<p>Among Public Ivies, UVA has the highest alumni giving rate. UVA alumni have given hundreds of millions of dollars to our alma mater - billions even. Even non-alumni parents of UVA students have made huge donations to UVA (on top of what they already pay to the University in tuition, etc.) In fact, in the last 8 years, non-alumni parents have donated over $42 million to the University of Virginia. </p>
<p>Why? I think Bob Sweeney, UVA's Senior Vice President of Development, hits the nail on the head. After I read this, I wanted to share it with you all.</p>
<p>
[quote]
We believe we have a unique relationship with alumni. There are only a handful of schools that evoke the same level of passion among alumni. If we look at the top 20 schools, the PQ passion quotient is highest at U.Va. and Princeton... </p>
<p>...Why is that? Partly because of the power of the physical presence of the place. The power of the student experience. Students close relationships with faculty and the overall value system contribute to a powerful university experience...</p>
<p>Our alumni talk about their time at U.Va. as being a transformational experience. A lot of things go into that extraordinary undergraduate teaching, close student-faculty relationships, research opportunities, access to one of the best research libraries in the country, a Grounds listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, strong student self-government, an Honor Code. After leaving here, our students dont just go out and get jobs, they go out and become leaders. And the values they learn here, based on Jeffersons principles, become a way of life.
<p>Yeah, I wondered about that myself. I think it's more his opinion than anything else, but if you used alumni giving as a metric, UVA's is the highest among the so-called 'Public Ivies' and Princeton is the highest among the real Ivies (or any private school for that matter.) I guess the argument would be you wouldn't give to a school that you didn't love.</p>
<p>Speaking of alumni giving, I just read this article and thought it was interesting:</p>
<p>
[quote]
The University of Virginia School of Law closed 2006-2006 with more than 51 percent of its alumni contributing to annual giving, a record for the school and almost certainly the highest participation rate in the legal academy.</p>
<p>The participation rate represents historic levels of alumni loyalty, said Luis Alvarez, Jr., chief development officer of the Law School Foundation. To our knowledge, no other law school has ever hit 50 percent. Clearly we are connecting with thousands of alumni in a compelling way.</p>
<p>No other law school in America can claim such broad alumni support, said Dean John C. Jeffries, Jr. Our graduates play an essential role in our success. Today, Virginia is financed much as a private law school. We rely primarily on tuition and secondarily, but crucially, on private giving. We think the devotion of our graduates speaks volumes about the quality of their experience here.
<p>I know that it doesnt have anything to do with undergrad. I just thought it was interesting. (Jeez.)</p>
<p>Yes, UVAs alumni giving is 27%, but its much higher than most publics (including Berkeley, U.Mich, etc.) which are in the teens. By the way, W&Ms is at 26%, and UNCs is 20%.</p>
<p>In general, public schools dont have a culture of giving that the privates have. UVa, like most public schools, didnt depend on alumni giving until recently, and thus didnt start pushing for alumni donations until the 80s/90s. It takes time to create a culture that has existed at private schools since their inception. In fact, UVAs Development Office was only created in the 80s, and after the University achieved its first capital campaign goal, the Development Office was dismantled. Well, after the Commonwealth of Virginia started slashing financial support to higher education in the 90s, UVa realized that it would have to start acting like a private school and depend more heavily on its alumni. UVa alums are very passionate about UVa. The key is converting that passion into actual donations.</p>
<p>What is impressive is how much money UVa has been able to raise in such a relatively short amount of time with only 27% of its alumni giving back. Even Dartmouth was shocked:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Dartmouth's endowment held steady at the 20th position in the last several years. But the University of Virginia leapfrogged Dartmouth in the rankings this year after the UVA endowment soared an astounding 55 percent higher, bumping the College from the top 20.
<p>More important than the number of people who give is the amount they give. Large individual donations have the most dramatic effects. The Brown family needs to step up and pull a Sidney Frank :) .</p>
<p>I agree that the $ amount is important, but I think everyone's donation is helpful even if it's just $20. I like the MY-D-CAV Campaign for young alumni. Whatever your passion at UVA is, may it be an academic program, school or student group like Madison House, the Washington Debate Society or the Ice Hockey Club, you can be an important contributor well after you graduate.</p>
<p>To show the power of numbers, here's some info from the MY-D-CAV site:</p>
<p>
[quote]
If 30 young alumni gave $30, that would cover the annual cost of books and supplies for a new student.</p>
<p>If 40 young alumni gave $40 the annual personal expenses of a student.</p>
<p>If 100 young alumni gave $50 the room and board costs for a student.</p>
<p>If 500 young alumni gave $25 the total annual costs for an in-state student.</p>
<p>If 1,000 young alumni gave $35 an out-of-state student's annual total costs.
<p>I can't believe over 2/3 of alums don't give any money. I mean, did they hate their time at UVa or something? or they are too poor to give 30 bucks a year to an institution which educated them? I find it absurd.</p>
<p>No, I think most people enjoyed their time at UVa. Duke's giving rate is 40+%, but it doesn't mean that 60% of Duke alums hated their time.</p>
<p>UVA's giving rate is a combination of things. I think some alums aren't used to donating, especially to a public school that's supposed to be financed by the state. Some incorrectly think only the big donations count and don't realize their $20 is also important. Some don't know that they can donate specifically to an area they love, like Sabato's Center for Politics, or student orgs. like the Asian Student Union, Engineers Without Borders, or the Hullabahoos. Some aren't aware of what the needs of the University are and thus don't know where their money would be most helpful. Also, as one moves far away from UVa, what's out of sight is often out of mind. Plenty of alums loved their college education, but when it comes to giving, they might give instead to their church or local charity where they can see the fruits of their donations immediately. </p>
<p>I also think UVa hasn't quite maximized its outreach potential yet. It's working on it through its alumni engagement initiatives. UVa needs to show how each person's donation is improving our alma mater. Like I said, the University needs to create a culture of giving back.</p>
<p>Let's not be too tough on the giving rate of UVA alums. Only one school on the USNWR Top Schools (Princeton with giving rate of 61%), exceeded 50%. The University is ranked 30th with 27% and, depending on whether you classify Cornell as a public (I don't), this is good enough for second among public schools (although I have absolutely no idea how NC State is first with 32%). For further perspective, consider the following comps as listed by USNWR: W&M at 25%, UNC-CH at 24%, Va Tech at 18%, UCLA at 16%, UC-Berkeley at 15%, U Michigan at 13%.</p>
<p>"or they are too poor to give 30 bucks a year to an institution which educated them? I find it absurd."</p>
<p>lol? Those alums gave quite a bit more money when they were students here. They really don't have any obligation to pay anymore than what UVA charges them at first. Everything after that is just generosity- I wouldn't care too much giving money to my undergrad institution as I would for my grad.</p>
<p>I hope not many alums feel the same way. ;)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most of the improvements you enjoy right now at UVa - from new buildings to new academic programs to new scholarships - come from the generosity of UVa alums. God knows the state of Virginia would not provide for Access UVA or pay for the new JPJ Basketball Stadium. </p>
<p>I hope UVa students who are grateful for their education will be generous enough to give back so that the next generation will benefit from what we have received.</p>
<p>Programs that are made possible for you by paying off your education wholly or partially typically tend to be graduate programs. Even then, it's really the grad school education that gives you the skills to land your job and income in the first place. I would see it to make much more sense that you give to a grad school.</p>
<p>I'm just saying that that's not the way it usually happens. Part of the reason that academic graduate programs will typically award full fellowships or teaching assistantships is that academic and research careers typically don't lead to huge salaries and large amounts of surplus case.</p>
<p>The other thing is that most people form a bit more of a bond with their undergraduate institution. That's not the case with graduate school, where it's more of a business relationship. If I'm in a position to make significant amounts of charitable donations in the future, I would probably only give money to my undergraduate alma mater, UVA.</p>
<p>"This is not the conventional way of thinking. Usually it's the other way around."</p>
<p>Agreed. Undergraduate experience is invaluable, and much more than academics (which is what grad schools give). Plenty of UVa TAs who got undergrad degrees in other schools have told the classes that they are more loyal to their undergraduate universities, even if they are not as prestigious.</p>