Pomona College has launched what it calls the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history, aiming to raise $530 million while breaking ground on the largest capital project the Claremont school has ever undertaken. The campaign, named Originals: The Campaign for Pomona College, officially began Oct. 10 and arrives alongside the start of construction on a new hub meant to anchor the college’s global programs.
A Campaign Years in the Making
According to Pomona College, the effort is described as a $530-million comprehensive campaign and is being billed as the most ambitious fundraising effort in the college’s history. Fundraising for the campaign actually began in 2023, well before Friday’s public launch, and Pomona says nearly 10,000 alumni, families and friends had already contributed $247 million, or about 47 percent toward the goal. The Claremont Courier reported a slightly different figure, citing Pomona communications official Rachael Warecki as saying the campaign had raised approximately $249.1 million, also about 47 percent of its goal — the two accounts don’t fully agree on the exact dollar amount.
Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr framed the campaign around the college’s students and faculty, saying it aims to help students thrive regardless of financial circumstances, sustain faculty who continue to redefine what a liberal arts education can be, and turn fresh ideas into meaningful change. Every trustee at the college participated in the campaign, and trustees emeriti alone contributed nearly $84 million, per the same Pomona announcement. The college also counted 147 donors who made first-time major gifts of at least $100,000, adding up to $112 million.
Where the Money Is Headed
Pomona has broken the $530 million goal into five broad priorities. The largest, at $175 million, is dedicated to academic excellence — funding new faculty positions and expanding faculty and faculty-student research, according to the college. A second priority commits $105 million to financial aid and to removing costs that can create barriers after students arrive on campus.
Beyond academics and affordability, the campaign sets aside $52 million to nurture the broader Pomona community through wellness resources, mentorship and student opportunities, the college says. Per the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, another $8.1 million is earmarked to create new ways for alumni to mentor students and share their expertise, while a $190 million commitment is meant to fund both immediate and longer-term institutional needs through annual giving, planned giving and investments.
Groundbreaking for the Center for Global Engagement
The campaign’s launch coincided with groundbreaking on the Center for Global Engagement, which Pomona and the Tribune’s report both describe as the largest capital project in the college’s history. The center is scheduled to welcome its first residents in fall 2028 and is meant to unite residential life, academic inquiry and global programming in what the college calls a new living-and-learning model.
Sources differ on just how big the building will be. Pomona’s own announcement describes a 100,000-square-foot center, while the Claremont Courier reported the Center for Global Engagement as a 111,000-square-foot dormitory and language center slated to open in 2028. Cost estimates also vary: the Claremont Courier reported the project is projected to cost upwards of $125 million, with $50 million in construction already covered, while Pomona College’s own materials likewise describe it as a $125 million project — the college’s most ambitious construction undertaking to date.
A Broader Push for Global Learning
The new center fits into the campaign’s category it calls leading in a changing world, which includes the planned Center for Global Engagement along with global gateways abroad. That framing isn’t incidental for a school where, according to Pomona College, 14 percent of students are international, hailing from 65 countries outside the United States, and half of all Sagehen students study abroad — five times the national average, by the college’s own account.
Donor support tied to the broader campaign is also expected to expand programs at the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness, which opened in 2022. Pomona says it remains committed to doubling alumni engagement among its roughly 27,000 alumni, noting that more than 40 percent of Sagehen alumni have already engaged in some aspect of the campaign through philanthropic support, volunteerism or event participation.
How Pomona’s Campaign Compares
Pomona is one of the five undergraduate campuses that make up the private Claremont Colleges consortium in Claremont, and it isn’t the only one chasing a historic fundraising mark. Neighboring Claremont McKenna College wrapped up its own campaign, the Campaign for CMC: Responsible Leadership, on June 30, 2023, ultimately raising $1,076,075,164 and exceeding its $800 million goal, according to Claremont McKenna College. CMC described it as the first campaign by a liberal arts college to surpass $1 billion, drawing support from more than 12,000 donors and over 65 percent of its alumni base.
That campaign secured nearly $300 million to expand student opportunities, created 23 named professorships and chairs, and began construction on the 140,000-square-foot Robert Day Sciences Center, per CMC’s own accounting. As the Los Angeles Times reported at the time, Claremont McKenna planned to use the funds to double the size of its campus and expand science programs, faculty and financial aid, with more than 12,000 donors contributing and roughly 90 percent of gifts coming in below $5,000. Pomona’s own campaign, as Daily Bulletin reported, says it aims to help the college maintain its excellence and independence as it works toward its own $530 million target.
