Harvard College to Let Alumni Donate Directly to Houses on Housing Day

Harvard College will encourage alumni to donate directly to their former Houses on Housing Day this year, launching a targeted fundraising campaign aimed at simplifying — and personalizing — the act of giving.

Typically, alumni donations flow through the College before reaching House leadership. This spring, that detour will disappear. For 24 hours on Housing Day, alumni will be able to click a direct link, select a House, and contribute straight to its budget, according to College Dean David J. Deming.

“We want it to be very easy,” Deming said in an interview. “Thirty seconds or less — click, choose the House, donate 50 bucks, 20 bucks, whatever they want.”

The initiative arrives amid mounting financial pressure on the Houses. Earlier this year, the College raised its student activities fee to a mandatory $450, citing strains on House budgets. Still, administrators emphasized that the campaign’s primary goal is not revenue, but reconnection.

“The money is obviously important, but it’s only a byproduct,” he said. “This is really about community engagement.”

Dean of Students Thomas Dunne echoed that view, stressing that participation matters more than dollar amounts.

“The spirit of it is to say ‘I loved my House experience.’ ‘I’m giving this to students,’” Dunne said.

“I really see this as an opportunity for broad-based participation, irrespective of amounts.”

Though the College has not formally announced the campaign, administrators have already begun coordinating with House Faculty Deans. David F. Elmer ’98, the faculty dean of Eliot House, said he sees the effort as a way to strengthen alumni ties after graduation.

“It’s less about bringing in a lot of money, and it’s more about engaging our alums — with the House community and with the College more generally,” he said. “To my mind, that’s the real point of this effort.”

Dunne said the College hopes the campaign spreads organically, through personal networks and social media.

“I love the idea that there will be all these alumni who are one, three, five, seven years out from the College, and they’re getting a photo of students storming in the yard with their house gear and the poles,” he said.

The shift to direct donations could amplify disparities among Houses, some of which have historically enjoyed greater per-capita resources than others. Deming acknowledged the risk but said donor discretion outweighed concerns about uneven outcomes.

“At the end of this, all Houses will have more than they had before,” he said. “That feels like a better outcome, even if it means that some Houses will have more than others.”

The fundraising push is part of a broader effort to reimagine Housing Day. This year, the College moved the celebration to the Friday after spring break and plans to continue offering free food trucks to students the night before, according to Dunne.

Deming said the changes reflect a desire among students to have Harvard become “more fun.”

“Not that it’s not fun,” he said, “but just like one more opportunities to create affiliation and fun.”

Deming also described the campaign as a new approach to fundraising, saying it would give students and House Committees broad discretion over how the money is spent.

“This is whatever the House needs. Here’s your money. Go have fun with it,” he said.

“I can understand if recent alums would say, ‘What’s the catch?’” Deming added. “To which I would say, there is no catch.”

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal @sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal @ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.