Over the past five years we have seen a fundamental shift in who pays 
for college. With a dramatic decline in the financial role of state government in higher education, students and their parents are now 
the major contributors.

In this environment, a strong advancement program is critical. Well over 70 percent of our students receive some form of financial aid, and the scholarships generated through The Evergreen State College Foundation play an increasingly vital role.

In the past year, the foundation’s Board of Governors developed a new scholarship program designed to bolster student retention and increased the number of Annual Fund scholarships, ultimately tripling the number of awards. Building on past support, another $500,000 gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has allowed us to add substantially to the foundation’s scholarship endowment. Private giving has also become an important source of support for faculty development and continues to spur enhancements across the college, as illustrated by a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to Evergreen’s Longhouse Educational and Cultural Center to help build the next stage of our planned indigenous arts campus.

All of this success depends on the support of our partners and friends. Thank you for all you do.

Thomas L. “Les” Purce President
The Evergreen State College