philanthropy / 2026-10-19

Pomona’s access campaign raises a useful question: what does participation really cost?

Pomona College launched its $530 million Originals campaign on October 10, with financial aid among several priorities. Its separate Fall 2026 course-materials initiative offers a concrete example of addressing costs beyond tuition—and of why programme boundaries matter.

Pomona College’s gates with Pearsons Hall beyond, photographed in 2014; an archival campus view. — Officialpomonacollege, February 6, 2014, via Wikimedia Commons; unmodified. · Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

An admission offer opens a door, but participating fully in a course can require more than paying tuition. Books, assigned readings and access codes are part of that practical question. Pomona College’s new fundraising campaign and its existing course-materials initiative offer two different ways to examine what educational access means after a student arrives.

Pomona publicly launched Originals, a $530 million comprehensive campaign, on October 10, 2026, and reported the launch on October 12. This article looks back one week to that announcement rather than presenting it as today’s news. Expanding financial aid, including support for middle-income families and additional student costs, is one priority within a broader effort that also supports scholarship, community and institutional strength.

The full campaign target is therefore not an allocation solely for scholarships. Nor does the announcement establish that every proposed benefit has already been funded or delivered. For prospective supporters, the distinction between a fundraising goal, a designated gift and an operating student service is worth keeping clear.

A separate Fall 2026 programme makes the issue tangible. Pomona’s Access to Course Essentials, or ACE, provides required materials for Pomona students taking Pomona courses at no additional cost. Materials are arranged automatically in faculty-selected print or digital formats. The campaign announcement does not establish that Originals created or funded ACE.

ACE does not currently cover courses at the other Claremont Colleges or students from those colleges. Pomona students receiving financial aid can request additional book funding for courses elsewhere in the consortium. Some digital access expires after a semester, depending on the publisher. It is targeted materials support, not a promise to eliminate every educational expense.

These details make a useful test for any access initiative: Does support arrive when the work starts? What happens across institutional boundaries? Can a student get help without having to explain a financial difficulty repeatedly? Clear answers can make a programme more usable than a broad promise of affordability.

Readers who want to help can use Pomona’s official Support Pomona page to explore giving or contact the college about supporting financial aid and student needs. Ask how a proposed contribution will be designated rather than treating the entire campaign as an aid fund. Current students can use the ACE information page for access instructions and programme contacts.

Featured image: Pomona College’s gates in an archival 2014 photograph by Officialpomonacollege. It is not a photograph of the 2026 campaign launch. The unmodified image is reused under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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Sources

Original reporting synthesis by The Raines Foundation, based on the sources above.