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The Senior Class Gift Campaign
The Yale Alumni Fund and Unrestricted Funds
Senior Class Gift Alumni Fund Designations
Leadership Annual Giving
How to Make Your Senior Class Gift
Frequently Asked Campaign Questions
The Senior Class Gift Campaign
- Senior Class Gift Campaign is a three-week, class-based effort to raise unrestricted, current use funds for Yale.
- Classes typically raise more than $20,000.
- Last year, the Class of 2010 set the all-time participation record for Yale seniors when 91% of the class made a contribution (see the results from 2010).
- The most important part of the Senior Class Gift is to learn about giving back to Yale while immediately and directly benefiting current and future Yalies.
- By participating in the Senior Class Gift, the Class of 2011 will join a community of more than 68,000 Yale College alumni with a long-standing tradition of giving back.
- Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor your gift will have twice the impact this year. Every dollar the Class of 2011 contributes to the Senior Class Gift the anonymous donor will match dollar for dollar.
- The college with the highest participation and the college with the most dollars raised will be awarded the opportunity to present a $10,000 one year scholarship to an incoming freshman to their college.
- This year’s Campaign runs from February 1–February 22, 2011.
The Yale Alumni Fund and Unrestricted Funds
- The Yale Alumni Fund is the annual giving vehicle through which Yale seniors, alumni, parents, and friends donate flexible funds for the University’s current use.
- These funds provide critical funding for all of Yale’s core priorities.
- Founded in 1890, the Alumni Fund is the oldest and one of the most successful annual giving programs in the country.
- Unrestricted funds allow Yale to address immediate priorities and enhance programs not covered by the endowment or other sources of income.
- During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, giving to Yale College through the Yale Alumni Fund was almost $17 million. The University would need an additional $340 million in unrestricted endowment funds to equal this essential support.
- Donors who make unrestricted gifts can know that these contributions make an enormous difference in the success of Yale College.
Senior Class Gift Alumni Fund Designations
Donations to the Alumni Fund through the Senior Class Gift may be designated for any of the following six categories:
- Unrestricted: Gifts with no restrictions are applied where dollars are needed most. The fluidity of unrestricted funds impacts the budget of most departments throughout Yale and allows the university to embrace evolving ideas, programming, and technology.
- Financial Aid: These gifts to the Alumni Fund help Yale maintain its need-blind admissions policy, which promises that students will be accepted regardless of financial need. This year, nearly 60% of undergraduates were awarded some amount of need-based financial aid.
- Facilities: The support of donors allows for the renovation and maintenance of Yale’s world-renowned campus.
- Faculty Support and Curriculum Development: Gifts designated toward academic excellence support the faculty, as well as guest lecturers, symposia, workshops, and new curriculum.
- Library Collections: New acquisitions and the conservation of existing collections for Yale’s 42 library facilities are among the funding priorities.
- Undergraduate Life: Gifts designated toward this area fund all aspects of co-curricular life at Yale: the arts, residential college activities, volunteer pursuits, publications, and athletics.
The Nathan Hale Associates (NHA) Program is designed to encourage and recognize leadership annual giving to the Alumni Fund. During the 2009–2010 fiscal year, 7,125 donors qualified as members of the Nathan Hale Associates.
During your senior year, you can be recognized at two levels:
- $100–$249
- $250 or more
For the four years following graduation, Nathan Hale recognition begins at $250.
NHA donors are listed in the online version of the Campaign Annual Report, the University’s annual report on giving (to see the 2010 report, click here). Seniors who make Nathan Hale Associates level gifts are also listed on the Senior Class Gift website. Click here to see a listing of Associates from the Class of 2010.
How to Make Your Senior Class Gift
You can make your contribution to the Senior Class Gift online (through Yale’s secure server) by clicking here. You may also use a contribution card (download one here or ask your college volunteer to provide you with one).
The following methods of payment are accepted: Check, Credit Card, Cash or Bursar Account.
Frequently Asked Campaign Questions
- Why should I give back when I already pay full tuition–or I have student loans to repay?
Tuition does not represent the true cost of a Yale education; it covers only about half the cost of educating a Yale student. Thus, even when you pay full tuition–now or by repaying student loans after graduation, Yale significantly subsidizes your education–and can offer this subsidy only through the generosity of past and present donors. Alumni have been giving back to Yale through the Alumni Fund since 1890. Your gift during senior year makes you a part of that long tradition of giving.
- How does my small contribution make a difference when some alumni are giving thousands or even millions of dollars?
Do not underestimate the impact of your support and the importance of your participation. Every gift to Yale made by members of the Class of 2011 represents your class’ commitment to the University. Last year, relatively small gifts (under $1,000) to the Alumni Fund raised nearly $5 million collectively! If everyone waited until they had enough money to make a major gift donations from alumni would be sporadic at best, and daily life on campus would suffer from a shortage of funding. The lack of steady income from year to year would limit the activities and resources available to students at Yale. Annual giving is also an important measure of alumni attitudes toward the University. Participation statistics are considered in how Yale is evaluated by corporate and foundation donors. It also affects the University’s ranking in major publications including US News and World Report. Every donor and donation makes a difference.
- Given the size of the endowment, why does Yale need a Senior Class Gift?
Annual giving is an important complement to restricted funds, which make up the bulk of Yale’s endowment. Because of strict spending rules in place to preserve its principal, only a small portion of the endowment can be used each year to support the University’s annual budget, and how those restricted funds can be spent is determined by the donor’s intention. New, unrestricted support is always needed to fund the innovations required to keep Yale a world-class institution. A gift of $25 to the Alumni Fund that can be spent immediately has the same impact on the University’s spending as an endowment gift of $500 and can also be used much more broadly. Every gift counts!
- Don’t other causes need my money more than Yale?
We know you may care about and support other non profits. That’s great! Instead of giving only to Yale or only to another cause, consider making contributions to both. Giving to Yale shows your class pride–and signals your endorsement of Yale and its future. Donors help the University maintain a high intellectual standard and find solutions for today and tomorrow while educating future world leaders. Yale’s contribution to the future goes even beyond the education of its leaders. From the life sciences to nanotechnology to the study of the environment, Yale has the capacity to make discoveries that will dramatically enhance the quality of human life. Think of giving to Yale as an investment paying significant benefits to society.
