Your Journey, Your Impact: Whitman Supporters Show That Philanthropy Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

“This place is special.” That’s what Jeff Schulz ’09 thought the first time he set foot on the Syracuse University campus as a high school senior taking college tours.

“The vibe and the energy that was in the air, I had such an excited feeling,” Schulz recalls of his visit. With a vibrant student body, dedicated alumni, engaging classes and a wealth of hands-on experiences, that vibe isn’t just a feeling. A deeply engaged community that gives back to the school in multiple ways is one of the keys to making the Whitman School, as Schulz found it, something special.

Jeff Schultz

That’s why, after he graduated, Schulz found that giving back to Whitman was an “easy decision.” Like many in the community, he has consistently supported the school through philanthropy. During the 2024-25 academic year, Whitman raised over $10.9 million in cash donations, the school’s highest cash fundraising year on record.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story of each of the 1,649 donors who gave at many levels over the past year. 

First-Time Giving: A Foundation of Generosity

For many, philanthropy starts even before graduation. Each year, Syracuse seniors contribute to a class gift. Since fiscal year 2020, seniors in the Whitman School have led the charge with the most senior giving participants among the entire University. In the Class of 2025, 257 Whitman students made a gift.

“I would encourage people to participate at the level in which they can starting out,” says Michael Paulus, Whitman’s assistant dean for advancement and external engagement. “That can be $100 a year, or it could be $10 a month, however people feel that they can contribute and participate in giving back.”

While major donors with their names on buildings often make headlines, most donations are of a different scope. Of the 1,649 donors supporting Whitman last year, 1,266 made gifts less than $2,500. New support from graduates out 10 years or less has risen consistently in the past four years, from around $32,000 in 2022 to more than $56,000 in 2025.

For many young alumni, giving a boost to a student who could use financial help is a strong motivation. That was true back in 1977, when Tom Seifert ’69 began giving as a young accountant. “It’s my way of giving something back to the community and helping the student who needs a little bit of financial assistance to get through college,” he says.

Nick Monzi

Decades later, Nick Monzi ’11 had a similar motivation to begin supporting Whitman. Education and entrepreneurship are important to Monzi. In 2013, just two years after graduation, he founded Learn Fresh, a nonprofit that provides STEM education programs to schools in partnership with professional sports leagues. From relatively early in his career, he has supported the entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises department as well as the Panasci Business Plan Competition.

“I want to continue to help students achieve their goals,” he says.

Career Growth: Increasing the Impact

As Monzi’s career and business have grown, so has his financial support for Whitman. He recently increased his support for the school and joined the Whitman Leadership Circle, a philanthropic society founded in 2024 for alumni, families and friends to support and engage with the Whitman School. As a nonprofit leader himself, Monzi says, “Long-term support for organizations, schools and nonprofits is always helpful to create consistency. I recognize that as someone who’s had to navigate that process myself, and I do believe in what the University is doing. I think the strides that have been made over the last few years, in particular, to strengthen the external presence of the school, to strengthen opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship, have been really great, and I want to continue to be a part of it.”

Jeff Schulz ’09 not only earned a degree in accounting and finance that set him up for a career crunching the numbers in the biopharmaceutical industry. He also met his future wife—who was at the time a psychology major, attended many basketball games and volunteered for Syracuse University Ambulance.

Schulz and his wife, Leah Brennan ’09 (A&S), attend University events in the Boston area, where they live. They dress their children, ages 2 and 5, in Orange gear. For Schulz, the global financial comptroller for atai Life Sciences, giving back wasn’t a question.

Through Schulz and Brennan’s financial support for the Whitman School, they have become members of the Hill Society, a University-wide recognition society for annual donors supporting Syracuse’s highest priorities. According to Schulz, he has directed giving toward the Whitman School, particularly students who need financial support.

For Schulz and Brennan, the time on campus “was just such an important and influential part of our lives. Our time at Syracuse set us up for not only our careers but also so many aspects of the life we live today. We are who we are because of Syracuse.” 

Strategic Philanthropy for a Lasting Influence

Of course, giving isn’t only for alumni. Many other philanthropically minded members of the Whitman community choose to support the school.

When Michael Richman and Ruth Toporoff’s daughter, Logan ’22, was considering universities where she could pursue her interest in communications and journalism, Syracuse, particularly the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, was at the top of her list. Logan also earned a minor in marketing through the Whitman School and now works in marketing. A few years later, she was followed by her brothers Hayden ’28 and Connor ’28, both of whom are Whitman School students.

Michael Richman and Ruth Toporoff

When their daughter enrolled at Syracuse, Toporoff and Richman began giving to the University, to do what they could to support not only her education but also that of other students. They are now members of the Whitman Leadership Circle. Richman also lends his advice and expertise to the Whitman Parents Advisory Council.

“I want to be involved in my kids’ education,” says Richman.

Richman and Toporoff both have law degrees. Richman is a managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he began in a legal capacity. Toporoff’s expertise is in animal rights. As a law student, Richman participated in a volunteer program representing indigent clients, at a time when experiential education was in its infancy. He credits that program with shaping his professional development, and it has influenced his giving to Whitman’s experiential education initiatives.

“I want [Whitman’s] experiential learning to develop. I want them to have opportunities to take the kids to different cities and engage with different companies so they get greater experience, so they can get internships and permanent positions,” says Richman. 

Beyond the Bank Account

Giving back to Whitman is often multifaceted. “There’s so many different volunteer opportunities,” says Paulus. “We have a number of different departmental boards at the school. We have alumni councils. We have mentorship opportunities. The ability to help hire and support our students get jobs is incredibly important in addition to philanthropy.”

For example, Monzi has been involved as a judge for the Capstone competition. In the fall of 2025, he is taking his involvement a step further, teaching a course called Innovative Sport Ventures.

“The financial commitment is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Monzi. “Finding ways to show up and engage with the community is probably the most impactful way to be involved deeply, and I think it helps make the financial component easier, because you feel like you’re giving back to something that you’re a part of.”

Endowment: Building an Orange Legacy

Throughout a busy life, Seifert has lived by the philosophy, “Life should be about having some fun, doing something for your community, and putting something back into your community.” He already was supporting undergraduate Whitman students through an endowed scholarship when he made the decision to include Whitman in his estate planning. He has now committed to a legacy donation.

Tom Seifert

During his career as an accountant and later business manager in the energy industry, Seifert learned not just to read a spreadsheet and balance the budget, but also to solve problems that arose at the plants where he worked. He says, “In my classes at Syracuse 60 years ago, the professors that I had, they taught you and encouraged you to think outside the box and experiment.  Those are values that we need to make sure we keep and go forward with.”

Although it’s been years since Seifert was a student, his values are still alive on campus, thanks to the philanthropy of all those who support the Whitman School.