The Stanford Fund 2016-17 Annual Summary

You changed the lives of students

Thank you for generously supporting Stanford students last year with your gift through The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education. When you give through The Stanford Fund, you empower students to thrive at Stanford and go on to change the world for the better. Your gifts provide annual, flexible funding for all aspects of the undergraduate experience, and make a difference in the lives of all current students.

How You Helped Students

You provided need-based undergraduate financial aid

Thanks to you, Stanford's financial aid policies are among the most comprehensive in higher education. We strive to meet the financial need for every undergraduate who qualifies for assistance, and do so through grants and scholarships, not loans.

82% of graduates leave Stanford with no debt

1 in 4 undergraduates benefit from our full-tuition scholarship policy

Nearly half of undergraduates receive aid directly from the university

You provided even more support through scholarships

Stanford provides scholarships to cover all tuition payments for students whose parents have annual incomes under $125,000. One in four undergraduates benefit from our full-tuition scholarship policy. Additionally, Stanford covers room and board for those below the income threshold of $65,000 a year. Grants and scholarships are available above the $125,000 threshold, as well.

"Since coming to Stanford, I have laughed, loved, succeeded, failed, and grown in more ways than I thought I ever could. Stanford really is a special place that transforms people. There is no way that I could have attended Stanford without your support and for that I will be eternally grateful. I want you to know that your gift is truly transforming lives. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." - Sam Baucom, '20, TSF Scholarship Recipient

Giving By The Numbers

Stanford students rely on the collective giving of the Stanford community to provide the vibrant educational experience that sets Stanford apart.

In 2016-17, more than 27,000 donors collectively gave more than $27 million to students through The Stanford Fund. It would take nearly half a billion dollars in endowment to generate the same level of funding each year.

Gifts through The Stanford Fund come from:

Where Your Gifts Went

Gifts through The Stanford Fund supported three main areas

Financial Aid

At a time when educational loans are nearing crisis levels for students elsewhere, you are helping more Stanford students graduate with zero debt. In the Class of 2003, more than 40 percent of students graduated with debt, and the median debt was $23,000. In the Class of 2017, only 18 percent graduated with debt, and the median amount was $13,000.

Undergraduate Schools

When you give a gift through The Stanford Fund you are, in part, supporting the three undergraduate schools: School of Humanities & Sciences, School of Engineering, and School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. Your gifts help keep curriculum fresh and interactive, retain excellent professors, grow interdisciplinary programs, and keep Stanford on the vanguard of undergraduate education.

Diversity and First-Gen Office

The "DGen" Office supports students who are the first in their families to attend a four-year college and students who come from a low-income background. DGen seeks to build the capacity of students, faculty, and staff to form authentic connections with people from different backgrounds.

Cardinal Service

Cardinal Service is a bold, university-wide initiative of the Haas Center for Public Service. It is elevating and expanding service as a distinctive feature of a Stanford education. Students can engage in service through coursework and projects, for a single quarter or for a full four years, on campus and beyond.

Office of Military Affiliated Communities

When you give through The Stanford Fund you help support nearly 100 student veterans. The Office of Military Affiliated Communities administers VA financial benefits, plans and supports special educational opportunities, and works to ensure Stanford is a welcoming and supportive environment for the entire Stanford veteran community.

Designing Your Life

This popular elective, launched in 2010 with your support, promotes the use of design thinking to address the challenge of building a meaningful life and career after Stanford. The class gives upperclassmen powerful tools and a community of peers and mentors to discover their life's path.

Student Groups

You support more than 100 student-led organizations, including performing arts, public service, and club sports. For many students, these clubs provide a place to make friends, develop new skills, express their creativity, give back, and take a break from rigorous academics.

From Top to Bottom, L to R: Stanford Cheerleading, Cardinal Studios, Talisman, Stanford Vietnamese Student Association, Club Baseball, Basmati Raas, Ram's Head, Taiko, Everyday People, Flying Treehouse, Club Volleyball, Stanford African Students Association

In Your Words: Why You Give

In Your Words:
Why You Give

• 

  "I met my husband and some of my best friends at Stanford. It is important to me to give back so that students who come from different cultures and socioeconomic statuses continue to obtain an amazing education and influence and educate others around them. The Stanford Fund provides students in need with opportunities of a lifetime, and I am proud to be a part of that." - Ambar Chavez, '05

• 

  "As parents, my wife and I appreciate the outstanding education that undergraduates receive at Stanford. In addition to excellent teaching, student life and activities provide our children with a tremendous learning environment. We want to do what we can to ensure that no deserving student is unable to benefit from such an experience, and that Stanford students should have as much enrichment as we can collectively afford and have as little student debt as possible." - Richard Chau, JD '02, Parent '20

• 

  "I was initially inspired to make a gift to Stanford out of a desire to do what I could, even if in a small way, to allow someone else to be able to experience what Stanford means to me. Stanford is a community of people who are invested in its success, whether in California or in Africa." - Lydia Jones Johnson, '93

• 

  "I believe that the foundation of Stanford is the students and the honor system that guides them. Stanford is exceptionally unique among universities with diversity of thought, culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic background. It is this diversity that provides an experience that promotes excellence, innovation and, above all, learning. My hope is that continuing to give each year will help support this mission and maintain the incredible diversity that makes Stanford what it is!" - Travis Maak, '01

• 

  "Stanford has been a transformative force in my life. I made lifelong friendships that have continued over the last decade. I've been enriched intellectually by the knowledge I gained on campus and have since gained as a part of various alumni activities. I continue to give so that others can have a similar experience with Stanford." - Miklos Raibon, '06

Make a Gift

Contact The Stanford Fund

thestanfordfund@stanford.edu
650.723.7814

Credits:
Images by Tamer Shabani | Linda Cicero | Aaron Kehoe | Daniel Hartwig | John Martinez Pavliga \\ Videos by Eric Koziol \\ Graphics by Bryce Hendry