Fiftieth Reunion Giving
Celebrate the milestone
Honoring the past and impacting the future
The Fiftieth Reunion milestone is a time to reflect on the role that Mount Holyoke has played in your life and to honor cherished memories, traditions and friends.
Though the world has changed, Mount Holyoke’s mission endures: providing an adventurous and rigorous education, fostering an inclusive community, embracing a global mindset and guiding future leaders.
The collective philanthropic generosity and spirit of each Fiftieth Reunion class sustains this mission and ensures Mount Holyoke remains a beacon for current and future students. We encourage your entire class to participate in the Fiftieth Reunion Class Gift. While levels of support will vary, we ask each person to make a meaningful milestone gift.
We hope you will consider your unique legacy to the College. With your support, Mount Holyoke forever shall be.
What counts in the Fiftieth Reunion Class Gift?
We include all gifts and pledges from your classmates made to all purposes during the five-year period from your Forty-sixth Reunion to your Fiftieth Reunion. Pledges that will be fulfilled in the four years following your Fiftieth Reunion are also counted.
We will announce and celebrate two totals at your Fiftieth Reunion.
The Mount Holyoke Fund total includes gifts and pledges made to The Mount Holyoke Fund during the five-year reunion cycle.
The comprehensive total includes all gifts and pledges for all purposes during the five-year reunion cycle, including:
- All commitments to The Mount Holyoke Fund.
- All commitments to the endowment, capital projects and restricted funds for purposes such as the Art Museum or Athletics.
- Documented bequest intentions.
- Charitable gift annuities and charitable trusts — recognized at face value.
Giving opportunities
The Mount Holyoke Fund
Your gift to The Mount Holyoke Fund has the greatest immediate impact on the Mount Holyoke experience for each student. Your gift will be used immediately for the purpose of your choice and will directly support College operations.
What area of college life matters most to you? You can find a list of gift destinations to direct your gift within The Mount Holyoke Fund.
Planned Gifts
Planned giving can be a creative and advantageous way to support Mount Holyoke and enhance your Fiftieth Reunion gift. Whether you are looking for gifts that provide income or gifts that cost nothing now, the gift planning team is here to help.
Bequests and beneficiary designations
Making Mount Holyoke a beneficiary of your estate plan is simple to implement and easy to change at any time. Complete a bequest intention form, and provide a copy of the paragraph from your will or trust that mentions Mount Holyoke or a copy of the beneficiary form from your retirement account or life insurance policy. We will include the present value of your future bequest in the comprehensive total for your class.
Gifts that provide income
Life income gifts allow you to create current or future income for yourself and/or your loved ones, enable you to support any area of the College that you wish and entitle you to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the assets given to fund the gift.
Charitable gift annuities provide fixed income for up to two people and may be funded with cash or appreciated securities. (Minimum gift: $10,000. Age minimums apply.)
Charitable remainder unitrusts offer variable income with the potential for growth over time. Trusts may be funded with cash or appreciated assets — including stocks, real estate and business interests. (Minimum gift: $100,000. Age minimums apply.)
Endowment and restricted gifts
Endowed gifts generate a perpetual source of income for Mount Holyoke and are critical for the College’s long-term financial stability and success. You can establish an endowed fund with a minimum gift of $100,000. A gift officer will discuss your philanthropic goals and the needs of the College with you.
Some classmates also make gifts to other restricted funds, such as the Art Museum or Athletics.
Ways to make outright gifts
Cash or pledge
Make your gift online. You can choose to make a one-time gift or automatic monthly gifts (with a scheduled end date or as an ongoing sustaining gift).
Send a check, payable to Mount Holyoke College, to our secure post office box: Office of Development, Mount Holyoke College, PO Box 889, South Hadley, MA 01075-0889.
Make a one-time or multiyear pledge online or contact Perrin Bernard (see the last page for contact information). Multiyear pledges can help you stretch your giving by spreading your gift over a maximum of five years.
For example, you can make a $5,000 Fiftieth Reunion Class Gift by pledging to give $1,000 annually for five years. You can make multiyear pledges any time before your Fiftieth Reunion celebration and can extend them to your 54th Reunion year. Regardless of the timeline, the entire amount of your multiyear pledge will count toward your Fiftieth Reunion Class Gift.
Gifts of securities
Gifts of appreciated securities are tax deductible at full fair market value if the donor has owned the asset for at least one year. To avoid capital gains taxes, you must provide the securities rather than the proceeds of their sale. You may deduct these gifts at fair market value on the date of transfer to the College.
IRA qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)
Making a charitable contribution from your IRA (or a spouse’s IRA) may reduce your federal income taxes — whether or not you itemize your deductions.
In 2024, individuals aged 70½ or older can contribute any amount of up to $105,000 to a charity, tax-free, directly from their traditional and inherited IRA accounts. Please note that 401(k), 403(b), most SEP IRA accounts and other retirement accounts do not qualify.
If you do not itemize deductions, a QCD provides the tax benefits of an itemized income tax charitable deduction.
If you are 73 or older and must take your RMD, a QCD can satisfy your RMD without increasing your income tax.
Contact your advisor, IRA administrator or plan fiduciary company for assistance. Checks must be made out to Mount Holyoke College (Tax ID number: 04-2103578/The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College).
For more information, please visit giftplanning.mtholyoke.edu/ira-charitable-rollover.
Donor advised funds
A donor advised fund (DAF) is a type of giving program sponsored and administered by many community foundations and investment companies. It combines favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to conveniently support Mount Holyoke.
Start a conversation today
If you have questions about the best way to leave your legacy in honor of your Fiftieth Reunion please contact Perrin Bernard or Dana Gillette for more information.
Perrin Bernard
Associate Director of The Mount Holyoke Fund/Fiftieth Reunion Liaison, available by phone at 413-538-2672 or by email at pbernard@mtholyoke.edu.
Dana Gillette
Director of Gift Planning, available by phone at 413-538-3183 or by email at dgillett@mtholyoke.edu.
Giving Societies
Giving Societies recognize the members of our community whose generosity ensures that “Mount Holyoke forever shall be.”
The Laurel Chain Society
Honors the loyalty of donors who make gifts to Mount Holyoke (of any amount, to any fund) for three consecutive years, including a gift in the current fiscal year. Membership is retained by supporting the College each fiscal year.
The Cornerstone Society
Recognizes donors who make gifts of $1,837 or more to Mount Holyoke for any purpose each year.
The Mary Lyon Society
Honors those who have named the College as a beneficiary of a will, trust, retirement plan or life insurance policy. It also honors those who have established a life income gift with the College.
Happening at Mount Holyoke
Meet the Mount Holyoke students who benefit from your generosity
