Williams has the oldest existing Alumni Society of any academic institution in the United States, and may have the oldest
alumni organization in the world. The Alumni Society was founded during the "Amherst crisis" in 1821, when Williams College President Zephaniah
Swift Moore left Williams. Graduates of Williams formed the Alumni Society to ensure that Williams would not have to close,
and raised enough money to ensure the future survival of the school.In the years since the Amherst Crisis the generosity of alumni has made Williams one of the wealthiest educational
institutions in the United States, with an endowment of over $1 billion.Not affiliated with the Society of Alumni, but also serving the college's alumni is the Williams Club in New York City. Located at 24 East 39th Street in Manhattan, the club is open to the paying public as a hotel and restaurant, and operates as a meeting space for
Williams alumni living in and visiting the city.