Isa Cruz

BowdoinOne Day brought in record donations to the College earlier this week, even as nearly 200 alumni expressed their intent not to give during One Day in an open letter written by Bowdoin Alumni for Justice in Palestine (AFJP). This year’s One Day also featured class agents for currently enrolled students more prominently.

As of last night, 2,026 donors gifted over $930,000 to the College during One Day, which unlocked an additional $202,700 for financial aid through matching programs. These amounts will increase as mailed gifts continue to reach the Office of Annual Giving.

Annual Giving holds One Day each year to bolster annual donations and celebrate Bowdoin pride globally.

“We don’t focus the day on a dollar amount but encourage broad-based participation to demonstrate the collective strength of our community,” Executive Director of Annual Giving Christi Lumiere wrote in an email to the Orient.

However, many community members indicated that they would not give to the College during One Day in light of disappointment toward the College’s response to the Bowdoin Students for Justice in Palestine encampment earlier this month.

AFJP organized an open letter to the College detailing their reasons for boycotting One Day and listing their demands for the College. Nearly 200 alumni—most of whom graduated in the past ten years—have signed on.

“We, the undersigned, promise to withhold all donations on this One Day and all subsequent fundraising events until the College honors the results of the 2024 Solidarity Referendum and provides amnesty to the students who participated in the Shaban al-Dalou encampment,” the open letter reads.

Annual Giving added language to its advertising and communications clarifying the difference between giving to the Annual Fund and giving to the endowment. One Day highlights gifts to the Annual Fund, which comprises six percent of the College’s operating budget.

“Prior to the [encampment], we recognized that some alumni and students didn’t fully understand how gifts to the Annual Fund are used versus gifts to the endowment,” Lumiere wrote. “We hope to continue working with students and alumni to identify opportunities to share more information about how different types of support benefit our whole community.”

In addition to clarifications on donating during One Day, Lumiere noted that the Office of Annual Giving acknowledges the individual choices that Bowdoin community members make about donations.

“Giving is a personal decision, and we understand that not everyone will support our effort each year. Our goal is to make sure everyone feels welcomed to contribute and valued when they do,” Lumiere wrote. “We respect that thoughtful members of our community may grapple with support in any given year.”

Additionally, class agents for the senior, junior and sophomore classes adopted a larger role in the planning and execution of One Day this year. A new program led by class agents encouraged students to donate any amount, which would unlock $20 from the classes of 2010, 2015 and 2020 in addition to the $100 toward financial aid unlocked with each One Day gift.

“Part of the class agent role as well is helping current students build that connection and begin that donation process and that mindset where they feel maybe more open to donating in the future,” junior class agent Alex Kruse ’26 said.

Lumiere noted that student gifts coupled with the matching programs from alumni and trustees raised more than $42,000. According to the 2025 One Day dashboard, 161 students from the classes of 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 donated during One Day.

Senior class agent Evan Chapman ’25 shared that the class agents serve as a bridge between the Office of Alumni Relations, Annual Giving and the student body throughout the school year, not just on One Day.

“We really just provide a student insight into the [Alumni Relations] office itself, because the office can do so much, but it’s still disconnected from campus,” Chapman said. “We’re a really great resource to be able to connect the office to campus … and see what’s going on at the time and help them.”