Historic generosity fueled Marietta College's largest fundraising year
When Jasmine Christensen '30 answered the phone and learned she had been selected to receive the John G. and Jeanne B. McCoy Scholarship, she cried.
Not because she had won something.
Because someone she had never met believed in her.
Raised in the face of significant financial and personal challenges, Jasmine grew up knowing that survival often came before dreams. Yet she refused to let her circumstances define her. She graduated from Cabell Midland High School in May with a 4.5 GPA, served as a two-time West Virginia HOSA State President, founded a scholarship to help other students, completed more than 200 hours of community service, and worked throughout high school while preparing for college.
Receiving the McCoy Scholarship changed more than her financial circumstances.
"It was like all the hard nights of studying, showing up when I didn't have the energy, and saying the things no one wanted to say were all worth it," she wrote to her scholarship donors. "I cried...not only because I was extremely honored, but because I most certainly needed it."
This fall, Jasmine will begin studying political science and leadership at Marietta College with the goal of creating opportunities for others—the same opportunity someone first created for her.
Her story is deeply personal.
It is also one of hundreds of stories made possible by the remarkable generosity of the Marietta community.
Every day, students participate in the hands-on experiences that define The Landmark Experience—conducting faculty-mentored research, studying abroad, completing internships, competing as student-athletes, serving their communities, and applying what they learn in meaningful ways. Behind those opportunities are thousands of alumni, parents, faculty, staff, trustees, foundations, corporations, and friends who choose to invest in their futures.
That collective belief has produced something extraordinary.
During Fiscal Year 2025–2026 (FY26), which ended June 30, the Marietta community contributed more than $19.3 million—the largest fundraising year in the College's nearly 200-year history. It was also the second consecutive year donors set a new fundraising record, building on last year's $16.1 million milestone and continuing a remarkable rise from $7.4 million in annual philanthropic support just three years ago.
"This wasn't simply a fundraising milestone," said Bethany McFarland Leslie '12, Vice President for Advancement. " It was a remarkable expression of confidence in our students and in Marietta's future. Every gift, whether it was $25 or $2.5 million, represented someone choosing to invest in possibility. Together, those gifts are changing lives."
Perhaps the most encouraging part of this achievement is how it was accomplished. More than $14.5 million supported The Marietta Fund and More History to Make, the College's strategic vision for the future, providing flexible resources to invest where students need them most. At a time when colleges across the country are seeing unrestricted support decline, Marietta experienced the opposite—a powerful vote of confidence in the College's direction and its future.
That generosity is already advancing academic innovation, expanding faculty-mentored research and experiential learning, strengthening partnerships that connect students to opportunity, modernizing campus facilities and technology, and strengthening the College's ability to serve generations of students to come.
"For nearly two centuries, Marietta's story has been written by people who believed enough in its future to invest in it," said President Kathleen Poorman Dougherty. "This extraordinary year reminds us that our greatest strength has always been our people. Together, they are creating opportunities for today's students while laying the foundation for generations of Pioneers to come."
This year's success also reflects the lasting generosity of alumni and friends who believed in Marietta's future long before FY26 began. Nearly $6.8 million came through realized estate gifts from donors who chose to include Marietta College in their legacy plans—acts of generosity envisioned years, and sometimes decades, before they were received. Their belief continues creating opportunities for students they would never have the chance to meet.
Ultimately, this story is not about dollars.
It is about belief in something greater.
It is about alumni remembering the people who changed their lives and choosing to do the same for someone else. It is about our community of supporters investing in students they may never meet because they believe those students—and this institution—are worth investing in.
Nearly two centuries ago, Marietta College was built by people who believed education could change lives. This year, thousands of people proved they still do.
And because they did, the next chapter of Marietta College is already being written.