I know many of us pay large sums of money (tuition, room/board, books, transportation, etc.) to send our children to various colleges. I’m just wondering if it is common to also provide donations to colleges when you receive a solicitation? I’m just curious as to what others do, considering that in many cases the child hasn’t even graduated let alone may only be finishing their first year.
We donate to the clubs and activities, which our DSs are in.
I made token donations ($10) while my son was an undergrad. While I am sure that they would prefer a larger donation, they were also happy to receive the token because percentage of donor groups is recorded. Now that he has graduated, donations are his responsibility.
I get calls soliciting from S1’s school. I generally politely decline them by explaining that I already send a pile of money their way. The one that really got my goat was the alumni association called. The guy on the phone seemed surprised when I told him that I have my own alumni association to support, and that he should call S1 for a donation after graduation (and is thus an alum)
We got those calls all the time, and I graciously told them we were “donating” over $40,000 a year to their school.
But my kids have graduated, and we are appreciative of their schools. We do make donations now to them. BUT so do our kids!
My husband and I also donate to our alma maters.
We love both kids’ schools but enough is enough. I politely tell the callers that we are paying a ton for our children’s college and feel that is enough. My H and I both donate to our alma maters, so we’ll leave it to the kids to donate to their schools after graduation (and my S who finished college and grad school does send in small donations to his schools).
I do give a donation, not a huge sum but something. Most colleges’ true cost of operations are way more than the tuition & board charged, with the balance coming from funds generated by the endowment. That legacy of giving that has been perpetuated by donors from the past needs to be carried into the future. The percentages of donor giving do factor into various ratings colleges receive.
No frickin’ way. I pay enough to tuition. When my child graduates, they can donate. I do donate to my alma mater but I am not double-donating.
Save your donations and buy your graduate a lifetime alumni association membership when they graduate. Then, you can donate whatever is left over.
I asked the development director at one of my alma maters about this. She said they ask because sometimes people say yes. At DD’s college, there is a special event at family weekend for the big donors. Maybe they miss running the PTO? So it’s worth their while to ask, but we pass. Our kids know that we donate to our alma maters, and they can make their own choices with theirs.
I sent my niece a $25 donation for her club sport. I am now a ‘special friend’ of her school, and they send me many opportunities to send more, read the glossy magazine, participate in events. They don’t seem to realize I have two colleges of my own to donate to, plus two for my kids.
Yep, have done so for my kiddos. Their respective schools opened so many doors for them and helped them to realize their educational and career goals that it is the least I can do. The schools were all very generous with their financial aid packages so the small pittance I have sent over the years makes me so happy when I receive the thank you note.
Not having a school of my own to donate to allows me the ability to make a small contribution to my childrens’ education that I myself never had. They never make me feel bad about the small amount I send and make me feel great about the education they have received. My children also make contributions to their schools as well. (middle son has 3 different schools that he is alum of, so I send a little less to each, for now!)
For the gift of education that they received I am so proud to make a contribution every year. I know exactly what the envelope looks like and am proud to send something back in.
Kat
We donate to D’s university; my parents donated to my alma mater for years after I graduated (dad’s company TRIPLE matched). In many cases, the percentage of parent/alumni/faculty donors is important even if many of the amounts given are modest.
I tell them the same thing every time they call - I will be happy to make a donation once I am do e paying tuition. S is graduating next month so the next time they call I will make a pledge.
If a student from an affluent family receives a major merit scholarship, it would be good for the parents to make a modest donation.
One of the benefits of a significant donation is usually VIP seating at graduation…worth its weight in gold.
I’m all for giving (see my message above) but honestly this ^ would bother me. People give according to their means, all students earned a spot at the college and have worked hard for 4 or more years to graduate. I don’t like the idea of VIP seating for big donors.
As others, I give modest amounts to targeted funds such as for scholarships.
No frickin’ way. I love my alma mater, but I’m sending a kid there at full-pay and that’s enough.
My daughter received a dedicated alum scholarship this year and had to write a thank you note directly to the donor. I really liked this method of donation as then the donor knows where the money is going. I understand that schools need general donations to pay for all kinds of expenses, but I think I’d like to see where my money is going. After I pay for college for 2 and all my bills, maybe I’ll establish an alum scholarship.