As summer comes to a close, momentum is building for the final year of Fearlessly Consequential: A Campaign for Our Collective Future. With one year left in the campaign, the Vassar community is looking ahead to all that we can make possible and the lasting impact it will have on the College and its students.

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of thousands of alums, parents, and friends we have raised $497 million toward our $500 million goal, and there’s still more ahead.

There has been record-breaking support for the Vassar Fund. Thanks to the incredible impact of our community, the annual fund capped off a historic fiscal year surpassing $10 million. These unrestricted flexible funds serve as the operational engine of the College, providing vital support for financial aid, health and wellness, emergency student funding, and campus sustainability initiatives.

Campaign gifts also continue to bolster Vassar’s commitment to need-blind admissions. Today, about two-thirds of Vassar students receive aid from the College, including approximately 20 percent who are Pell Grant eligible, ensuring that talented students can thrive here regardless of their financial circumstances.

The new Center for Multidisciplinary Study is scheduled to break ground at the Old Laundry Building (OLB) in May 2027. However, the re-envisioned landscape and hardscape surrounding the building remain key underfunded priorities. Philanthropic support will transform the passage between the Center for Multidisciplinary Study and The Powerhouse Theater into a vibrant garden walk and convert the road behind Main Building into a pedestrian promenade, completing the OLB capital vision while also creating an inviting outdoor space for collaboration, teaching, and community.

The Virginia C. Mars ’51 Lacrosse Center continues to take shape at the Prentiss Sports Complex and will be ready for play in the spring. Once open, this premier facility will elevate the student-athlete experience serving as the home to the Varsity Lacrosse and Soccer teams and will be accessible for club, intramural, and recreational play. Improvements include increased bleacher capacity, new field lighting, expanded parking, and more, paving the way forward for continued investment across Vassar Athletics.

Strengthening the College’s ties to the local community remains a central pillar of Fearlessly Consequential. Through the Vassar Education Collaboration and its Exploring College program, Vassar students serve as essential mentors, tutors, and role models in Poughkeepsie schools. As these programs grow, additional philanthropic support is urgently needed to expand stipend support, transportation, and college-readiness resources, extending Vassar’s impact for both local youth and the student mentors.

As we look ahead to the campaign’s final year, we do so with gratitude and optimism. Thanks to your generosity, we are very close to our historic $500 million goal. Every gift leads us to a stronger, more resilient Vassar. One that will continue to empower current students and those that follow. We can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together in the final year of the campaign!

If you have any questions or want to learn more about the campaign, please reach out to me at tkane@vassar.edu.

With gratitude,

Tim Kane

Vice President for Advancement