Spelman Giving Priorities

For more than 130 years, Spelman College has evolved from a one-room classroom in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church into an innovative liberal arts women’s college for women of African descent. Today, our graduates are doctors, scientists, performers, writers, diplomats, business executives, and community leaders.  To ensure Spelman women continue to change the world, we have identified four giving priorities that give donors the ability to make an impact at any level.

Spelman’s Annual Fund

The Annual Fund provides an opportunity for donors to make contributions of any amount.  Contributions made to the Annual Fund support Spelman’s most pressing needs including student scholarships and support for faculty and staff.

Scholarships 

Support for scholarships will enhance Spelman’s ability to offer competitive financial aid packages to attract the brightest and most talented young women, but more importantly, they will help us make certain that students fulfill their dreams of graduating as Spelman women.  In the 2010-11 academic year:

• 38 percent of Spelman’s students reported being first-generation college students;
• 90 percent  of Spelman students received some form of financial aid;
• 52 percent  of students were eligible for Pell Grant (an average family income of under $40,000);
• The average family contribution was $10,405; and
• The average Spelman scholarship award in the 2010-11 academic year was approximately $4,000.

Student Global Experiences

We believe that every Spelman student should have a meaningful global travel experience connected to their field of study, leadership development, and/or service learning goals. Most of our students cannot afford this important opportunity. Your contribution could make it possible for them to go abroad for a week, a month, or even a semester. This life-changing experience will give them a new perspective that will help them to change the world.

Student Research or Career-Related Internships

Research, capstone academic projects and/or career-related internships are critical to student success post-Spelman both in graduate programs and in the work force. Contributions to this important priority will support: research, lab materials and equipment; student research stipends; travel funds for students to present their research at conferences; and internship stipends for students who would have to give up an opportunity of a lifetime because of financial challenges.