Giving Societies
The President's Council
The President's Council consists of three circles designed to recognize leadership gifts that support the vision of the President and mission of Springfield College on an annual basis. Gifts recognized by the Council range from $5,000 to $25,000 or more in a single fiscal year. These levels are:Appleton Circle: $25,000 or more
Named for Julius H. Appleton who was a member of the College's founding group. His descendants have continued their involvement with the College for well over a century. The succeeding generations of Appletons have become the largest single donor family in the history of Springfield College. Appleton's grandson and namesake, Julius H. Appleton, served as a College trustee for more than fifty years. His widow, Louise B. Appleton, was named an honorary trustee in 1993 for her commitment and loyalty to the institution.Doggett Circle $10,000 to $24,999
Named for Laurence Locke Doggett, who became the first full-time president for Springfield College in 1896. By the time of his retirement in 1936, Doggett had established Springfield College as an institution with a worldwide reach, and transformed the College from one with a pioneer quality that had first attracted him to one that is a mature institution of higher learning.Gulick Circle $5,000 to $9,999
Named for Luther Halsey Gulick, an early faculty member and second head of the Physical Education Department at Springfield College. Gulick is known as the father of modern recreation, as co-founder with his wife of the Camp Fire Girls of America, and as the designer of the College emblem - the inverted triangle - symbolizing the unity of the individual spirit, mind, and body. The same inverted triangle was subsequently adopted by the International YMCA.David Allen Reed
David Allen Reed Society
The David Allen Reed Society consists of three circles designed to recognize gifts from individuals ranging from $1,000 to $4,999 in a single fiscal year (except for the First Decade Circle). These levels are:
Morgan Circle ($2,500 to $4,999)
- Named after William Morgan, class of 1894, who invented volleyball while working for the Holyoke, Massachusetts YMCA in 1895.
Reed Circle ($1,000 to $2,499)
- Named for the founding president of Springfield College who, in 1885, launched the institution with an entering class of eighteen students in space loaned by the Armory Hill YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. David Allen Reed's goal of creating a "great university" inspired and set the course the College has followed throughout its history.
First Decade Circle
- Young alumni within their first ten years of graduation may participate at a leadership level by increasing their giving annually in $100 increments from the time of their graduation.
Other Giving Clubs:
- Massasoit Club- $500 to $999
- Heritage Club- $250 to $499
- Century Club- $100 to $249
- Pride Club- All gifts up to $99
Lifetime Giving Societies
The Naismith Society
Named in honor of James A. Naismith who, in 1891, invented the game of basketball, transforming the lives of children and adults across the world. Membership in the Naismith Society is reserved for those who share in Springfield College's commitment to creating great ideas and changing the world for future generations. This commitment is demonstrated support of the mission of the College over a lifetime with contributions of $1 million or more.
The Amici Society (Amici ad Infinitum)
Recognizes members of the Springfield College community who have included the College in their planned charitable gifts such as a charitable gift annuity, gifts of life insurance, or inclusion in their will.
Additional Information
Campaign Profile: The Way That It Was For Me
He arrived a volleyball player. He left a physician. Dr. Dan Phelan'94 calls that " the Springfield College Transformation Experience."
"The Humanics Philosophy stays with you," says orthopaedic surgeon Phelan. "I believe you owe something back to a place like that . I know there are other high school students out there who will come to visit Springfield and somehow sense that on that campus, they will find out who they are, and they will be right. Springfield College will be the perfect match for them, the way it was for me."
"Everything Dan has told me about his Springfield College years made it clear that his time there was a life-altering experience for him; it was a vital part of his becoming the person he is today. It gave him some real friends, gave him mentors, and gave him a way to live," says his wife Donna, a cardiologist. "It also gave him that sense of mission that we both share, that we are supposed to spend our lives providing for, caring for, others."
Read more about Dan and Donna Phelan's David Allen Reed Society gift.