The George I. Alden Trust

George I. Alden established the George I. Alden Trust on August 24, 1912. The Trust document, in its final form, consists of the original and twelve amendments, the last of which was made on August 19, 1926.

The Trust was established for the general purpose of "the maintenance of some charitable or philanthropic enterprises" with particular expressed interest in "the promotion of education in schools, colleges, or other educational institutions," as well as a particular interest in several named Worcester educational organizations. Given the perpetual character of the Trust and the certainty that the needs of charitable or philanthropic enterprises change over the years, the Trust further provides that "the Trustees shall have the widest discretion in their interpretation of the purposes of this Trust. . . ."

The Trustees have given priority to higher education, predominately in support of independent undergraduate education, in smaller institutions with fulltime traditional undergraduate enrollments of 1,000 to 3,000 students. The Trust focuses this support on institutions in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and the six New England states. Within Worcester, the Trust supports a variety of educationally related programs.

The Trustees focus their grant making on capital needs. They support institutions that demonstrate a combination of educational excellence, exciting programming, and efficient and effective administration. The Trustees primarly support proposals that they feel will contribute significantly to the intellectual growth of students and will enhance an institution's mission, with particular emphasis on Mr. Alden's expressed desire to "do the greatest good to the greatest number of beneficiaries."