Giving Opportunities for the Financial Aid Student Support Initiative
Through contributions that provide support in perpetuity and with significant current-use gifts that have an immediate impact, our goal for the Student Support Initiative is to raise $60 million in new financial aid resources, approximately doubling GS's current endowment over the next four years. The new scholarship opportunities, programs, and initiatives described in this effort will enable significant progress toward our goal of meeting the full financial aid needs of current and future GS students.
Gifts from alumni, friends, and supporters of Columbia GS that provide significant support to GS students can be recognized by being named, often in recognition of the donor, a family member, a loved one, or a significant person in the donor’s life. Named gifts range in size and scale and include the opportunity to name physical space at Columbia GS, name one of the important programs being developed through this campaign, or name a scholarship.
$100M – Naming the School of General Studies
$25M – Endowing the Deanship: An endowment of this magnitude is recognized by naming the GS deanship in perpetuity while also providing scholarship support for GS students by funding the Dean’s Scholarship, a fund that is used to provide scholarships to high-achieving, high-need GS students. A gift of this magnitude will provide full funding for 15 to 20 Columbia GS students.
$20M – Naming the Program for Academic Leadership and Service (PALS) Program: This gift provides lasting support for GS’s only scholarship program meeting 100% of tuition and fees. The endowment will enable GS to fully fund PALS, up to cost of attendance, while also naming the scholars who are part of a cohort of students who are first in their family to attend college, and are also from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and historically underrepresented groups at Columbia.
$20M – GS Student Veterans Program: This gift will fully endow and support the best and largest population of student veterans in the Ivy League and ensure that Columbia GS maintains its position as the leader in transitioning, integrating, and educating service members who are ending their military service.
$10M – Innovative Programs: A number of innovative and ground-breaking programs are in development for the coming years—New York City Scholars, Distinguished Public Service Scholars, and the Global Citizen Scholarship to name a few—and the School continues to develop and expand our groundbreaking International Dual Degree Programs. A naming gift for any one of these programs will provide much-needed financial aid support for students in these Programs, as well as programming for the cohort throughout the year.
$10M – GS Center for Innovation in International Education: For the last decade, GS has been a leader in providing a truly international education to Columbia undergraduates. A naming gift will enable GS to launch a center of excellence focused on enhancing and continuing the innovative spirit of GS’s International Dual Degree Programs while also providing funding opportunities for students seeking to engage in a fully immersive educational model.
$5M – Naming the Student Advising Center: 403 Lewisohn Hall has been the physical home to the GS advising team for decades. A gift naming this important location will be used to create a cohort of named scholars who serve as peer advisors.
$5M – Naming the Academic Resource Center (ARC): Endowing the ARC at Columbia GS, the home of best-in-class academic support services and state-of-the-art programming, ensures the continued support and development of programming specifically designed for nontraditional students. This gift will include named scholarships for GS students who utilize ARC programming, as well as GS students receiving financial aid who serve as ARC tutors.
$5M – Named Scholarship Cohort: Endowing a named scholarship cohort provides not only the recognition of a named scholarship for students in the cohort but will also allow for programming and support of the cohort for current students and alumni to build a scholarship community.
$1.5M covers the full cost of attendance for one student on an annual basis—or can be used to close the gap between the cost of tuition and the unmet financial need for a group of students—and is recognized in perpetuity with a named scholarship.
$1M in endowed funding generates $50,000 in annual support that is used to fund scholarships for multiple students and is recognized with a named scholarship.
$500,000 in endowed funding generates $25,000 a year in annual support that is used to fund scholarships for multiple students and is recognized with a named scholarship.
$250,000 and above creates a new named scholarship for one student with preferences taken into account, i.e., students who align with a particular identity or academic interest. For example, students who are English majors or student veterans.
$100,000 creates a named endowed scholarship without preferences.
$75,000+: The creation of a current-use scholarship for one or more students, meeting full financial needs of tuition and fees for one academic year.
The GS Leadership Society is a group of alumni, parents, and friends who have made a significant commitment to strengthening the School of General Studies through the GS Annual Fund. The GS Annual Fund provides essential current-use support for financial aid that is immediately available in the academic year for students as they pursue their academic goals.
GS Leadership Society membership levels, listed below, highlight opportunities to make a meaningful impact on the lives of nontraditional students.
Dean’s Circle: $25,000+
Gifts of $25,000 and above have an immediate, transformative impact on the lives of GS students. A Dean’s Circle gift supports a partial scholarship equal to nearly half of the cost of full-time tuition at Columbia for one student per year.
Lewisohn Associate: $10,000–$24,999
Gifts of $10,000 and above help alleviate the financial burden for GS students, the majority of whom finance their education without family support. A Lewisohn Associate gift provides a partial scholarship that covers approximately 20 to 40 percent of the cost of full-time tuition at Columbia for one student per year.
Owl Associate: $5,000–$9,999
Owl Associate gifts make a meaningful difference on students’ academic journeys. At this level, gifts have an impact within the financial aid package by funding the approximate cost of one to two courses per year.
Fellow: $1,000–4,999
Gifts at the Fellow level support the annual cost of books and academic materials for one financial aid student per year.
Recent Alumni:
Members of the GS Classes of 2018–2022 qualify for the Fellow membership level with gifts of $250 and above; members of the GS Classes of 2013–2017 qualify with gifts of $500 and above.