<p>Still… not that this has anything to do with Alumni giving, but… </p>
<p>There is a big difference between standardized test optional and alternatives to submitting SAT. The POINT of this thread is that 63% alumni giving is impressive and any school that reaches such a figure should be truly tooting it’s horn… this economy or any other!</p>
<p>congratulations to all those folks who contributed to their school. giving is good. we should always give. calling attention to oneself for giving is another issue. let’s hope all those graduated from middlebury give not only to their alma mater but give of themselves in many, many, other ways. . . then we can all truly celebrate.</p>
<p>let’s all go out and have a beer. :)</p>
<p>I’m in (if you’re buying)!</p>
<p>I’ll even buy!</p>
<p>(After all, I wasn’t all that fond of my undergrad)</p>
<p>I’m not calling attention to Midd for giving. I think that giving is good, but what I think is even better is the fact that at Middlebury a higher percentage of students than at any other school in the nation, were satisfied enough with their education to make a donation, so that other students would be able to have the same experience.</p>
<p>I’ll drink to that any day.</p>
<p>“…at Middlebury a higher percentage of students than at any other school in the nation, were satisfied enough with their education to make a donation, so that other students would be able to have the same experience.”</p>
<p>Amen.</p>
<p>And as a parent who is hoping their kid has a similar experience, I say “thank you!” and is why drinks are on me. But with tuitions to pay, I will have to call it after the first round or two. :)</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the giving rate was at comparable schools to Middlebury? (Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Amherst, Williams, etc)</p>
<p>Amherst, which also is in the midst of a capital campaign, had an alumni giving rate of 60 percent.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/give/volunteer/volunteer_alumni/tools[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/give/volunteer/volunteer_alumni/tools</a></p>
<p>Wesleyan, had 52% alum participation and 84% Senior Gift participation. Not sure when the last campaign was.</p>
<p>[The</a> Middletown Press - News - 03/07/2005 - Wesleyan exceeds capital campaign fundraising goal](<a href=“http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1645&dept_id=10856&newsid=14094340]The”>http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1645&dept_id=10856&newsid=14094340)</p>
<p>JW might have a point about increased levels of giving during a captial campaign, but the world was a very different place in 95 and in 2005. Still, it should not be lost on anyone that that there is a competitive streak between all NESCAC schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A total of 68 percent of Wesleyan alumni donated to their capital campaign over the course of 5 years. The 62 percent Middlebury figure reflects alumni giving over one year. We’re not comparing apples to apples here.</p>
<p>Middlebury was the only NESCAC school to experience an increase in the alumni giving rate this past year. Click on this link to see how some other schools did: </p>
<p>[Local</a> colleges buck poor fund-raising trend | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/03/2009](<a href=“http://www.philly.com/philly/education/52334812.html]Local”>http://www.philly.com/philly/education/52334812.html)</p>
<p>In addition to having over 60% participation, Midd also surpassed it’s fundraising goal in 2009 (as it has the past 4 years) with $13,095, 231 in contributions and while it isn’t as big of an overage as in years past, it’s still very good considering the economic times, which bodes well for the school’s future security. And actually, this seems to only report alumni giving whereas there is a parent fund that raised nearly $4.8 million this year.</p>
<p>[Progress</a> Report](<a href=“http://www.middlebury.edu/supporting/alumni/progress/]Progress”>http://www.middlebury.edu/supporting/alumni/progress/)</p>
<p>Gentlemen,</p>
<p>There is no point in arguing alumni participation without first knowing how each college calculates/ascertains the number of current alums. No accusations, but many colleges have finessed their number of alums (read reduced) in order to report an apparent higher percentage of alumni donations. Blame USN&WR ranking wars.</p>
<p>Edit: I know of LACs asking for as little as $1.00 so the institution can add another donor to the equation.</p>
<p>point is, middlebury has loyal and grateful alums. kudos! while i think boosting about who may be number one is silly (as a general rule) it’s impressive that graduates want to ensure the school continues this excellent experience for future generations, especially in these economic times. it’s a daunting task. of course other schools have reason to be proud as well. . .there are many like middlebury.</p>
<p>Crewdad… I agree that participation is a relative marker. However, I also know that there are plenty of people in the world who would just as soon not give even that dollar! There is also the argument that some people, if they can’t give what they feel is a respectable sum, will give nothing at all. And it is to those people that colleges (and any private institution that hits up it’s alumni) just hope they will contribute. You’d be surprised at how quickly it can add up. Is it millions, no. But when, in this case, you hit 60% and I’ll give you a million… well, then I’d say the job is getting done.</p>
<p>Modadunn,</p>
<p>I wasn’t disparaging Midd or accusing the college of nefarious actions. My comment was solely for academic argument.</p>
<p>And I was only counterpointing. 
It’s all good.</p>