Donor Relations

The College Advancement office provides accurate and timely information to the college community and especially to the donors themselves, pertaining to the investment and use of their gifts, thereby honoring the donors’ generosity.

In addition, the office maintains a permanent listing of the College’s grants, endowed scholarships, and other endowed funds including student and faculty prizes, awards, professorships, and programs.

Annually, this office recognizes alumni and friends who have established endowed scholarships at the President’s Scholarship Dinner. This event provides the opportunity for the President and the scholarship recipients to recognize and celebrate an important connection with those who have provided a legacy of support to the college.

The Importance of Access to Quality Education

Since its founding in 1830, alumni, parents, foundations, and friends have established more than 200 endowed scholarships, thus ensuring the important legacy of an accessible liberal arts education. For almost two centuries, commitment to this legacy has made it possible for thousands of deserving students to seek Randolph-Macon College’s highly regarded undergraduate degree.

For almost two centuries, [your] commitment has made it possible for thousands of deserving students to seek Randolph-Macon College’s highly regarded undergraduate degree.

In addition to providing financial assistance, scholarships also serve to attract outstanding student scholars from across the nation and around the globe. These students contribute new ideas, and fresh perspectives and enrich the academic, social, and cultural programs on campus. Endowed scholarships, along with other endowed funds, are listed each year in the college’s Academic catalogs.

Today, the College continues to balance the need for scholarships with the challenges of running a selective liberal arts college in an ever-changing and highly competitive environment. Approximately 89 percent of all RMC students receive some form of scholarship or need-based financial aid. On average, one-third of the College’s operating budget goes toward scholarships and financial aid. Despite this extraordinary level of commitment by the College, RMC is only able to meet 88 percent of the total support needed by families with federally-demonstrated needs.

Establishing a Scholarship at Randolph-Macon College

An endowed scholarship becomes a permanently endowed fund when the contribution (book value or corpus) reaches a minimum of $50,000. Scholarship awards in the name of the fund are made from the income generated by investments of the fund once it has reached $50,000. Donors work with college officials to establish award guidelines delineated in their scholarship gift agreement. All endowed fund gift agreements, including scholarships, are permanently held by the college. The Office of Financial Aid administers all scholarships. Scholarship gift agreements provide the Office of Financial Aid with the criteria from which to select and award the scholarships. Criteria may reflect a special area of interest, academic discipline, geographic region, academic merit, or financial need.

Criteria [of scholarships] may reflect a special area of interest, academic discipline, geographic region, academic merit, or financial need.

Endowed scholarships are funded by either outright gifts or through a planned or “deferred” gift.

Outright gifts

Outright gifts are cash or securities which may provide attractive tax benefits to the donor. RMC has active accounts with many brokerages to easily facilitate electronic transfers for gifts of stock.

For more information about creating a scholarship, please contact the Alumni Office at 866-694-4574 or alumnioffice@rmc.edu. Gifts of cash may be mailed to Randolph-Macon College, P.O. Box 5005, Ashland, Virginia 23005-5505.

Planned/”Deferred” Gifts

A planned or “deferred” gift is created with a commitment to benefit the College in the future and may offer tax benefits and/or produce lifetime income for the donor. Scholarships may be established through a gift of real estate, provisions in a will, life insurance, charitable gift annuities, or charitable trusts.

To learn more about gifts of real estate or planned gifts, please contact the Alumni Office at 866-694-4574 or giftprocessing@rmc.edu.