We are alumni, faculty, and students who oppose Goddard’s closing and the sale of its land, buildings, and programs to any entity. 

     With over 20,000 living alumni, Goddard has a strong community of accomplished thinkers and leaders in their professions. Many have been sitting on the sidelines as concerns arose over the institution’s direction. But in the current crisis, it’s become clear that alumni can best lead effective change. We call on you, and on other stakeholders, to share your voices and pledge your contributions of time, talent, and financial commitments.

     Our goal is to continue the mission, vision, and non-profit status of Goddard College, stabilize its financial standing, preserve the Vermont campus, continue accreditation of programs that confer baccalaureate and master’s degrees, and rebuild academic programs that embody interactive, self-directed learning.

     We want to see the school continue to provide accessible, affordable education that sparks creativity.  Academic programs should offer opportunities for thoughtful action that expands individual and social capacity for environmental stewardship, and innovative educational models in response to society’s emerging needs. 

     This effort will likely take years and will require an infusion of dedicated volunteers, ongoing financial support, and establishment of a substantial endowment. Although the college has not always achieved its most idealistic goals, Goddard’s uniqueness warrants our protection.

A Brief History

     Three alumni and three members of the Vermont community had recently begun the process of joining Goddard’s Board, when the five remaining Trustees announced their intention to close the school. 

    Four of the six candidates helped to organize Save Goddard College. They are Judith Holman, a retired mental health administrator who forged legislative partnerships and led a Vermont agency on the brink of closure to financial solvency and significant expansion; Peter Miller, a musician and arts administrator long involved with youth orchestras and service on educational and community boards; Wayne Klug, a Goddard RUP alumnus who has taught psychology in Massachusetts colleges for 40 years and served as a faculty union leader; and Mary Ellen McGuire-Schwartz, a Goddard RUP alumna, and retired professor of education at Rhode Island College

     Together, these Board candidates have helped shape numerous academic and social service programs and raised millions of dollars from state, federal, and private sources. They look forward to their confirmation process being completed, as only the first step in enlarging the Goddard Board to meet at least a minimum of the fourteen members required by the corporation’s bylaws—half of whom must be Goddard graduates or employees. 

     We designed this survey because we need to gauge the capacity of the Goddard community to continue our traditions. Without firm commitments of “time, talent, and treasure”, the college is in immediate danger of being closed, the hard-won accreditation lost, the corporation dissolved, and the campus sold for development. 

     We are dedicated to protecting Goddard as a 501(c)(3)non-profit and honoring the donor irrevocable gifts entrusted to the organization. Please join us in this urgent task. We are not asking for any financial gift at this time, but your honest pledge for the next five years and beyond will provide us with the guidance we need to plan next steps. 

     We encourage College alumni, faculty, emeriti, students, staff, and members of the broader Vermont communities to complete this brief survey. Please consider the impact Goddard and its mission have had on your own life and on the social, educational, and economic life of the region. 

     Consider how you can help extend this legacy into the coming years through gifts of time, talent, and tax-deductible financial support. Timely pledges now—and cash matches later—will be critical to saving the college. 

    Ideally, we need the pledges themselves by June 30, 2024. You can help support our legal fund today, and you can always fill out the survey and pledge after June 30th, too. Later, when we need payment, we’ll ask which of several needs you’d like your donation to be used for.

SURVEY QUESTIONS - Click the Link to complete the survey. You’ll be asked the following questions.

     Please share your thoughts on our goals and on your own commitments, by completing the attached survey and returning it to savegoddardcollege@gmail.com by June 30, 2024 (pledges after that date are great too!). Your responses will be seen only by members of Save Goddard College’s Fundraising Committee and will remain confidential from all others.

Name:                                 

Address:

Email:                                                                              

Phone: 

Relationship to Goddard:

Academic Program/Degree: 

Dates Attended:

Year of Graduation:

Today’s date:

Considering the primary goal of saving Goddard College,

1.What realistic amount of a cash pledge for 2024 can you commit to by June 15? 

2.How much, realistically, could you pledge for each of the next five years? 

3.How much, realistically, could you pledgefor each year beyond five? 

     •  For numbers 2 and 3, please explain. Example: “I’ll commit 10% of my IRA to Goddard.

         I estimate that value at __________  per year.”

4.Time and Talent. In what ways can you help this effort through your personal volunteer time, professional connections,fundraising, organizing, event planning, performances, materials, artwork, etc.? 

5. Please share ideas you may have for innovative partnerships and programs that might support Goddard's mission, and build and sustain its endowment. For example: literary and academic retreats, performing and visual arts events, national conferences on sustainability, DEISJ, global peace, etc., etc. Let your imagination soar!

6. Would you be willing to work with a dedicated team to helpunderwrite, plan, organize, and carry out your idea?

7.Open comment. What else would you like to share? Would you like us to contact you?

Thank you for participating in this survey!