“The mission of Otterbein College is to educate the whole person in a context that fosters the development of humane values. Otterbein College is a private, church-related, coeducational college that sponsors traditional and continuing education programs of liberal arts and professional education at Baccalaureate and Master's levels. Our commitment is to the liberal arts as the broad base of all learning.”

The philosophy and values expressed in the above Mission Statement have guided Otterbein since its founding in 1847, and is still the essence of the College today.  Your support is a vote of confidence in our mission, and a statement of belief that it reflects your personal values.

Many alumni choose to make special gifts to Otterbein during their Legacy years, the five years leading up to, and including, their 50th Reunion.  It is important to us that your gift be as meaningful for you as it is to our students. Below are some areas that may match with your particular interests.

Thank you for considering a Legacy Gift
for your Golden Reunion celebration!

The Annual Fund is an essential component of the College’s budget each year. These dollars go toward current operational expenses that are necessary for the College’s ongoing well-being. Building maintenance and repairs, classroom technology upgrades, library books, financial aid – all of these areas and more are supplemented by the Annual Fund.

Otterbein has a beautiful campus, anchored by Towers Hall.  Major renovations (such as the Towers project), plus building additions and new structures to keep our academic facilities current and attractive for students, are financed largely by fundraising.  We have two major capital projects currently underway:

Science Building: We are adding approximately 30,000 square feet of new laboratory space, and renovating the existing Schear-McFadden building to create a new facility that will provide our students with a superior undergraduate science learning center. This is the largest fundraising campaign in Otterbein’s history, and the science building is the most important capital campaign in decades. Naming opportunities (e.g., a classroom) are available for gifts of $25,000 or more, and all gifts, regardless of size, will make a significant contribution to this much-needed expansion and upgrade.  (Click here for more information about the Science Building.)

McCuan Center for Equine Science:  Otterbein’s highly regarded Equine Science program is building a new home to accommodate the program’s growth, and to offer our students facilities of the same caliber as the academic program. 

You can give to a general capital fund that will be used for projects at the College’s discretion, as needed. Your gift will have a tangible impact on Campus that you and your family can point to with pride for many years. (Click here for more information about the Equine Center.)

Some departments have higher operational costs than others.  The sciences, music, theatre, the library, and many others have equipment and supply expenses, for example, and all departments have “wish lists” that have to be deferred for budget reasons.  Your gift can help them do more for students right away!

When you think about your time at Otterbein, do you have certain professors that stand out?  Our faculty is a cornerstone in students’ experiences, the front-line deliverers of what students are here for – to acquire a solid liberal arts education in the context of humane values. Keeping their knowledge current and pursuing their passion for their discipline requires original research, attendance at conferences, new books and other materials, travel expenses, and more. These enriching experiences are brought into the classroom where faculty use them to teach, inspire, and broaden the possibilities students consider for their own lives. There are existing faculty development endowments to which you can contribute, or set up your own.  A committee of faculty members from across disciplines reviews applications for the funds and makes awards according to criteria that emphasize how the requested funds will ultimately benefit students.

A gift to the general endowment is like endowing your annual fund gift. Your gift is invested, with up to 4% of the fund’s market value spent each year, where it is most needed. Scholarships and other financial aid, faculty salaries, programming – endowment funds are essential to the continued operation of the College. The health of the endowment is also an important factor for consideration of grants from foundations and other institutional funders, and helps maintain Otterbein’s financial stability by improving our balance sheet.  A gift to our endowment is an investment in the students of the future.