Why Give?

Our reunion provides the opportunity, not only to celebrate our shared past and remember what our Carleton education has meant to us, but also, through our 50th Reunion Gift, to support Carleton’s future and benefit future generations of Carleton students. After considering a number of options, your 50th Reunion Planning Committee decided that the best way for our class to make a powerful legacy gift is to increase Carleton’s ability to attract and support a strong and diverse mix of students from all backgrounds, regardless of their financial need. Therefore, our 50th Reunion Gift will focus on growing the Class of 1968 Scholarship Fund that we established in 1993 for our 25th reunion.

The news is full of stories about the burden of student loan debt on today’s college graduates. For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has reported that as of 2015, the average student graduated with debt of almost $34,000. And, that amount that had increased by 70% in the past ten years. At Carleton, fortunately, the picture is far better. Thanks to the support of alumni and friends, Carleton has been able to extend very substantial financial assistance to all students with demonstrated financial need. Read financial aid gift page for more information about the impact of financial aid at Carleton. Financial aid has reduced the net cost of a Carleton education so that the average college-related debt at graduation of a Carleton student is about $20,000. While this is significantly less than the national average, more can still be done. 

Carleton’s ability to offer financial aid to all students who need it makes Carleton an affordable place to receive an extraordinary education. Our goal is to make Carleton even more affordable to all students—to move toward the day when all Carleton students can graduate free of college debt. Increasing the Class of 1968 Scholarship Fund will be our Class’s legacy for the future of Carleton and its students.

How Can We Participate?

There are three ways you can support our 50th Reunion Gift:

  • Continue to support the Annual Fund. Make an AAF pledge for up to five years, beginning on July 1, 2017. These pledges count toward our 50th Reunion total.
  • Contribute to our Class of 1968 Scholarship Fund and your gift will be matched dollar for dollar! Thanks to the generosity of Wally and Barbara Weitz ’70 and their family, any gift that you contribute to the Class of 1968 Scholarship Fund will be matched dollar for dollar until the funds run out. A special gift to our class scholarship fund can be pledged up to five years and is still eligible for matching support.  
  • Consider your own personal legacy and join the Heywood Society. Name Carleton as a beneficiary of an insurance policy, a retirement plan or make a provision in your will or trust. There is no threshold for including Carleton in your estate plans, gifts of all sizes count and are celebrated as part of the 50th Reunion class gift.

Already a Heywood Society member? Make a new legacy gift or increase your current legacy gift to Carleton.

Read about including Carleton in your estate.

67 of our classmates are already Heywood members. The record for any class is 76. With a little effort, we can set a new record, and with a bit more effort, we can reach 100 members who, through their generous planning, have left a continuing gift for Carleton after they’re gone.

Pledge Form

Please join us in building our legacy for Carleton, using this pledge form.