Giving Back
Why We are Different
The College of Liberal Arts is the most selective liberal arts college in the CSU system and one of the most selective in the nation. The college’s award-winning faculty; competitive student body; and learn-by-doing experiences in the classroom, community, and overseas all add to the strength of our disciplines. As a key player in a comprehensive polytechnic university, the liberal arts provide an educational foundation based on the values of cross-disciplinary knowledge, cultural understanding, ethics, and civic responsibility—all vital attributes in our increasingly complex, global society.
Why Give
Private giving is vital in providing the type of hands-on and achievement-oriented academic programs that are the hallmarks of a Cal Poly education. Your support allows us to sustain the strength of our disciplines while continuing to enhance Cal Poly’s polytechnic experience.
Areas of Greatest Need
Dean’s Leadership Circle:
Gifts to the College of Liberal Arts help to set the direction for the liberal arts on campus, enhance cross-disciplinary experiences, support student success, and empower the faculty to build on the college’s national reputation. Members of the Dean's Leadership Circle support the CLA directly with an annual gift of $1,000 or more.
Academic Programs:
Annual gifts to your favorite department or program provide vital support for new curriculum, faculty research and development, laboratory and equipment upgrades, student projects, student and faculty travel, national and international competitions, and awards.
Students Scholarships:
The 1st Generation Scholarship Endowment is a college-wide $700,000 initiative developed to support the critical financial need of CLA students who are the first in their families to attend college. The college is proud to offer other types of scholarship and student support.
Faculty:
CLA faculty have earned the highest number of scholarship and creative leadership awards on campus. In addition to instructing in their own majors, this superb faculty provides approximately 70 percent of the general education classes required for all Cal Poly students. Your support of faculty enhances knowledge and stimulates improvements in teaching for the ultimate benefit of our students. Current endowments for Lectureships, Professorships, and Chairs range from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
Our Learning Environment:
Creating the right learning environment is critical to student success. Your support of technology and equipment gives students a chance to “learn by doing” with the technology and equipment they will encounter when they enter the workplace. Your support of our capital campaigns helps us build state-of-the-art spaces for our programs as they evolve. The college is currently in the planning phase of a private campaign to renovate and expand the H.P. Davidson Music Building into a Center for Performing and Media Arts. Please stay tuned.
You can donate safely on-line.
A new law signed into effect on Dec. 17, 2010, allows some people to make charitable gifts directly from a traditional or a Roth IRA and gain a tax benefit for doing it.
Details on IRA giving:
Congress just approved a bill that will allow people over the age of 70 ½ to rollover funds from their IRA to an authorized charity such as Cal Poly. The rollover can qualify as the donor’s required minimum distribution; also, the gift is not considered taxable income, which potentially helps the donor avoid the rest of their income being taxed at higher rates.
Since the bill was enacted late this year (2010), Congress is allowing people to make these rollover distributions as late as Jan. 31, 2011 for the 2010 tax year. The rollover is also approved for 2011.
There is no minimum amount required, so donors can make gifts of $1,000, $10,000 or any amount up to $100,000 per person per year, which could be up to $400,000 for a couple making the maximum contribution in 2010 and 2011.
College of Liberal Arts Advancement Team.
Please contact us for more information about giving and the College of Liberal Arts.
Ashley Offermann
Director of Major Gifts
College of Liberal Arts Advancement, Heron Hall, Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
805-756-5722
Elizabeth Rivera
College of Liberal Arts Advancement, Heron Hall, Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
805-756-7022