Giving
Gifts to the Heller School are used to ease the financial expenses students incur in pursuit of a degree as well as providing support that allows Interim Dean Maria Madison to respond to emerging, urgent priorities.
Heller Dean’s Discretionary Fund (Greatest Need)
The Heller Dean’s Discretionary Fund allows the dean to innovate as well as prioritize and fund the most pressing issues of the Heller School in supporting its mission of knowledge advancing social justice.
Heller School Student Enrichment Funds
Gifts to the Heller School Student Enrichment Funds provide general operating support for the school as well as providing students with funds to attend professional conferences, purchase required course material, assist with dissertation expenses, and meet emergency needs.
Scholarships and Fellowships
A gift in support of Heller scholarships and fellowships enables the most promising social policy leaders of today and tomorrow to access Heller’s prestigious degree programs, regardless of their background or financial circumstances.
One hundred percent of Heller students receive financial aid. During the 2020-2021 academic year, we are especially prioritizing student financial support through fellowships. Read about our recent fellowship recipients, learn more about making an investment in lasting social change and create a long-term legacy for future generations.
The Heller Fellowship Fund is designated this year to support our ten annual diversity and inclusion scholarships.
Additionally, the Heller Office of Development and Alumni Relations oversees and raises funds for named fellowships. At present, there are 43 named fellowships, scholarships and awards awarded to incoming and current students. These opportunities are made possible by close friends and alumni whose personal or Heller connections inspired them to give students the opportunity to make their graduate education a reality.
For more information, please contact Courtney Lombardo, Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations.
Endowment and Major Gifts
Endowments and major gifts--which fund professorships, fellowships and Heller institutes such as the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity--are vitally important to the future of the Heller School. When you make a significant commitment, you enter into a partnership with Heller that can produce far-reaching benefits into the future.
The world needs Heller now more than ever. As we charge forward into our next 60 years, we’re focused on recommitting to “closing the disparity gap” and addressing pressing societal problems at every level.
Thanks to major gifts donors, the Heller School drives positive social change through research, education and public engagement that inform policies and programs designed to address disparities.
These investments strengthen Heller by:
- Expanding resources available for student financial support, including fellowships, and emergency and professional development funding;
- Creating space to innovate curricula and institute-based research and activism in response to evolving societal needs;
- Providing the resources to attract and retain exceptional faculty and researchers in a competitive market; and
- Creating a base of annual support for the next 60 years through a planned giving program.
For more information, please contact Courtney Lombardo, Associate Director of Development and External Relations.
Planned Gifts
Some of the most popular planned giving options include bequests and charitable gift annuities. These options have several advantages. They provide an opportunity to leave a personal legacy to the school, and to make a more substantial contribution to Heller than annual discretionary funds allow. Planned gifts may result in favorable tax consequences or even a new source of income for you and/or your spouse or partner.
Heller and Brandeis University advisors are available to assist you in achieving your tax, estate planning, and charitable giving objectives. For further information, please contact Joel Carlton-Gysan, Executive Director of Planned Giving. Email: jcarltongysan@brandeis.edu, Phone: 781-736-7719.