Oxy Fund FAQ

The Oxy Fund is Occidental College’s annual fund, covering roughly 4% of the College's annual operating budget and underwriting expenses across campus. Gifts made to the Oxy Fund provide budget-relieving support to important priorities College-wide, including need-based financial aid, academic programs, students’ mental health and wellness, athletics, undergraduate research, facility improvements, and so much more. 

The Oxy Fund helps ensure that organizations, departments, programs and teams have the essential funds they need to provide an outstanding student experience while maintaining a balanced budget. Think of the Oxy Fund as providing the flexibility to seize unexpected opportunities and capitalize on new ideas, all while keeping the lights shining brightly on our beautiful Los Angeles campus

Annual support opens doors for Oxy 
Annual support from alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends is a vote of confidence in Oxy, sending a message to corporations, foundations, and college ranking publications that our community believes in our mission and the future of Oxy. Consistent annual giving – of any size – signals to corporations, foundations and major donors that Oxy is worthy of their investment, opening up doors for the College to receive vital funding that supports the overall student experience. One person’s small gift can result in a very large gift for Oxy!

Donor participation impacts college rankings and the value of an Oxy degree
College rankings not only enhance the value of an Oxy diploma, but are also important in attracting prospective and outstanding students, faculty and staff to Oxy. 

Tuition and fees don’t cover the full cost of an Oxy education
In fact, each student’s tuition and fees only cover approximately 2/3 of what it costs for that student to attend Oxy. Private support helps fill the 1/3 gap that is needed to pay for each student’s educational experience. We call this the “silent scholarship” that all Oxy students receive.

Approximately four percent of Oxy’s annual operating budget comes from the Oxy Fund
Oxy Fund gifts support the immediate operating budget, providing reliable and flexible funds that can be used to address urgent needs, seize unexpected opportunities, and capitalize on innovative new ideas.

Oxy Fund gifts help support every Oxy student, including the over 75% of students receiving financial aid. The Oxy Fund frequently supports financial aid for two reasons: Oxy is committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for all families, and only 22% of our nearly $47M financial aid budget is endowed, and therefore relies heavily on annual support.

While both endowment and annual support are critical to Oxy’s success, there are key differences. Gifts to the Oxy Fund are raised annually and expended in the same fiscal year in which they are received. This is why terms like “current year,” “annual giving,” and “immediate use” are all associated with the Oxy Fund. Each year, the Oxy Fund covers a portion of the current fiscal year budget (currently around 4%) and is critical to the day-to-day operations of the College.

On the other hand, endowment gifts are not fully expendable; rather, they are invested in perpetuity to provide lasting support. The original principal is never spent. Only the return on investment up to a defined percentage, as determined by the College’s spending policy, is spent each year (typically between 4.5% and 5%). Any remaining investment income is reinvested to hedge against inflation and allow the endowment to grow over time. The endowment is a financial investment in the future of Occidental and provides a permanent source of income to the College.

There are many different ways to make your gift to the Oxy Fund:

     Occidental College
     Advancement Services
     1600 Campus Road, M-45
     Los Angeles, CA 90041

Many employers match gifts made by their employees to 501(c)3 organizations. Requesting a matching gift from your employer is an easy way to increase the impact of your giving. Some employers match higher than 1:1, tripling, quadrupling and sometimes even quintupling donor impact! Your personal gift and your employer’s matching gift will all count toward your giving recognition, including toward any class goals and donor recognition societies. 

To see if your employer matches charitable contributions, visit matchinggifts.com/oxy. If eligible, obtain and complete a matching gift form from your employer and return the form to Occidental together with your personal contribution or following your gift. Please note that your company will not match your gift until you have made your contribution and sent in your completed form.

The McMenamin Loyalty Society celebrates the importance of consistent annual support of Oxy. The Society is named for Professor John McMenamin and Adelaide (Grant) McMenamin ’40, who both served the College and generously supported Oxy since their graduation. Donors are recognized as McMenamin Society members when they have made a gift for at least three consecutive fiscal years, have a recurring gift, or have a multi-year commitment to the College. Donors to the Senior Class gift will be recognized upon their first gift to Oxy.

All gifts to the Oxy Fund are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Occidental College is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and our employer identification number (EIN) is 95-1667177. Occidental issues gift receipts for every gift.