College Fundraising Efforts Adapt to Slowing Economy

Author: Campus Editor in Chief

Fundraising executives across the nation worried that the generosity that followed Sept. 11 would siphon charitable dollars away from other nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education, dipping into annual giving totals and placing added pressure on groups already reeling from the recession.

At Middlebury College and a host of peer schools, the year-end results are mixed, with 14 posting gains over last year's donations and 11 showing declines.

Director of Development Ann Crumb reported that gifts to Middlebury remain on par with those of last year, adding that she is "quite gratified and optimistic overall because of the heightened sense of philanthropy."

As of Dec. 31, 2001, the College had raised $3.7 million of the $7.6 million it hopes to collect before closing the campaign books on June 30.

"Our first concern was to provide solace for students here," said Crumb. "The terrorist attacks brought home how important our mission is … to educate the next generation of leaders."

But annual giving, which funds 7 percent of the budget each year, remains a "crucial piece" of College operations.

After Sept. 11, the annual giving staff polled alumni volunteers to gauge whether fundraising calls would be appropriate in the wake of such a national tragedy. The classes that seemed most affected were the College's most recent graduates, while the Class of 1950 and earlier felt comfortable receiving solicitations right away.

Director of Annual Giving Sue Regier said her office began soliciting "as alumni volunteers from different classes became comfortable," with the last batch of appeal letters postmarked in early December to the Classes of 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Phone-a-thon calls began Oct. 1, with "the intention of pulling out if we were met with any negative response," said Crumb. "But what struck me is that, if anything, people were happy to hear from Middlebury students [who make the solicitation calls]."

She continued, "It was an opportunity for alums to talk with students and get a sense of what went on here," adding that student callers were given information about how the College responded to the terrorist attacks before calling.

Solicitation of alumni living in New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C., who were deemed more likely to have been affected by the events, is on hold until February.

Crumb remains "cautiously optimistic" that the College will be able to meet its annual goal by June. "Recent graduates have been hit by this more dramatically, so we expect to see an increase in their contributions after the first of the year," she said.

Joan Callahan, director of annual giving at Williams College, also noted that younger classes have been most affected by the economic downturn and recent national events.

"Typically our younger alumni need more time to develop the habit of giving annually. If we are to see a decline in participation, I suspect it would be most apparent in our ten youngest classes," she explained.

Overall, Williams stands $250,000 behind last year's annual giving totals, even though the Williamstown, Mass., institution was "slightly ahead at year's end."

"Last year was a record year and quite possibly the result of an economy that was just beginning to show its weakness," she remarked, adding that Williams delayed the start of their annual appeal by one month following Sept. 11.

Callahan speculated, "People are reevaluating their commitments to causes and institutions that are most important to them." While loyal donors will continue to give, "those least likely to give will probably not give" during times of recession.

At Colby College in Waterville, Maine, the annual giving picture is brighter, according to Vice President of College Relations Randy Helm.

Donations were up 10 percent at the end of the calendar year.

"We believe that the events of Sept. 11, our institutional response to those events and our outreach to alumni in the wake of those events have had the salutary effect of reminding donors that they want to give to institutions that are really part of their family, institutions with which they have a long established link, institutions they trust and institutions whose missions are related to long-range solutions of the sort of problems our country is facing," said Helm.