Senior giving participation soared for the Class of 2025, surpassing the total alumni giving participation rate this past fiscal year.
Before crossing the stage in their caps and gowns on Marston Quad, members of the Class of 2025 came together to give back to Pomona College.
Nearly 27 percent of the College’s newest graduates made a gift to Pomona — surpassing the overall alumni giving participation rate of 18.8 percent for the 2025 fiscal year. Pomona’s new alumni also tripled last year’s senior class giving participation rate.
“We’re incredibly grateful our newest alumni want to help ensure that current students and future generations will benefit from Pomona’s transformative education,” says Monika Moore ’03, director of alumni and family engagement.
Supporting Pomona through collective giving is a longtime senior class tradition, dating back as far as 1910, when the senior class donated $2,500 to help build what is now the Sontag Greek Theatre. The Class of 2025 demonstrated their support through the Senior Impact Project and Sagehen Athletics Giving Day.
The Senior Impact Project is a yearlong, class-wide effort that unites seniors to select and support College programs that matter most to them. Members of the Class of 2025 chose to direct their gifts to the Draper Center for Community Partnerships, student scholarships, Oldenborg Center programming and the Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP).
To help boost senior class giving, the Pomona College Alumni Association Board stepped up with a matching gift for the Senior Impact Project. Robi Ganguly ’10, chair of the Board’s development committee, explains that keeping young alumni connected to each other and Pomona while demonstrating the impact of philanthropy helps strengthen not just the College but the entire Sagehen community.
“The Alumni Board wants to foster that sense of community and shared experience across generations,” Ganguly says.
Members of the senior class also participated in Sagehen Athletics Giving Day, a 24-hour philanthropic effort held in March to rally support for Pomona-Pitzer’s 21 varsity teams, club sports and wellness programs. Contributions help enhance the student-athlete experience and strengthen the overall success of the athletics program by providing funding for essential resources — from training and travel to technology and equipment.
Last spring, Joe Cookson ’25, now a former member of the Pomona-Pitzer Men’s Basketball team, shared that the impact of giving to Sagehen Athletics reaches beyond facility upgrades. Philanthropic support, he said, “elevates the entire athletics community by creating environments where all students can not only train but also come together to support and watch their peers compete.”
Learn more about the Senior Class Impact Project. Read why Sagehen student athletes say giving back makes a difference.