Donations to Harvard Club of Chicago Funds & Projects

Harvard alumni clubs receive no funding from the University and consequently donations from generous alumni/ae greatly help our Club continue its operations and contribute to the Harvard and Chicago-area communities.

Founded in 1857, the Harvard Club of Chicago (HCC) is the oldest continuous Harvard Club in the world.  It is an IRS approved 501(c)3 organization incorporated in Illinois as a not-for-profit corporation. Donations to the Club, including membership fees, with no tangible benefit received by the donor, are tax deductible.

The Harvard Club of Chicago began making scholarship donations to Harvard beginning in 1893.  These initial donations were to support graduate studies at Harvard by Illinois-area students, the first recipient being a Northwestern graduate who went on to study German at Harvard and later became a noted professor of German there.  In 1903 the Club first raised funds for an undergraduate scholarship at Harvard named it in honor of Dunlap Smith, AB 1884.  This fund is still in existence and is one of seven funds earmarked for Chicago-area college freshman, all managed by Harvard as a part of its endowment. Recipients of these scholarship awards are all selected by Harvard’s Office of Financial Aid on behalf of the Club.

In addition to scholarship donations, alumni/ae have made donations to help fund other specific aspects of the Club’s operations.  Donations help fund:

  • The Early College Awareness Program,
  • The Harvard Book Prize,
  • Chicago-area summer internships for both undergraduate and graduate students,
  • Refurbishing the Johnston Gate at Harvard (originally funded by a Chicago-area alumnus in 1889), and
  • Software programs to support the Schools Committee interviewing process.

We hope that you will consider a donation to the Harvard Club of Chicago selecting from one of the options below.  Doing so will help keep Harvard's organized alumni presence strong in this great city for years to come. If you have any questions or suggestions, please call the Club office at (847) 256-1211, or email it.

Please note that due to our web site software limitations, at present you can only make a contribution to these funds in one of two ways:

1)  At checkout after you have selected a membership category and are proceeding to "check out."  You will see the option appear at the bottom of the check out page under "Donation."  This is a "work-around" solution until we can arrange for a more appropriate method of donation.

2)  At any time you can click on the "Membership" tab, then the "Donation" link, arriving at the "Donation" screen.  You can select one of the first three categories, indicating the amount you would like to contribute, and then just follow the prompts.

This is a "work-around" solution until we can arrange for a more appropriate/direct method of donation.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.