Denison depends on support from Alumni, Parents and Friends to make up the difference between what tuition revenue provides and the cost of operating Denison. Each year, tuition covers approximately 50 percent of the operating costs, leaving 50 percent to be made up from other sources, including income from endowment support and gifts from Alumni, Parents, and Friends.
For this reason, the Denison Annual Fund plays the role of a "silent scholarship" for every Denison student. Furthermore, every graduate of Denison benefited when they were a student from the gifts of alumni who preceded them, because of the gap between operating costs and tuition revenue.