FLI Endowment

In short, the FLI Endowment was an attempt by students to create a pool of money to be used exclusively for supporting First Generation & Low-income (FLI) students. 

The precedent used to try and justify the creation of this endowment was a 2018 vote by the Student Government that transferred $1.2 million dollars from the capital reserves to an account named the “Green Fund” which had the goal of eventually being used to get rid of the yearly $200 student activities fee.

In 2021, the Swarthmore student government voted to allocate any capital gains from the Green Fund to the FLI Council – a student run organization. Swarthmore administration blocked the decision, stating that it would be “unethical” for a specific student organization to take control of the money.

In 2022, a resolution was once again passed by the student government reaffirming its previous decision. On May 2nd, 2022 a meeting takes place with 20+ people comprising of Swarthmore Administration, representatives from the Student Government, and representatives of FLI Council. The purpose of the meeting is clarify the reasons behind why the endowment cannot be created, and to let students know that the finance department would be recommending that the board of managers deny the resolution.

For more information please visit Ramiro Hernandez ’23 thesis that provides videos, and powerpoint presentations explaining the issue in further depth.