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.

The Jerome Society honors the legacy of the College’s founder, Sister Jerome Keeler, 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. 

Why is the Jerome Society Important?

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. That is where our Donnelly Fund comes in. 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.

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:

Member-only annual newsletter (mailed each summer)

• All members listed by giving level and length of membership (Members will also be recognized annually in the winter edition of the Donnelly Digest.)
• Members-only updates from the President, the Board of Directors and academic programs

Invitation to an on-campus experience, such as

• Coffee with a student
• Opportunity to sit in on a class
• Lunch with the Dean
• VIP invitations to campus academic events

Invitation to participate in the College’s annual “Common Read” activities

• Receive a free copy of the book that is read by all students and integrated across the curriculum
• Attend author lectures and on-campus Common Read presentations • Join faculty, students and staff in a special book discussion
• Permanent public donor tribute on campus
• Donors will be added the year they join the Jerome Society

Permanent public donor tribute on campus

• Brick will include their name and the year they joined the Jerome Society
• Donors will be added the year they joined the Jerome Socidety

For more information please contact: