Let your free speech-failing alma mater know: ‘I put my money where my mouth is.’

It’s no secret that America’s colleges and universities struggle to uphold a foundational constitutional right: Freedom of expression.

FIRE’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings show that roughly a quarter of students think it is not clear that their administration protects free speech on campus. And if a free speech controversy were to erupt? More than a quarter believe their administration would be unlikely to defend a speaker’s right to express their views.

America's colleges and universities should be bastions of free speech. Yet, these abysmal scores show they are not. Alumni don’t have to reward universities that flunk out on free speech: They can donate to FIRE in lieu of making a gift to their alma mater.

College Free Speech Rankings

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The College Free Speech Rankings is a comprehensive comparison of the student experience of free speech on their campuses.

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Alumni — frequent recipients of university solicitation mailers with return envelopes postmarked for donations — have a unique opportunity to speak with their wallets and let university officials know that they will be sending their money elsewhere until their alma mater lives up to the spirit of the First Amendment.

If you currently donate to a university that violates free speech (find your alma mater’s free speech ranking here), consider making a contribution to FIRE instead. When you do, we will notify the school that until it fully protects individual rights on campus, it will no longer earn your charitable support. Your identity and contribution will, of course, be kept strictly anonymous.

Next, FIRE will offer our services free of charge to help your school align its policies and procedures with First Amendment principles. We'll help it earn your donation back by making a commitment to uphold free expression on campus. 

We know that you care about your alma mater and want campus life to flourish. By adjusting the incentives for administrators, you can help do exactly that. 

Just consider what students are saying about what is happening on campus:

• “Conservatives are slammed on this campus for simply just having opposing views. Disgraceful. A professor of mine nearly got fired for just expressing how he felt about topics but wasn’t being offensive.” — American University student, class of 2026
• “An impromptu event where we would read off the names of Palestinians killed in Gaza was rebuked by the school, with the president threatening to take disciplinary action against those students whose names were recorded.” — Davidson College student, class of 2024
• “One of my friends was canceled for opening a free speech club and having to hear my other friend group making fun and insulting my other friends was a bit tough.” — Grinnell College student, class of 2026

All you have to do is make a gift using our secure online donation form, send a check in the mail, or call us over the phone at 215-717-3473, and let us know that your contribution is in lieu of a gift to a university.

Donate

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Support the fight for free speech. Help us build a movement and promote a strong culture of free speech by supporting FIRE with a donation today.

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You can rest assured that your gift will have an immediate impact on the state of free speech. From the classroom, to the courtroom, to the halls of Congress, FIRE has a proven track record of principled advocacy. We defend speech based on principle, not viewpoint, because we don’t have an ideological axe to grind.

If it’s protected, we’ll defend it. No apologies.

We hope you will take advantage of this program and partner with us to stand up for speech. Together, we can adjust the incentives away from censorship and toward protecting the free exchange of ideas where it is needed most.

Make your 100% tax-deductible donation to FIRE today — and include a note with the name of your alma mater to mark it as an in-lieu-of gift. Feel free to contact us at support@thefire.org or 215-717-3473 with any questions or to learn more. 

If a school won't protect free expression, let’s make sure it knows how that choice is impacting its bottom line!