Campaign Initiatives
The Light the World campaign's transformational vision is made real through four key initiatives:
1. $1.5 billion for vital priorities
Light the World will enable the University to strengthen its endowment for financial aid; to erect new academic buildings and other facilities for students; to hire 100 new faculty members; and to bolster critical research initiatives.
2. Expanding volunteer service to Boston College
Boston College has always benefited from alumni who are committed to their alma mater. To reach its campaign goals, BC must draw more alumni and parents to volunteer roles that have a tangible impact on the University's advancement.
3. Inspiring record-setting alumni participation
Boston College graduates understand the value of working together. Light the World seeks to inspire record numbers of alumni to give back to the University each year.
4. Providing for future generations
To ensure that the University is prepared for future growth, the campaign aims to secure legacy gifts from BC alumni, parents, and friends.
Light the World is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the history of Jesuit, Catholic education—both in terms of its financial goal and the impact that support will have on the University’s future.
In many ways, the campaign is an investment in the Boston College student experience, enabling the University to expand its endowment for financial aid; to erect new classroom buildings and other facilities; and to establish and nurture new endeavors that will benefit undergraduates, such as the Institute for the Liberal Arts and the Center for Student Formation, among others.
Light the World will also enable the University to hire 100 new faculty members; to expand research initiatives, especially those that seek interdisciplinary solutions to pressing societal needs; and to become the worldwide leader in Catholic higher education.
Boston College has always benefited from alumni who have remained committed to the Heights long after graduation. However, to achieve its goals, BC must draw more of its alumni and parents to volunteer roles that have a tangible impact on the University’s advancement.
There are opportunities to provide networking connections for students and recent graduates, to host faculty and Jesuits at events nationwide, to plan reunions and alumni chapter gatherings, and to support the ministry of Boston College.
By volunteering in these areas and others, alumni and parents continue to be "men and women for others" and ensure BC's success well into the future.
Boston College graduates understand the strength in numbers. From freshman convocation to commencement day and from football games to reunions, BC alumni wear their maroon and gold on their sleeves. To be successful, Light the World seeks to utilize this power and inspire record numbers of alumni to give back to the University each year.
Annual donor Nicole DeBlois ’99, chair of the Neenan Society, is one of many young alums who give every year, and she encourages others to do the same. "To compete effectively, to serve society, to support the work of its faculty and students, Boston College must draw on the collective power of all of our gifts—the resources, energy, and confidence we provide cannot be overstated," she says.
While current investments are critical to the University’s success in the coming decade, it is no less important to guarantee BC’s wider future. Therefore, Boston College alumni, parents, and friends are encouraged to make legacy gifts to the University through the Light the World campaign. These gifts ensure that BC will be prepared for future growth and enable donors to create a meaningful and permanent connection to the Heights. Among the many who have already taken up the challenge are Janet and David Griffith '68, P'00, '02, '06, who view their bequest intention as "our message to future generations of BC students; our way of ensuring that what we care about will be passed on."