The 1789 Scholarship Imperative

"When enrollment is open to the best, we not only fulfill our mission, we not only fulfill the ambition of our founder, we not only serve those who gain otherwise inconceivable access to a first-rate education, but we enhance the experience of all who come to Georgetown." – President John J. DeGioia

Georgetown is dedicated to attracting and enrolling the most highly qualified young people, who create the intellectually stimulating, dynamic campus community for which the university is renowned. Offering admission based on merit – regardless of financial circumstance – is the cornerstone of our academic competitiveness and excellence.

Today, Georgetown’s capacity to continue to fulfill its mission – to its students and to the world – requires a significant and sustained new commitment to undergraduate scholarships. Keeping Georgetown accessible and affordable for all students who merit admission, especially in a time of financial strain, is the university’s No. 1 priority. This year, nearly half of undergraduates demonstrated the need for a scholarship to attend Georgetown, at a total cost of $70.6 million.

A generous scholarship package brought the prospect of attending Georgetown within reach for Laura Anderson (F’10).

To meet this challenge, in fall 2009, Georgetown launched an important new effort: the 1789 Scholarship Imperative. Its goal is to raise $500 million in scholarship support over the next five years for the Georgetown Scholarship Program. Gifts of any size to the 1789 Scholarship Imperative will fund needed scholarships counted in increments of $25,000, which is the average need-based scholarship award one student receives each year. This important fundraising effort will allow Georgetown to offer financial aid packages with larger amounts of scholarship support and thus smaller loan and work-study amounts. When you make a gift to the 1789 Scholarship Imperative through the Georgetown Fund, you help ensure that Georgetown remains one of the most selective universities in the country. Scholarship support is essential for Georgetown to enroll the most qualified students in an extremely competitive academic market.

Georgetown has a proud tradition of admitting students based on their merit. To ensure that we can enroll the most highly qualified students and remain academically competitive in a time of financial strain, the university increased its financial aid budget by almost $8 million this year and kept its tuition increase to the lowest level in a generation. Now we need your help to fulfill our promise to meet the full financial need of each undergraduate student, sustain our academic excellence through a community of the most qualified young people and prepare the next generation of leaders. You can support the 1789 Scholarship Imperative at any contribution level.

We invite everyone who cares about the future of Georgetown to join this important effort.

How can I help the 1789 Scholarship Imperative?

• Annual Fund gifts – Gifts of any size to the Georgetown Fund or any other undergraduate scholarship option are the best way to participate. One hundred percent of your Georgetown Fund contribution will go to the 1789 Scholarship Imperative.
• Endowment gifts
• Endowment-plus gifts – a hybrid gift that includes both endowment and annual fund support.