Bard Giving Day is a 24-hour celebration of what this college has always believed: that a rigorous, transformative education should be available to anyone with the curiosity and courage to pursue it. For one day, alumni/ae, faculty, staff, students, parents, and friends come together to make that belief tangible. This year, we have a simple goal: 207 donors, in honor of John Bard’s 207th birthday. Every gift is a vote for the kind of institution Bard continues to be.

Bard Giving Day is June 2, 2026. Twenty-four hours, one community, one shared purpose. Whether you are in Annandale or halfway around the world, the window is the same.

June 2 is John Bard’s birthday. He was born in 1819 in Hyde Park, just down the river from the campus that carries his name, and descended from a distinguished family of physicians and educators who had shaped the region for generations. Together with his wife, Margaret Johnston Bard, a committed philanthropist, John worked tirelessly to build schools and churches for their community, both at their estate in Annandale and in the nearby village of Tivoli. Margaret was no silent partner in any of this. Her father was a founder of New York University, and her brother later founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The two of them brought to Annandale not just wealth but a shared conviction that education and civic life were inseparable. In 1860, they founded St. Stephen’s College, a training school for young men who intended to pursue careers as Episcopal ministers. Six students entered that first year. The college struggled, grew, evolved, and eventually outgrew its original mission entirely. In 1934, the name was changed to Bard, in honor of its founders. John Bard died in 1899 and is buried in the campus cemetery. But the institution he and Margaret started on a piece of land they loved is still here. Giving on his birthday is a way of saying that what they started still matters, and that we intend to keep building on it. This year, we are marking his 207th birthday by bringing together 207 donors in a single day. We hope you will be one of them.

The Bard College Fund is the primary source of unrestricted annual support for Bard, prioritizing financial aid, student scholarships, and academic programs. Gifts to the BCF go directly where they are needed most, and nowhere is that impact more profound than in the lives of students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience a Bard education. Your contribution guarantees that Bard can continue to identify and support exceptional minds, fulfilling its fundamental promise to the next generation of Bardians, who will go on to ask hard questions of the world and respond in thoughtful and creative ways. Bard graduates go on to become Fulbright scholars, researchers, climate advocates, public defenders, and artists working at the forefront of their fields. That pipeline starts here, and it starts with a gift. Every donor who gives on June 2 brings us one step closer to our goal of 207, one for every year since John Bard was born.

You can direct your gift to any area of Bard that matters most to you: the Bard College Fund, financial aid, a specific program, a student organization, or another fund you care about. If you are not sure where to give, the BCF is always a strong choice. It goes where it is needed most.

All gifts are welcome, in all sizes! Don't have it in the budget to make a big gift? Recurring small gifts are always welcome.

We love $207, $20.70, or $2,070 or any amount that nods to the number of the day. June 2, 2026 marks John Bard’s 207th birthday, and we are hoping 207 donors show up to celebrate it. Every gift, at any denomination, counts toward that goal.

Anyone!

Everyone who makes a gift during Bard Giving Day is eligible to win a Bard swag pack. Winners will be notified after the event.

Share it. Post about it. Text a classmate. Tell the story of what your Bard education made possible and invite others to be part of this day. The reach of the Bard community is genuinely global, and that reach is one of our greatest assets on a giving day. Every conversation is a potential gift, and every donor gets us closer to 207.

Reach out to the Assistant Director of the Bard College Fund, Katherine McMillan, at bcf@bard.edu or call 845-758-7867. We are glad to help.