Carolyn Dallinger might have helped her students afford college this year.

“Faculty and staff at Simpson, if they’re like me, are committed to students and the institution as a whole,” she said. “Making monetary donations, however small, is just one way we show our commitment.”

Dallinger, an assistant professor of social work and criminal justice, is like many of Simpson’s faculty and staff – she donates to The Simpson Fund, which helps pay for students’ scholarships.

According to Chris Goodale, the vice president for college advancement, The Fund is one of the college’s main sources of funding for financial aid.

“The majority of our students get some form of financial support,” Goodale said. “The Simpson Fund is a wonderful source for helping to fund those scholarships and financial aid.”

The college publishes an annual edition of The Simpson Magazine that recognizes those who have donated to The Simpson Fund in the past fiscal year, which runs from June 1 to May 31.

While faculty and staff donations only accounted for 1.2 percent of the total donations to The Simpson Fund in 2004-2005, Goodale emphasized their importance.

“There are two things to consider when examining faculty and staff support to the college,” he said. “While gifts from faculty and staff have a financial impact in financially strengthening Simpson, their high rate of participation is maybe even more impressive.”

In 2004-2005, 123 faculty and staff members made donations. That’s 48 percent of the college’s total faculty and staff from last year.

Goodale said Simpson’s faculty and staff donate to a wide range of efforts across campus, so gifts to The Simpson Fund aren’t necessarily a complete picture of the faculty and staff’s contribution.

Dallinger said she donates to The Fund amongst other things.

“Basically I try to figure out what I’m able to do,” she said. “Both Walter [Lain, Dallinger’s husband] and I have made donations. There are a lot of things we want to support, but giving to Simpson is very important to us.”

Goodale said many faculty and staff members feel the same as Dallinger – they donate because they care about Simpson.

“Contributions made by faculty and staff illustrate that this is much more than a workplace to us,” he said. “It’s a way of saying that we understand the mission of the college and we are investing in its future.”

Kelly Shaw, director of leadership giving, works in the college advancement office at Simpson. He joked that asking for money from the college’s other supporters is easier when he’s already donated, but explained there are more serious, more meaningful reasons he chooses to support the college.

“We [Shaw and his wife] don’t give a lot, but we do give,” he said. “I think that any time you’re at a small school you want to feel like you make a difference and have a sense of belonging. Our faculty and staff tend to support the school in a number of ways, and just because they don’t give a lot of money doesn’t mean they don’t give a lot to the school.”

Goodale, too, donates to the college.

“As alumni, my wife and I give because this is a special place to us,” he said. “We want Simpson to succeed, and if we can help build a slightly stronger institution through our giving, then it’s worth it for my wife and me to donate.”

The grand total of the donations to The Simpson Fund in the 2004-2005 fiscal year – including the interest income from the Annual Fund Endowment – was $1,083,723.60.