2020 Report on Philanthropy

Dear Dickinsonians,

As we have worked to respond to the pandemic responsibly and ethically, we have faced challenges. Protecting the health of our students, faculty, staff, and local community members has meant making difficult decisions, with emotional and financial costs. Rest assured that those decisions were made from a position of strength and position Dickinson for continued strength in the future.

Thanks to careful financial planning, we have been able to weather losses in room and board, invest in remote-learning enhancements, deepen our commitment to financial aid and protect the more than 160 students who remained on campus by using budgeted reserves rather than drawing down on the endowment. Though the downturn in the stock market this spring means that the endowment ended the fiscal year (which closed June 30) slightly lower last year, we have already bounced back this quarter and can expect healthy financial returns in the future.

In addition, we remain future focused. The Revolutionary Challenge continues to move forward, and we’ve identified four finalist proposals for programs that will position Dickinson to take the lead in addressing today’s challenges as well as tomorrow's. We recently launched a new program in Arctic studies, enhancing our commitment to global and sustainability studies. A new master’s program Disaster management and response is also currently in the planning stages.

Our ability to innovate as we respond to these challenges of the pandemic underscores the crucial role donors like you play in Dickinson today and tomorrow. Your generous investment in the college through endowed gifts and other forms of philanthropy enabled Dickinson to make the right decision this fall. Whereas financial realities forced other schools to open, jeopardizing the safety of their communities, we were positioned to weather the storm with a remote semester that put the health of Dickinsonians above financial concerns. And for that, I and every Dickinsonian thanks you.

As you read through this report and see that the college remains in robust financial health, you will find stories of donors like yourself investing in scholarships, global education, faculty development and much more at Dickinson. You can also read the words directly from the students benefitting from those investments, describing what they love best about their Dickinson experiences—which all results from your generosity.

I hope that as you move through the report, you take pride in the impact of your philanthropy. We all know the old saying about challenges also being potential opportunities, and as we move forward together, we will prove that adage true. Your philanthropy allows us to turn our challenges into opportunities—to make our college even stronger, to help our students become future-ready leaders. I am so fortunate to witness the impact of your giving every day.

Sincerely,

Margee M. Ensign
President, Dickinson College