Meet the Harvard College Fund
Supporting the next generation of Harvard students.
Supporting the next generation of Harvard students.
The Harvard College Fund (HCF) is the College’s primary source of unrestricted, immediate-use funding. It helps support the version of Harvard the Class of 2026 experienced every day, from financial aid, faculty support, new courses, Senior Week events, and cutting-edge research opportunities to pre-orientation programs, House life, libraries, and more!
Powered entirely by Harvard alumni, parents, and friends of the College, the HCF is sustained through broad community participation and many smaller collective gifts. That flexibility allows resources to move where students need them most, as needs evolve.
As seniors reflecting on what shaped our years here, many of the opportunities and experiences that defined our time at Harvard were made possible, in ways both visible and invisible, through HCF support.
From classrooms to
common tables
The Harvard College Fund helps sustain the experiences that shape everyday life at Harvard, from financial aid and new courses to pre-orientation programs, House life, and the traditions and spaces that make this place feel uniquely ours.
It lives in the friendships formed before classes even begin, in Classroom-to-Table conversations with your favorite professor that somehow continue long after the meal ends, and in the libraries that hold all of us at 2 am during midterms and finals. We’ve all been there.
Unlike restricted funding tied to a single program or initiative, the HCF supports the everyday student experience across campus, helping sustain the spaces, opportunities, and communities that generations of students have come to call Harvard.
If Harvard has ever given you a friendship, a mentor, a moment of belonging, or a memory you know you’ll carry long after graduation, then you’ve already experienced HCF support.
You probably just called it Harvard.
The Harvard College Fund is powered by collective participation. About 70% of HCF gifts are under $1,000, proving that impact at Harvard is not built by a few people giving a lot, but by many people choosing to give something.
Because HCF dollars are flexible and immediately usable, each HCF dollar carries ~22× the near-term impact of an endowment dollar. Even a small gift can help carry the Harvard experience forward for the classes that follow!
Small Gifts. Meaningful Support.
Make an Impact Today
Show up for the #Classof2026! It’s our turn to take part.
Whether it’s a future gift, a small contribution, sharing this with a friend, or taking our short pledge to participate later, what matters most is choosing to take part together as a class.
Even a single dollar goes a long way when it helps power the flexible support that makes student life possible.
A note from your Class of 2026 HCF Marshals
From classrooms to common tables, our years at Harvard were shaped by people who believed in students long before we arrived here ourselves.
We care about this work because we care about our classmates and about preserving the kind of community our class built together. The sound of laughter carrying through House hallways. Scarves damp with snow after the walk back from Lamont. Someone saving you a seat in lecture without texting first. The glow beneath a friend’s door. Names that once sounded unfamiliar now spoken with the easy closeness of home.
We hope future students inherit a Harvard filled with that same warmth, generosity, wonder, and sense of shared possibility, a place where they too might find people who change the texture of their lives in lasting ways. Supporting the Harvard College Fund is one small way of leaving behind a little light for the people who will someday arrive here searching for home too.
Thank you for being part of the Class of 2026. We will carry these years, and all of you, with us for a very long time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about the Harvard College Fund, the Pledge, or how to get involved? We’ve answered a few of the most common questions here!
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The HCF is the College’s primary source of unrestricted annual support for the undergraduate experience. Established over 100 years ago, the HCF is powered by collective participation from alumni, families, and friends of the College who want to support current and future students.
Unlike endowment funds, which are often restricted to specific purposes and distributed gradually over time, HCF support is flexible and immediately usable. That means HCF dollars can respond more directly to the evolving needs of undergraduate students and campus life as they happen.At its core, the HCF helps sustain the everyday experiences that shape life at Harvard, both inside and outside the classroom.
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A ton! The HCF helps support financial aid, new courses, House life, libraries, pre-orientation programs, campus traditions, research, academic opportunities, and so many of the spaces and experiences students interact with every day.
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Nothing changes immediately, and there is NO obligation to donate now or in the future! Pledging simply means you intend to stay connected and participate in supporting the Harvard College Fund. You can choose to give now, later, or simply stay in touch with us. Participation at any level matters.
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HCF Marshals help educate students about the Harvard College Fund and encourage class participation from senior year and beyond. Throughout the year, Marshals organize events, outreach, storytelling initiatives, and community-building efforts that help students better understand how philanthropy shapes the undergraduate experience.
More than anything, Marshals help connect the idea of “giving back” to the real experiences and communities students care about most.
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We would love that.
You can get involved by taking the Pledge, attending HCF events, volunteering with outreach efforts, helping spread awareness across campus, or staying connected with the Class of 2026 after graduation.
Every form of participation matters, and there are so many ways to remain part of the community we built together here.
Press the ‘Connect with HCF Staff’ button if you’d like to learn even more about getting involved!