A strong Annual Fund is an important hallmark of any outstanding liberal arts college as a reflection of individual, as well as institutional, leadership. Through the Annual Fund, alumni, parents, and friends embrace the opportunity to ensure a CMC education for generations of students to come.

Such leadership is exemplified through the generosity of John H. Berger '59, of the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. Through a newly announced challenge grant, the Berger Foundation will match, dollar for dollar, any new or increased gift over the prior year, up to 5,000. This recognition of the obligation of earlier generations of CMC alumni to support the students that follow personifies leadership and the very mission of the College.

Since its inception, the Annual Fund has played a key role in the College's financial well-being and virtually every measure of the excellence of the CMC experience. Its importance only increases in times of economic challenge and market uncertainty, allowing the College to support the programs we hold dear. Most importantly, the Annual Fund is a vital part of our outstanding financial aid program. The Fund enables CMC to fulfill its pledge to provide an education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of financial need. The Annual Fund enables us to meet this challenge, making CMC one of only approximately 30 colleges and universities in the nation that is truly "need blind."

A thriving Annual Fund is also an important marker of alumni pride, with participation—regardless of the size of individual gifts—demonstrating overall alumni satisfaction. This plays an important role in advancing the reputation of CMC, including the U.S. News & World Report college rankings.

In addition, it is a sound philanthropic investment. Because Annual Fund gifts directly support the College's annual budget, a gift to the Annual Fund has the purchasing power equivalent to an endowment gift that is twenty times larger.

As an expression of the importance of the Annual Fund to every aspect of life at CMC, we have set an important new goal to increase alumni participation from the current level of approximately 50% to 55% over the next five years. This goal not only will place us within the range of Williams, Swarthmore, and Amherst colleges—the top three liberal arts institutions as ranked by U.S. News—but will also secure a position that is superior to every national university in the country except Princeton. Our confidence in meeting this goal reflects both the excellence of the College and the dedication of our alumni.

Gifts such as the generous Berger Foundation challenge not only help us reach our new goal, but also articulate and underscore the importance of each and every contribution and the value of a Claremont McKenna College education.

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Pamela Brooks Gann, President