Hood Magazine Winter 2009 - 19

W W W.HOOD.EDU 19 and to think it all began with … by Betsy Diehl, Director of Annual Giving a household name at Hood College, but according to an article in the December , , edition of The Evening Post, “Miss Margaret Elizabeth Hood, Woman’s College Benefactress,” she was also well known in the Frederick community at large for her generosity. “In local philanthropy,” the article states, “Mrs. Hood has practically assisted every benevolent interest and movement in the community.” Despite her broad interests, Margaret Hood made education her top philanthropic priority, supporting a number of educational institutions, including Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., and Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pa. However, as the article notes, the college that would eventually bear her name was “closest to her heart.” Margaret Hood was ahead of her time in terms of her style of giving; she was discerning about her philanthropy and chose her causes based on the long-term outcomes her gifts would likely generate. As the article puts it, “Her interest invariably centers in the results achieved by the help given rather than in the gift itself or the eﬀect produced.” When the College, known at the time as Frederick Female Seminary, identiﬁed the need to establish an endowment, it was Margaret Hood who funded the entire amount with a , gift in memory of her deceased husband, James Miﬄ in Hood. With that gift, Margaret Hood established the important tradition of giving back with an eye to the future. Like Hood’s donors today, Margaret Hood knew that investing in the College yielded positive results for the long-term; she actively encouraged others to support the College by making leadership-level gifts that would inspire similar giving from others. Her savvy investment in the College has indeed paid oﬀ, and continues to generate dividends in the form of a thriving institution that perpetuates her philanthropic tradition. According to the article, Margaret Hood was “modestly” honored that the College’s board of directors had passed a resolution to rename Margaret Hood is certainly The Evening Post, Dec. 6, 1912, Page 4 the College for her and notes that she “joined in the general rejoicing that the college was about to enter upon a new era of prosperity and individuality.” Margaret Hood would not live to witness that new chapter in the life of Hood College; she passed away exactly ﬁve weeks after that article appeared in the Evening Post. However, her legacy lives on in countless ways. As Hood looks to the future, we are reminded of Margaret Hood’s vision and commitment to providing the College with the means, as the article states, “to enable the institution to maintain its high standard and move forward to yet greater things.”
Hood Magazine Winter 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hood Magazine Winter 2009
