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Actually, it's not BS (Bicarbonate of Soda). For my alma mater our annual giving was at 16% just 10 years ago. About 5 years ago, when I plugged in myself, it was up to 28%. And they expect to hit their goal of 47% this year (ended yesterday). They look to Deerfield and Groton as the tops in this and want to be above 50% consistently like those schools.
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<p>Again, that 50% number may indeed be correct, but I highly doubt that this is any school's OVERALL giving rate for the entire alumni community.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is the giving rate for a specific campaign, perhaps it is the giving rate for recent graduates, but I am highly doubtful that any school is going to maintain a 50%+ annual alumni giving rate consistently over a long period of time -- and that is the true definition of a school's giving rate: the average annual giving rate for the overall alumni community over a reasonable measure of time... any school can get a boost for a particular campaign over a couple of years, but that is difficult to maintain.</p>
<p>Again, over 50%? What is the source of that number and what is that 50% exactly?</p>
<p>Opus Dei and Skull and Bones don't pull in that kind of donation rate (yes, that is a small joke).</p>
<p>Prestige: the 50% rate does measure overall annual giving from alumni for whom the school has contact information. I believe the only alumni that are not included are the deceased and the alumni with whom the school has permantly lost touch and has no contact info (which is uncommon). </p>
<p>The top prep schools really devote a great deal of resources to keep in touch with all their alumni, and 50% giving is an achieveable goal.</p>
<p>Anyway, there are colleges that seem to do just as well. According to USNWR, Amherst has a 62% alumni giving rate, Princeton has 61%, Williams has 59%, Davidson has 56%, etc...</p>
<p>Another site to get financial information (990's) is guidestar.org
You do have to sign up, but it is free. You can find out all the school's income, expenses, specifice financial aid info, and the top 5 paid employees. It's all on the 990. Also includes donations, etc.</p>
<p>50% + is not unrealistic. The schools have large, experienced development offices. It includes Class Reps (D'yers experience), also reunion giving - a big push for bigger gifts for the 25th and 50th reunions especially. Check out staff directories - Deerfield has over 20 people in the development department.</p>
<p>D'yer: Boarding school education,wealthy friends,giving to Delbarton,Notre Dame grad, has time to post day and night, D'yer jr at Duke Tip, plenty of advice for all.</p>
<p>@ FrancisOuimet07: Hold on for a while...I'm pulling together my PFS and 1040s just for you. But you're right, I'm remiss for not asking my classmates to sponsor D'yer Jr's education. And what was I thinking all these years? The only worthwhile way to put a good education to use is to use it to make fistloads of money.</p>
<p>@ blairt: I can think of lots of reasons not to give, particularly to a school that you (or your parents) have given so much to already. Then there's college and the competition for those dollars. And student loans early on that quickly get alums out of the habit of giving. By the time you've finished college and are working, you probably haven't given for the past four years...so what's another year or two? I think high school giving can be a tough sell.</p>
<p>But a lot of these prep school alumni (some I know) are extremely rich just because they're part of the WASP generation and do have millions of dollars and CAN donate a lot of money.</p>
<p>Then again, I live in a town where the average home is worth 3.5 million dollars.</p>
<p>Exeter's endowment as of 7 December 2006 was $902 million. This is the second-highest endowment of any American secondary school, behind the $7.7 billion endowment of Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii, and ahead of the $730 million endowment of its traditional rival, Phillips Academy.</p>
<p>Also, from the Exeter website:
Over 50 percent of alumni/ae and 80 percent of parents make a gift each year to the Annual Giving Fund, which provides approximately 10 percent of the operating budget.</p>
<p>Loophole, I am one of those 80% of parents who made a gift to the Annual Giving Fund at Exeter, and believe me it was not a very large gift, because after tuitions at two schools there isn't a lot of "giving" currently being done. However, I think that they get such a high percentage because when they call it is usually a "personal" call ( a parent of one of my son's friends or one of his friends who has graduated ) also, they stress that it is not the size of the gift that is important, but the fact that you give. They want to see a high percentage of participation. And by looking at those numbers, it appears as though their plan is working.</p>
<p>Twosonmom, Each year when I get the phone call, I pledge a small amount. I figure I am doing my giving through tuition, but the caller always emphasizes that their goal is for 100% participation. So my token amount helps them in that regard.</p>
<p>No offense, but you started a thread about % giving.The AlGorean response about fi****lls of money vs being educated plays to the lowest political argument theme. You are educated and advantaged (seemingly).you talk about how important it is that a certain % people give yet you CHOOSE a career that requires FA. Many don't have that choice.It just interests me in a limosine liberal kind of way.I enjoy reading your thoughts so give me more .Its your thread but I will respond if you play the "its not about the money",while you are choosing BS ( both kinds).All in fun</p>