campaign has raised $87.42 million of a $160-million goal for “Reimagining the Liberal Arts.” Those funds will support faculty positions, expand internships in the United States and abroad, create more opportunities for studying language, entrepreneurship and science, and support signature college programs such as the Smith College Museum of Art.

Funds raised for reimagining the liberal arts at Smith will also support the work of five leadership centers on campus: Center for Community Collaboration, Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS), Lewis Global Studies Center, Center for Women and Financial Independence and Wurtele Center for Work and Life.

Betsy Wydra Carpenter ’93, the college’s development and campaign director, said the work of these centers is about “giving Smith students an edge in 21st-century educational experiences and offering opportunities to integrate classroom learning with other experiences.”

The centers help Smith bridge classroom work and learning beyond the campus—particularly in subjects such as science, technology, engineering and math where women’s leadership is needed, Carpenter said.

Raffeld pointed out that the most common donation to Women for the World is at the $100 level—a sign, she said, of the campaign’s wide appeal.

“Partnership matters,” Raffeld added. “Giving to the campaign helps remind people that they are part of the Smith community.”