In celebration of their twenty-fifth reunion, many members of the Yale College Class of 2000 took the opportunity to look back, look forward, and create a lasting legacy. When a member of the class offered to establish an endowed scholarship fund in the Class of 2000’s name if their classmates could raise the funds for ten scholarships, the group rose to the challenge—and then some.

In the end, they funded thirty-three scholarships: twenty-seven one-year scholarships for Yale College and one for the School of Management through the Nathan Hale Associates program, along with five endowed scholarships. Now, the Class of 2000 Scholarship Fund will support one or more undergraduate students every year, in perpetuity.

“For our twenty-fifth reunion, I wanted to help rally my classmates to support financial aid for students across the university,” said the donor who offered the challenge. “I was delighted to see how enthusiastically the Class of 2000 responded, and I’m thrilled that we are able to provide enduring support for future Yale students.”

For Louis and Karen Abrecht Tompros, both Class of 2000, participating in the challenge was a particularly rewarding decision. They decided to create the Tompros Family Scholarship—their first endowed scholarship—as a way of paying forward the generosity that shaped their lives. “An endowed scholarship helped me attend Yale,” Louis says. Karen adds, “If it weren’t for financial aid, Louis and I would never have met.” Her family’s story stretches back another generation—her father Gary Abrecht was also able to attend Yale thanks to financial aid.

Jay Van Sciver ’00 and his wife Kate Olson established a Nathan Hale Associates scholarship. Like the Tomproses, they were excited about the challenge. “We wanted to support Yale students, and this challenge felt like a perfect way to provide that support and extend the legacy of the Class of 2000,” says Van Sciver.

Nathan Hale Associates scholarships recognize annual giving to the Yale Alumni Fund. Rather than being invested in Yale’s endowment like endowed scholarships, these gifts are spent immediately and allow a donor to name a one-year scholarship that supports a Yale student. They are a crucial part of the financial aid budget at Yale.

Now that the Class of 2000 Scholarship Fund has been established, donors and classmates can add to it with gifts of any size. In all, the class contributed over $1 million to scholarships—including the challenge donor’s gift of $250,000, along with the gifts from the classmates who funded the thirty-three additional scholarships.

All of this counts toward Yale’s goal of raising $1.2 billion for student support across the university during the For Humanity campaign. As the campaign enters its final months, alumni giving remains crucial in ensuring that the best and brightest students can come to Yale, regardless of their financial situation.

This fundraising challenge also helped the Class of 2000 exceed its milestone 25th Reunion gift goal: the class raised over $12.7 million for priorities throughout Yale.