Annual Giving drive solicits $1 million in donations so far

December 15, 1972 — Princeton's 1972-1973 Annual Giving fund-raising drive has just reached the $1-million mark, according to its assistant director, William M. Hardt '63.

Hardt said the amount of contributions so far is comparable to last year, when the drive netted a total of $3.8 million in anonymous gifts, adding, "We're perfectly happy to date."

Joseph L. Bolster '52, Annual Giving director, said he hopes for a few gifts of $100,000 or more this year, since in the past six or seven years there have always been donations of at least five figures.

The average gift last year, however, totaled $163, he said.

A "significant amount" also comes from some 500 corporations that will match the contributions made by any of the their employees to Princeton, Hardt said.

Bolster added that Annual Giving, which will run through February, is expecting the largest contributions from members of classes celebrating major reunions.

High participation rate

"The thing we are proudest of is that Princeton's fund-raising drive has the highest rate of participation of any college," said Hardt.

Last year 58.3 percent of the alumni contributed in the course of the campaign, compared with about 56 percent at Yale and 35 percent at Harvard, according to Hardt.

Dartmouth, with a rate of 57.6 percent, has the second highest participation in the country.

This year for the first time Annual Giving will conduct a small telethon campaign from the campus, as well as mailing letters. Alumni representatives will telephone classmates who have not yet responded to appeal letters.

Involve undergraduates

Scott D. Seligman '73, coordinator of the alumni relations project, hopes to get undergraduates involved in telephoning some time during January and February.

Telethons based in other regions raised more than $150,000 last year for the drive, while expenses incurred in making the calls came to less than 10 percent of that figure.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Annual Giving employs a full-time staff of 15 in its New South offices, plus five or six part-time workers during each annual campaign.

The main bulk of the fund-raising work is done by some 1,500 alumni volunteers, Hardt said.

The expenses of the campaign are less than 7 percent of the total money raised, one of the lowest percentages in the country, said Hardt.

Alumni volunteers are divided into class and regional representatives, each either raising money from his classmates or from alumni living in his region.

This year is the first time a woman has been a regional Annual Giving chairman. Christine Levitt '71 is in charge of the Los Angeles area. As yet there are no women in charge of raising funds from their alumni classes.