Skip to main content

Accelerate Student Success, Experiential Learning, and Entrepreneurship

Expand access to an Illinois Wesleyan education and give students more opportunities to learn by doing, pursue bold ideas, and prepare for meaningful lives and careers.

Open More Doors to Possibility

An Illinois Wesleyan education is shaped by what happens both inside and beyond the classroom. Students discover new interests, put ideas into practice, take on meaningful challenges, and build the confidence to pursue opportunities they may not have imagined when they arrived.

Through this priority, Illinois Wesleyan will ensure more students can access that experience and take full advantage of everything it offers. Investments will remove barriers, expand opportunities to learn by doing, and give students the resources and experiences to explore their potential, pursue bold ideas, and prepare for what comes next.

Illinois Wesleyan students presenting their research at a poster session

What your gift funds

Endowment for Scholarships

Permanent, need-based support so a student's admission letter and their financial aid letter say the same thing.$50MM goal

The Wesleyan Fund

Unrestricted annual giving that meets the needs of this academic year, immediately and where it matters most.$25MM goal

Support for Experiential Learning

Funded internships, undergraduate research, and travel so opportunity is not limited to those who can afford to work unpaid.$6MM goal

Strategic Academic Partnerships

Partnerships that connect campus expertise with the region and create new pathways for students to learn by doing.$10MM goal

Legends Endowment for Athletic Excellence

Sustaining Titan athletics — coaching, facilities, and the discipline that carries well past the final season.$4MM goal

Why donors give

“My education at IWU was made possible through a very robust financial aid package. My degree paved the way for a career in nursing administration that would most likely have never happened if I had attended a diploma or ADN program. I am now able to give back to an organization that made a profound impact on my life.”
Paula Raibley Elmer ’75Nursing endowed scholarship donor
“We chose to include IWU in our estate plans because my life was greatly enriched by my choice to attend IWU. Supporting students in the way I received support deeply honors all those who helped and guided me, and we hope to enrich more lives through our planning.”
Jack Dickens ’86 and David LoringHeritage Fellows and endowed scholarship donors
“Giving is a way of saying ‘thank you’ for my experience at IWU. It's also a commitment to the long-term success of the school, and I'm a big believer in the value of a small liberal arts school model and want IWU to be successful in the future.”
Tom ’76 and Camille McKinneyHeritage Fellows

Other priorities

Cultivate Faculty and Academic ExcellenceEnhance Classroom and Campus Community