The Gift of Knowledge: Looking Back and Thinking Forward

We, the Class of 2021, have had a Harvard experience like no other. Although we were told in our very first days at the College that the experience would be “transformative”, none of us could have imagined to what extent this would ring true at the end of our 4 years in Cambridge. While Harvard was busy leaving its mark on us, the Class of 2021 showed up during unprecedented times to leave a mark on Harvard like no other class has. Our unique experience has generated a wealth of knowledge that we do not want to go to waste.

To celebrate the Class of 2021 and ensure our unique experiences contribute to Harvard’s future in a way no prior class has been able to, the 2021 Class Committee is taking an unprecedented approach to the Senior Gift Campaign. In addition to educating our class about the act and impact of philanthropy at Harvard, this year’s Senior Gift Campaign is also making the wealth of knowledge possessed by the Class of 2021 accessible to future Harvard students and alumni.

Members of the Class of 2021 are invited to contribute to Senior Gift by making a gift in support of future students and one another. Help ensure our experience-based knowledge is accessible to the Harvard of the future. Participate by:

1. Making your Senior Gift in support of key focus areas such as:

   1. Financial Aid

   2. Student Experiences

   3. Areas of Greatest Impact

2. Making a “Gift of Knowledge”:

   1. Craft a message for future classes, providing your experiences and advice

   2. Deliver this message in a note, a photo, a video, or any combination of the three!

   3. Your submission will be accepted through the ‘Contribute’ tab on harvard21.com and will be combined with the submissions of your classmates on ‘The Gift of Knowledge’ tab as a living document!

We sincerely hope that you will make a gift through one or both of these avenues!

To help you better understand the Senior Gift campaign, we have answered 3 common misconceptions about Senior Gift! Check them out:

Harvard doesn’t need any more money because it has the largest endowment in the world. Senior Gift just lines the pockets of Harvard’s endowment.

• While it is true that Harvard has the largest endowment in the world, Senior Gift does NOT contribute to the endowment in any way. Actually, Senior Gift is all the more important because of this fact. Because the majority of Harvard’s operating budget relies on the endowment, the funds contained within the endowment are restricted to specific purposes. The Senior Gift contributes to a flexible, unrestricted fund which allows our Class to give immediately to the areas we want to impact such as financial aid, areas of greatest need, and the student experience. For more information about Harvard's endowment, please see The Harvard Endowment 101.

I want to support financial aid, but I know financial aid is covered by the endowment so my contribution to Senior Gift is pointless.

• You are right that financial aid is covered PARTIALLY by the endowment, but financial aid is also dependent on Senior Gift and alumni philanthropy each year to fill in the remaining gap. 55% of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid and 20% of Harvard families pay nothing. Increases in financial aid (rightly so!) have resulted in a decrease in net tuition–less money to the operating budget, more money necessary from the endowment, less money available for financial aid. Therefore, the Senior Gift is an amazing way to ensure financial aid is able to be offered to each and every student at Harvard College.

I don’t feel comfortable and/or I don’t have the means to contribute monetarily so I cannot be involved in Senior Gift.

• The Class of 2021 has been put through the ringer over the past year. From having to leave campus as juniors and needing to adjust to an entirely virtual year as seniors, we want you to know that we hear you. Even a $10 contribution to Senior Gift will help ensure that the classes who come after us are given the opportunity to create their own Harvard experiences. However, if you feel as though contributing monetarily is not in your capacity at the moment, we have another option for you–the gift of your knowledge. We want future Harvard students (and even alumni) to learn from your unique Harvard experience and would love for you to gift your knowledge to the future of Harvard to fill Harvard’s reservoir of institutional knowledge. Experience is the driver of knowledge, and we don’t want the unique experiences of the Class of 2021 to go to waste!