Our Donors & Your Impact
The support of Smith donors ensures that the doors to excellence and opportunity remain open to the most eager minds, creating a more equitable academic experience that raises every individual.
Scholarship Recipient
Luna Wang ’24J
Luna came to Smith looking for a supportive environment conducive to self-discovery. As a first-year, she jumped right in, taking advanced Chinese classes and exploring other disciplines widely. Her curiosity led her to psychology, where she finds a good match for her empathetic strengths and a strong foundation for a career helping others.
“Financial aid opens the door to an entire universe of opportunities, experiences and connections. I can safely explore, learn and grow in an environment ideal for turning potential into reality.”
Why I Support Scholarships
Two alums share their stories about how Smith made a difference in their lives, why they support scholarships and how they believe scholarship aid can transform the lives of students. To date, 5,447 donors like Umapathy and Northrop have made gifts at every level to Smith’s Here for Every Voice initiative, a campaign to make a Smith education accessible to the best and brightest students.
Chain Reaction: Chemistry Professor Milton D. Soffer Remembered for His Inspiration In and Out of the Lab
An anonymous gift made through Smith’s Here for Every Voice initiative has established the Professor Milton D. Soffer Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will support chemistry majors.
Meet Four Alums Who Are Changing the World One Scholarship at a Time
Four alums share how Smith made a difference in their lives, and how they believe scholarship aid can transform the lives of students.
Endowed Scholarship Funds Get a Boost Through New Gift-Matching Program
For Anne Donovan Bodnar ’78, giving to Smith is intensely personal. About five years ago, she set up an endowed scholarship fund in memory of her mother, Frances M. Donovan, who graduated from the University of Maine in her home state, but always greatly admired the women of her generation who attended Smith. Eventually, she encouraged her daughter to attend.
Dedicated Alumna—and “Here for Every Voice” Gift Matching Program—Boosts Scholarship Aid
As much as Patsy Steffan ’60 remembers her college days with fondness, it’s her vision of the future, rather than nostalgia, that moves her to contribute to her alma mater. “Some people say they want to give back, and that’s fine,” she says, “but I don’t want to give back, I want to give forward.”
Fun Ways Smith Clubs Raise Funds for Student Scholarships
“When Smithies come together for an important cause, their impact is tremendous,” says Kelsey Cleveland ’95, former co-president of the Smith College Club of Oregon, one of many Smith Clubs around the world that raise money to support scholarship aid.
Supporting Lives of Distinction Through The Smith Fund
Anne Williams ’92 was the first in her family to go to college. Now she’s helping others do the same by giving back to The Smith Fund’s Essential Smith designation, which supports scholarship aid for countless international, non-traditional and financially disadvantaged students who help create a thriving and diverse campus life and make the Smith experience so meaningful.
With Mary Grant’s Help, the Class of 1970 Works Toward Class Fund Scholarship Goal
For Mary Grant ’70, Smith and family are intertwined. Four generations of women in her family—from her grandmother to Mary’s now-grown daughter—are or were Smithies. “Never in my early life, except for my family, did anyone take my brain seriously,” she says. “The faculty at Smith, however, thought of us as young women who were capable of analysis and critical thinking.”