What is the Jerome Society?

The Jerome Society is a network of alumni and friends of Donnelly College who are our most loyal and generous patrons for our students. The Society includes individuals who commit to an annual minimum $1,000 gift to the Donnelly Fund. The Donnelly Fund sustains our mission each year, supporting our most urgent needs, annual programs, and student services.

Cost alone should not keep anyone from going to college, but it does. Donnelly’s low tuition (about 75% less than the average U.S. Catholic college) increases accessibility and helps students graduate in a timely manner with minimal debt. Donnelly’s commitment to access means tuition revenue does not cover the full cost of educating students. The Donnelly Fund fills this gap. As a Jerome Society member, you are investing in our day-to-day mission of making the transformative power of a Catholic college opportunity available to all.

Where did the Jerome Society get its name?

The Jerome Society honors the legacy of the College’s co-founder Sister Jerome Keeler, OSB, a world renowned academic and member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. Much like Saint Jerome, patron saint of students, Sister Jerome and co-founder Bishop George J. Donnelly became patrons for students when they founded Donnelly College to make Catholic higher education available in the urban core of Kansas City, KS. Since Donnelly opened in 1949, many religious sisters, brothers and priests have served the college and followed in Sister Jerome’s footsteps, continuing her mission of empowering students and changing their lives through an affordable, faith-based higher education. Members of the Jerome Society are today’s patrons of our mission.

Membership Recognition and Engagement Benefits

Membership benefits start at the time you make your gift and will be accessible for a total of 12 months. Benefits include:

• Quarterly Newsletters (by email)
  • Member-only college updates
  • All members are listed by giving level and length of membership (members will also be recognized annually in the winter edition of the Donnelly Digest).
• Invitations to the College's annual Common Read events
  • The Common Read is a campus-wide initiative that allows all students, faculty, and staff to read and discuss a thought-provoking book throughout each academic year. A new book is selected for each academic year.
  • Receive a free copy of the Common Read book that is read by all students and integrated across curriculum.
  • Attend author lectures and related Common Read on-campus presentations or discussions.
  • Join faculty, staff and students in a special book discussion.
• Invitation to an annual Jerome Society Summer Social
  • A casual, on-campus gathering with food and beverages, along with Donnelly's president and other leaders and faculty.
• Permanent member recognition with an engraved brick installed in the Jerome Society Courtyard commemorating the year a member joins.

For more information please contact: