The Class of 1977 Gateway Initiative
Our class has chosen to honor the 50th anniversary of our graduation by supporting today’s Williams students – and tomorrow’s.
Our aim is to help them live and learn together in a very special place, just as we did.
Our reunion gift
We call the campaign for our 50th reunion gift The Gateway Initiative. The name recognizes the importance of Hopkins Memorial Gate – with its “Climb High, Climb Far” inscription – as an iconic symbol of a Williams education.
The initiative supports three student-focused projects:
Gateway to Inspiration
We will underwrite restoration of Hopkins Gate. The gateway’s 100th anniversary is 2027, our reunion year. We want it to continue for at least 100 years more to inspire Williams students and launch Williams graduates toward “Your Goal the Sky, Your Aim the Star.”
Gateway to Access
We will add significantly to our Class of 1977 Scholarship Fund, endowed at our 25th reunion. We want to ensure, in perpetuity, that deserving but under-resourced students can study at Williams and go on to change the world.
Financial aid is a very high priority for the college and for our classmates. Make a Gateway to Access outright gift or pledge, plus an Alumni Fund gift or pledge. Once we reach $500,000 in Gateway to Access donations, yours will be matched, doubling its impact.
Gateway to Achievement
The transition from teen to adult is tough. Getting through any college, and especially Williams, is a challenge. We went through that ourselves; students today face even higher hurdles than we did.
We want today’s Ephs not just to “survive,” but to thrive, to be the best Williams students and the best Williams graduates they can be.
So we will endow the Class of 1977 Student Success Fund, providing perpetual support for programs that support student wellbeing and achievement. Counseling for those in crisis will continue to be part of the mix. But so will programs like IWISE, the Integrative Wellbeing Initiative for Sustainable Excellence, designed to facilitate a smoother adjustment to the high-pressure college environment and teach skills that help students take full advantage of their talents and opportunities. This promising pilot program is currently in the second year.
Classmates may choose to support any or all of these Gateway Initiative options.
The class Gift Purpose Committee selected the three projects after extensive consultation with both the class and the college. We hope they will resonate with you, but, if not, you are most welcome to support some other project at the college closer to your heart.
What to support? It’s up to you
Gifts can be made outright, through a multi-year pledge, and/or through your estate plan or other planned gift strategy. (We aim before reunion to set a college record by increasing to at least 77 the number of classmates who are members of the Ephraim Williams Legacy Society, with documented estate intentions or planned gifts in support of Williams.)
Your options for giving
Even as we focus on this once-in-a-lifetime 50th reunion opportunity to support long-term Williams priorities, we also will maintain and even increase our longstanding record of generosity to the Alumni Fund. The fund supports the college’s current operating budget, and we know how critical it is to the financial health of our alma mater.
Don’t forget the Alumni Fund
Classmates are encouraged to consider:
continued or enhanced Alumni Fund support,
an outright Gateway Initiative gift now or over up to five years, and/or
a planned gift to the Gateway Initiative, possibly including a bequest or other long-term philanthropic strategy.
A triple header?
What is in the total class gift to be announced at our reunion?
Our Alumni Fund gifts and pledges, our Gateway Initiative gifts and pledges and our planned gifts will all be part of the total Class of 1977 50th reunion gift announced on reunion weekend. Also counting toward the total will be gifts and pledges that classmates have made toward Williams priorities other than the Gateway Initiative.
How do I learn more?
Check out these online resources:
An overview on 50th reunion giving
Details on the Gateway Initiative and its three student-focused projects
Who do I talk to?
To discuss a gift or commitment, please contact either John Greer or Dennis O’Shea, our class Reunion Fund Committee co-chairs, or any Reunion Fund Committee member. You may also contact Ryan Ford, director of milestone reunions at Williams. For questions specifically about planned gifts, the staff of the Office of Planned Giving is very helpful.
How do I make my gift or commitment?
Any of the folks listed to the left can guide you. Or you can fill out the Gateway Initiative’s online giving form or statement of intent form. (The latter is also available here in a PDF version you can fill in and print out.)
We also have an online fillable PDF version of the college’s form for declaring a bequest intention.
We encourage you to reach out first. Someone from the class committee or planned giving team can have a confidential conversation and make sure you have the information you need.
