Direct Outreach to 1.4 Million Students

Over the past 20 months with campus closures due to the COVID 19 pandemic, many nonreligious students were forced to be at home with unsupportive religious families and communities and cut off from their other nonreligious friends. Coming out of the pandemic, the Secular Student Alliance launched a nationwide organizing campaign, reaching 1.4 million students, at many of the largest public colleges and universities in the United States.

“The SSA staff sent emails or texts to every student – religious and nonreligious – at some of the largest campuses in every state in the country,” said Kevin Bolling, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance. “We intentionally wanted to help normalize nonreligion, let nonreligious students know they are many students on campus just like them, and jump-start new SSA student chapters at colleges and universities across the nation.”

The stark reality is that few public institutions are providing meaningful resources, if any, to meet the needs of the growing number of nonreligious students. The Secular Student Alliance is the only organization that provides a unique community and leadership development for nonreligious students, who face higher rates of harassment and animus than the general student population.

“Growing up all I knew of were religious student associations, I could not have even imagined that something like the SSA even existed. If I had known about the SSA in high school, when I left the church and felt all alone, it would have greatly helped me have a sense of community and the feeling that something was wrong with me.”               ~Ashley, a student member of an SSA chapter at the University of Indiana

As you know, we cannot do this without you.  Thank you for your support of our mission and for helping nonreligious students in middle schools, high schools, and universities.  Please continue your support at secularstudents.org/donate