In yet another year of ups and downs and uncertainties, one thing was certain: the Knox community came together once again to support Knox and our students. Over 6,600 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends donated $11.5 million to Knox from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, including $5.3 million in current operating gifts, of which  $270,000 was for the COVID-19 Relief Fund providing our students and the College with emergency funds during this pivotal time.   

In addition, over $4 million in gifts continued to grow the Knox endowment, which surpassed $200 million last spring, and finished fundraising for phase one of a contemporary re-envisioning of the Umbeck Science-Mathematics Center. Gifts to the science center renovation were made in honor of President Teresa Amott’s decade-long tenure as Knox president; Amott retired June 30, 2021. Enhancements also were made to three athletic venues—soccer, baseball, and softball—with new scoreboards installed for each team.  

Donors made Knox’s third annual #KnoxProud Day an amazing success as the goal of 2,867 donors, representing the graduates during President Amott’s years at Knox, was far exceeded. The final number of donors was 3,509 and just shy of $1.8 million was raised in less than 24 hours. Congratulations went to the decades of the 1990s and 2000s who had the largest increases in participation among all the competing decades of graduates. Over 380 attendees participated in at least one of 22 virtual events held that day.

"If there is one commonality as to why donors give back to Knox, it is because of how Knox changed their life and that legacy continues today,” said Vice President for Advancement Beverly Holmes. “Students continue to come to Knox from across the nation and the world, driven by curiosity, activated by big questions, and looking for their way to make their community and world a better place. Knox continues to be the place for them, and it changes their lives. Giving to Knox makes it all possible.”

The Knox community engaged in different ways this past year as well. Almost 1,000 volunteers provided personal notes of welcome and advice to prospective students and offered career advice, short-term internships, and mentoring to current students. At a time when connecting with others virtually was paramount, more than 2,400 attended virtual Knox events running the gamut from gazing into the universe through the powerful telescope at the Knox Observatory to discussing President Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural addresses.

Knox is grateful to all our generous supporters and volunteers and appreciates your continued commitment to Knox.