Campaign Priorites
Tuition Assistance
The Tuition Assistance Endowment Initiative will generate a perpetual source of support that enables deserving young men to attend Gonzaga, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. By growing funds within our endowment that are focused on need-based financial aid, we will be able to ensure a permanent source of tuition assistance for Gonzaga students from low and middle-income families.
Why is Tuition Assistance a campaign priority?
When the first Jesuit High School opened in 1548, St. Ignatius welcomed students whether they were rich or poor and regarded diversity as a reflection of the grandeur of God’s creation. Gonzaga has long been faithful to this tradition, remaining in our urban location in the heart of DC and committing ourselves to attracting academically qualified students from every neighborhood in the Washington metropolitan area. Ensuring that Gonzaga remains economically, geographically, and racially diverse, and is attractive and fully accessible to low- and middle-income families, is one of our highest priorities. The Tuition Assistance Endowment Fund will help us achieve that goal.
Why a goal of $35 million?
Gonzaga currently awards just over $4 million in tuition assistance to nearly 35% of our students every year. Investment income from our endowment currently covers roughly $900,000 of this annual obligation — with the rest dependent on annual fundraising efforts. In order to maintain and grow tuition assistance, Gonzaga's endowment must generate $1.75 million in tuition assistance-focused income — nearly double the current level. To meet this goal, we must raise $35 million in endowed funds dedicated toward tuition assistance, bringing the total financial aid-focused portion of our endowment to nearly $60 million.
What are the benefits of the Tuition Assistance Initiative?
- Helps us assist as many deserving students as possible — one third of current students receive financial aid and the demand continues to climb;
- Supports the economic, geographic, and racial diversity of the school, which enriches every aspect of student life on Eye Street;
- Makes more operational funds available, providing school leadership with the ability to control the rate of future tuition increases;
- Generates a permanent and growing source of tuition assistance, ensuring that every future student who earns his spot at Gonzaga can attend, regardless of his family’s financial situation.
Naming Opportunities and Impact
An endowed scholarship fund of $100,000 will support the gap between tuition and the actual cost to educate one student for a full school year.
An endowed scholarship fund of $250,000 will support the average need-based grant for one student for each school year.
An endowed scholarship fund of $500,000 will support one student’s full tuition for each school year.
An endowed scholarship fund of $250,000 will support the average need-based grant for one student for each school year.
An endowed scholarship fund of $500,000 will support one student’s full tuition for each school year.
Over the generations, devoted and generous alumni, parents, and friends have established dozens of endowed scholarship funds that provide income to Gonzaga. To learn more about these funds, click here.
Celebrating 200 Years of Jesuit Education in the Nation's Capital
