University of Redlands
Making a gift is an impactful way to support current Johnston students and secure the longevity of the unique education offered by Johnston. Your gift makes a difference in the academic experience of current students and helps the center achieve its long-term goals. Regardless of the size of your gift, your participation is important in helping us sustain and enrich the educational opportunities and community activities for current and future students.
Alumni and parent support of the Johnston Center is critical to the long-term success of this unique educational experience. Gifts of all sizes have a positive impact on our students' experience–including showing widespread support for the program from its graduates and helping us secure program-enriching grants from foundations. The support from Johnston alumni, parents and friends helps us ensure that the traditions and success of the last 47 years continues for many decades to come.
For more information on how to support Johnston with your philanthropy, contact Ericka Smith, Senior Director of Major Gifts at 909-748-8050.
The Johnston Director uses gifts to the Discretionary Fund to fund programmatic expenses that help preserve and enhance Johnston's unique style of learning. It is primarily used to supplement academic programs for students, and to provide development opportunities for faculty and staff. The DDF is what enables Johnston to be "Johnston" and not just a conventional department/program
Examples of how gifts to the DDF are used:
Study abroad is an important component of a Johnston education, often fulfilling the "cross-cultural" component of a student's emphasis. While the University has an excellent Study Abroad Program, it does not support airfare or spending money. This fund is used to support students who need financial help in these areas in order to study abroad for a semester.
Johnston has benefited greatly from alumni returning to teach a class. We'd like to continue this tradition. This fund supports alumni who would like to return and teach as adjuncts for the Center. If you are interested in teaching a course, please let us know.
Without any "requirement" to do so, Johnston students have consistently involved themselves in community service and/or activist projects. This fund was created to encourage and help support these kinds of projects, and supports the students in ways such as giving them resources to purchase art supplies for poster making, resources for campus and community events, travel costs for traveling to regional non-profits, etc. These projects can be for a class or independent project.
A gift to the Building the Johnston Community Endowment is a unique opportunity to provide support for Johnston in perpetuity. We use the interest from this endowment to fund capital items that are important to Johnston's unique living-learning environment. For example, the BJC Endowment could fund the acquisition of special furniture that is more conducive to the ways Johnstonians share their living space, and that facilitates the building of community. It could be used to help create academic space or a Johnston exhibit space, or enhance faculty, student meeting or office space. In recent years we have used the BJC Endowment to purchase furniture for The "Jimmie" Room, digital film, photography and sound equipment, and equipped a screening room in Bekins for film viewing.
The disbursement of funds from the BJC Endowment are directed by the recommendations of a special oversight committee composed of Johnston students, faculty and alumni. The committee meets annually to consider Johnston's facilities and equipment needs, and to review student/faculty proposals and recommendations for the BJC Endowment funds.
Looking ahead to a significant milestone in our history, the 50th anniversary of Johnston, the time has come to further strengthen the future of our incredible educational center. We are in the midst of a campaign focused on providing a transformative effect on Johnston and building a foundation of support from the community for its future far beyond its 50 years.
Our goal is to secure $2,500,000 by February 2019 to endow a new, full-time faculty position in the Center to be called the Founders' Chair in Alternative Education. This has the possibility of having a transformative effect on the center, while also further signifying the importance and future of the Johnston program.
If you are interested in learning more about how to best support the Founders Chair in Alternative Education or learn more about the current Campaign for Johnston, please contact Ericka Smith, Director of Major Gifts, at 909-748-8357.
