The first formal gift to Bentley was Bentley itself. On July 1, 1948, Harry Bentley donated his entire interest in the school to a nonprofit corporation managed by a Board of Trustees. That act has benefited generations of Bentley students, and it aids a greater need that is universal today.

“Few are unaware of the need for massive support of higher education if the American way of life is to survive,” reads a 1950s Bentley booklet advocating for a new building on Boylston Street. Ten years later, a Golden Anniversary Fund was founded to support a move to the Waltham campus.

"I am proud to help make it possible for thousands of young people of limited means to achieve professional stature in the future."
— Solomon R. Baker '24

At a time when our evening commuters outnumbered our day students, and there were only 14,650 alumni worldwide, we began to unite.

And we are united still. The President’s Club members set the bar; True Blue donors give year after year; The 1917 Legacy Society members have included Bentley in their financial and estate plans. Through scholarships and professorships, named spaces and gifts to the Bentley Fund, we give back because the spirit of generosity has been with Bentley from the start.

“There have always been donors who care deeply about this school, and there always will be,” says Vice President for University Advancement William Torrey, noting that Harry Bentley himself was known to help students who couldn’t pay their full tuition. “Donors give because they know, often from personal experience, that a gift doesn’t just help one person, it helps the entire institution — and the greater business profession.”

“So many people I knew were able to go to Bentley because of scholarships — money that was contributed by alumni,” says Alber, a Bentley trustee. “Now it’s my turn to help.” Adds Fostveit: “Reflecting on who I was before Bentley and after, I’ve grown as a person and a professional.” She says it’s important to her to show her gratitude by giving back.The pay-it-forward commitment lives on in people like Tom Alber ’82, P ’12, and Lauren Westling Fostveit ’10, MBA ’11, MSA ’16, colleagues at TA Associates in Boston. Both give back personally and encourage their fellow alumni, no matter their Bentley experience, to come together.

In 1964, President Morison said, “On the eve of our Fiftieth Anniversary, we are making hundred-year decisions.” Decades later, we’re making the same case: to provide for the next 100 years of Bentley — to the continued evolution, the legacy and the pioneers.