The Monterey Institute’s extended campus community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni is known for many things—language abilities, global perspectives, and cross-disciplinary innovation, to name a few. This June, two other key characteristics of the MIIS community came into focus: loyalty, and the desire to be the solution to any problem our community encounters.
As chronicled in a previous story, the Monterey Institute community was presented with an exciting challenge in early June by long time board member and supporter Jed Smith. If 250 alumni and friends of the Institute would make a gift of any size over the 25 days stretching from June 5 to June 30, Jed pledged to match it with $25,000 for student financial aid. “I hope this match will inspire others throughout the Monterey Institute community to step up and show their support,” said Jed—and he was not disappointed.
When the challenge finished on June 30—and staff finished tallying the flood of gifts large and small—the final tally came to 541 gifts totaling more than $125,000! With the $25,000 match added on, this campaign raised more than $150,000 for student financial aid.
“This truly remarkable outcome demonstrates once again how much our alumni value the experiences they had at MIIS, and how much they want to pass that opportunity on to future students,” commented President Sunder Ramaswamy. “We are tremendously grateful to every donor who stepped up and made a gift to help us earn this match, whether it was for $5 or $5,000.”
Financial aid helps ensure that the Monterey Institute’s student body includes a vibrant mosaic of individuals from all over the world and all different backgrounds every year. Approximately 90 percent of students receive some financial aid while attending MIIS. To make a gift to the Monterey Institute, visit go.miis.edu/give.
