We are proud to report that we raised $455,000 for the GSD Fund last fiscal year. With your help, our goal this year is to raise $500,000.

To give online, visit our secure online giving page. If you would prefer to mail your gift, please make your check payable to the Harvard Graduate School of Design and direct it to:

Graduate School of Design
c/o Office of the Recording Secretary
Harvard University
124 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA  02138

To make your gift by phone, call 617-495-1750.

We offer many ways for you to support the GSD:

• Josep Lluís Sert Council for Annual Leadership Giving
• Donor Report
• 2013 Graduating Students Drive
• Planned Giving
• Additional Giving Opportunities

Facts for the 2012-2013 academic year:

• Average grant to GSD students/year is $16,500 
• Average debt for last year’s graduating class was $65,064
• Over 80% of students, including international students, receive GSD grants
• 91% of students receive financial aid (includes GSD grants and other Harvard funds)

Another design school tradition is the need for financial aid, which is why your annual contribution to the GSD Fund is so important. Fifty-seven students were awarded money from last year’s gifts to the GSD Fund and the President’s match. It is our goal to grow these numbers and enable even more talented students to make their impact on the design world.

The President's match is a critical figure in the financial aid we award:

• 30 students received money from the GSD Fund, totaling $371,000.
• 27 students received money from the President's match of the GSD Fund, totaling $380,000.

Design education fosters innovation, experimentation, and speculation in its students. The GSD is committed to inspiring our students to solve problems, activate knowledge, and make a difference within society and across the globe. Your gift to the GSD directly contributes to the training of 21st century design leaders and helps ensure the future of the design disciplines.

The exceptional and diverse talent found within our student body is an essential component of the GSD experience. Every dollar that is donated to the GSD Fund is spent on student financial aid. Make your gift today. 

 JOSEP LLUÍS SERT COUNCIL for annual leadership giving launched in the fall of 2011. Sert Council recognizes those alumni and friends whose generosity has made a deep impact on the GSD, our students, and the future of design. Read Sert Council Chair Bil Ehrlich's December letter.

Josep Lluís Sert, GSD faculty member and dean from 1953-1969, was a globally recognized architect and teacher whose unique perspective on cross disciplinary training has become a hallmark of our school. He initiated the world’s first degree program in urban design at the GSD. We intend to honor his legacy with the formation of our new society. It is our hope that Sert Council leaders will build on this legacy by helping us create opportunities for innovative teaching and a school environment that produces nothing less than design excellence.

To honor and involve our inner circle of alumni and friends, we’ve held a series of events ranging from private cocktail receptions with professors to exclusive gallery talks. Last year’s events included:

• Cocktail reception and private viewing of Lightfall: Herta and Paul Amir Building at Tel Aviv Museum of Art, hosted by GSD Department of Architecture Chair Professor Preston Scott Cohen and held at Gund Gallery in Cambridge
• Private reception with Professor Preston Scott Cohen before his talk Museum as Genealogy at the Harvard Club of New York
• Reception with GSD Department of Landscape Architecture Chair Charles Waldheim and Professor Anita Berrizbeitia before their talk at a private viewing of the new Renzo Piano wing of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
• Private champagne toast with Dean Mohsen Mostafavi and gallery tour at the Hammer Musem,  Harvard Design Alumni & Friends Weekend in Los Angeles, November 2012.
• Presentation by Harry Macklowe on 432 Park Avenue in NYC, the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere, designed by Rafael Vinoly, March 2013

It is the GSD’s goal to salute our inner circle of donors by engaging the Council in the life of the GSD. We look forward to expanding our program throughout the year, and to having you join us as a member.

See our  Sert Council member list (donors who gave between July 1, 2012 and April 1, 2013), and please join us as a Sert Council member by making your gift to the GSD:

• Gifts of $1,000+
• Degree program graduates in the classes of 2004-2008, gifts of $250+
• Degree program graduates in the classes of 2009-2013, gifts of $100+

For further information about the GSD Fund or Sert Council, contact Beth Falkof or Carra Clisby in the GSD Development Office.

Donor Report
The 2011-2012 Donor Report acknowledges with gratitude our donors who made gifts between July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. Remember to make your gift this year, and appear on our 2012-2013 donor report.

$20.13 Graduating Students Drive

Join your classmates in the class of 2013 in making a gift to the GSD Fund, every dollar of which goes to financial aid for students at the school.  Your contribution of $20.13 will help future graduates in their pursuit of a GSD education.

As of 5/8/13, here is how the Class of 2013's participation is stacking up:

Make your gift here, by designating "Graduate School of Design" and "$20.13 Graduating Students Challenge - GSD Fund (annual giving fund):

As a thank you for your gift of $20.13, you will get a limited-edition Give $20.13 GSD mug.  Show your email receipt at the Give $20.13 table at various events on campus until commencement to claim your mug.

Questions? Contact Sarah Knight

Planned Giving
Harvard has an experienced staff of planned giving professionals who can help you develop plans that will not only allow you to make a significant gift to the GSD, but also provide financial and tax benefits for you and your family. Further information can be found on the University Planned Giving website.

For further information, contact John Christel, Associate Director of University Planned Giving.

Additional Giving Opportunities

Alumni and friends of the GSD have varied interests, and the GSD offers an array of specific programs and activities that require support. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your specific philanthropic goals or interests with you. For further information, contact Beth Kramer, Assistant Dean for Development at the GSD.

Please contact us by email at give@gsd.harvard.edu or by phone at 617-495-4315 with additional questions.