<p>Excerpt:</p>
<p>There is also a goal of reaching what the Jesuit-affiliated institution calls the Holy Grail -- an alumni giving rate of at least 50 percent. While Holy Cross doesnt have a mammoth endowment like the Ivies, its giving rate places the college among the most elite fund-raising institutions in the nation. Harvard Universitys rate is around 40 percent, compared with Princeton University at 60 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. </p>
<p>Fund raisers saw young alumni as the key to moving the needle on alumni giving, and with an extra push toward that demographic, the giving percentage went up to 55 percent in 2008. Thats rarefied air in the fund-raising world, says Gary Carskaddan, director of the Holy Cross Fund, which runs annual giving programs. </p>