Giving to K

Geographically Diverse, Locally Invested

Kalamazoo College’s Economic Impact 

Kalamazoo College circulates millions of dollars into the Kalamazoo community each year, positively impacting the local economy.

According to a 2010–2011 report by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, K contributed $32 million dollars to the Kalamazoo economy annually. Notably, the College spent $19.6 million in payroll, $3.6 million in student spending, $2 million in out-of-area visitors and an additional $6 million in indirect expenditures due to the College’s presence. 

Adjusted for inflation, $32 million in January of 2011 would roughly equal $44.8 million in January of 2024, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, we anticipate the College’s economic impact to be greater now as the College employs over 100 additional workers. 

Building and Sustaining Community

While on campus, our students actively integrate themselves into their new home. Facilitating community partnerships, several offices at the College connect students with local businesses, schools, governments, non-profits, artists and activists. 

These partnerships offer a symbiotic relationship in which our students and community partners get to work with and learn from one another. 

Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE)  

From tutoring students in local schools to working on immigrant rights projects, most students engage with the CCE at least once during their four years. Notably, the CCE pairs students with over 45 community partners through their 13 student-led programs, 20-plus community-based courses and 25 paid community building internships. 

Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership 

The College maintains strong connections with advocacy groups and activists— local, national and international—through the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. At Arcus, students are trained how to plan, create and implement social justice work on and off campus.  

The Larry J. Bell ‘80 Environmental Stewardship Center (ESC) 

Helping to improve the College and city’s environmental footprint, the ESC infuses sustainability and environmental themes across the curriculum and increases opportunities for students to conduct mentored research and community programming. Notably, the College maintains the Lillian Anderson Arboretum, which serves as a 140-acre living laboratory and trail—open to community members and students alike.   

Staying Local

The intellectual capital we foster funnels directly back into Kalamazoo as our alumni go on to work at local companies, such as Stryker, Whirlpool and Pfizer and at non-profits like the Kalamazoo Nature Center and Ministry with Community. In fact, more than 50 students from the class of 2022 have remained in the Kalamazoo area.