Record-setting Reunion 2026 fundraising includes three new endowments
August 7, 2026 — The largest alumni event in Grinnell history helped lead to the largest amount ever given to the College by classes celebrating Reunion.
A total of 1,456 Grinnellians returned to campus for Reunion 2026, participating in a series of events planned by alumni Reunion Planning Committees over the previous year. The committees also spearheaded a record fundraising effort: 1,241 Reunion donors contributed more than $14 million in gifts, pledges, and planned commitments.
Three classes/clusters celebrating milestone years (55th, 50th, and 40th) focused their giving efforts on creating new endowed funds to support important elements of the Grinnell College experience. An endowed fund is money invested in perpetuity to generate revenue. The original donated money is preserved as the principal, and the resulting investment earnings are used for the fund’s intention each year.
The class of 1976 stands for a group photo during Reunion 2026. The class gave over $93,000 to establish the Class of 1976 Civic Education & Innovation Endowed Fund.
To commemorate 50 years since graduation, the 50th Reunion planning committee established the Class of 1976 Civic Education & Innovation Endowed Fund. The over $93,000 in gifts and commitments brought in will enable students to reach outside of campus to learn about and act on pressing social issues. Committee members were impressed when learning about two community projects that students were involved in. One project addressed access to early childhood education/childcare and the other provided outreach to support immigrants, says committee member and co-class fund director Scott Stanfield ’76.
“The community engagement and bridge building aspects appealed to us very much,” Stanfield says. “Today’s Grinnell students remind me of my classmates of 50 years ago: very smart, very passionate, very keen to get involved. They’re doing exactly the sort of things around town we ought to encourage.”
That choice was confirmed during an event at Reunion, when celebrants broke into small groups and shared lasting values they had developed at Grinnell. Stanfield was moved hearing classmates reflect on how those formative years instilled a sense of social justice and global citizenship. The experience affirmed for him the importance of supporting these experiences for current students.
Alumni from the classes of 1968-1972 celebrated 55(ish) years by creating the Come Together Endowed Fund for Student Emergencies. They raised over $50,000 in gifts and commitments.
Alums from the 55th reunion cluster (classes of 1968 to 1972) catch up at a welcome event outside Hannah Alumni House during the first night of Reunion 2026.
“During our reunion committee’s tour of campus, the Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) staff shared that they keep running out of money for students with medical emergencies,” says Barry Ancona ’68, class fund director. “We wanted to add a little something that came from all of us above our individual class projects and this struck us as something everybody could get behind.”
The student emergency fund supports medical expenses along with a range of emergency items. Recent examples were travel expenses for a death in the family, summer housing assistance, a tow truck call, and clothing replacement that was damaged by a flood. Because the new fund is above and beyond each classes’ established fund for other uses, organizers focused fundraising efforts during Scarlet & Give Back Day in the spring. Committee members offered a one-to-one match for all gifts on that day.
“Students who benefit from emergency funding are deeply grateful for the support at a difficult time in their lives,” says Beth Perlman, dean of health and wellness at the College. “It has become an important part of the services offered and has had a big impact on student’s mental health during strenuous times.”
The 40th reunion cluster committee was similarly inspired. They chose to establish the 1986-1987 Student Health and Wellness Endowed Fund. In conversations with SHAW staff, committee members learned how wellness services are far more extensive now than during their own time at Grinnell. They were impressed with the wide scope of needs covered, from women’s health to mental health to testing services. The fund has reached nearly $220,000 in gifts and commitments to date.
David Dorsey ’87, left, and Ronnie Platzer ’87 take a photo at Reunion 2026 Block Party. They were part of the 40th reunion cluster that established the 1986-1987 Student Health and Wellness Endowed Fund.
“We all had a lot of faith in the progress SHAW has made,” says Chris McKeachie ’86, co-class fund director. “The staff are meeting a wide scope of needs, and we want to give them the opportunity to use the funds as they see fit, able to adapt over time to meet emerging needs.”
McKeachie remembers a pressing situation during his own Grinnell years, when the College paid for a cross-country teammate’s transportation and treatment at the Mayo Clinic. He was impressed with their current innovation to offer more mental health services on campus by partnering with outside organizations to provide those services to students via both in-person as well as teleconference sessions.
“Support services like these can make a difference in whether a student can continue in school,” he says.
A common link for all three new funds is that alums are coming together to support student and community well-being in Grinnell.
“These gifts demonstrate the deep care that alumni have for our students and our community,” Perlman says. “Many alums didn’t get to experience the robust spectrum of care we now have. Nonetheless, it’s uplifting to see them band together to invest in our students and make sure we have a thriving, flourishing student community. I love how that’s of value to alumni across many class years.”
—by Kim Kobersmith