why should I don(08)?

Our Senior Gift Drive will raise unrestricted funds for The Penn Fund, which profits every undergraduate. Just as we have been benefiting from these gifts since our freshman year, now is our opportunity to give back and ensure Penn's future.

About half of the funds we raise will be given to current and future students' financial aid. In 2006, two out of every five Penn students received financial aid, which may have included you or many of your friends. Even before applying for financial aid, only about 60% of the cost of a Penn education is covered by tuition. Though you may not have known it, the cost of our education is far greater than the price. The other 40% is subsidized by alumni and friends who make gifts like ours to The Penn Fund.

Unrestricted dollars are especially critical to undergraduate education at Penn because our endowment per student is low, ranked only 66th in the country in 2006. These dollars give the University the flexibility and support it needs to stay competitive and maintain the academic and social atmosphere that we love.

Unrestricted dollars that do not bolster financial aid are spent immediately on new classes, SAC funding, Kelly Writer's and Weiss Tech Houses, CURF, and College House's residential life improvements, among many other things. All of these initiatives make life at Penn stand out above our peer institutions.

University recognition of all gifts will appear in the class honor roll and on SeniorGiftDrive.com. Individuals who give $250 or more will be enrolled in the Benjamin Franklin Society (BFS), and will be invited to BFS events and receive special recognition from Dr. Gutmann.

Make your gift today!