University strives to reach $56 million goal for 2009

Recent graduates, however, said they remain committed to donating to Annual Giving even in the face of the current recession. Forty percent of the Class of 2008 has already made some contribution to this year’s campaign, while 45.2 percent of the Class of 2007 and 36.9 percent of the Class of 2006 have given back, Hardt said. Overall, participation has remained fairly steady, as 29.3 percent of all alumni have donated so far, compared to 31.6 percent at this time last year. The 2008 campaign went on to raise a record $54.1 million.

But reaching this year’s goal may be difficult, as young donors have said they often give sums between $25 and $50, and the campaign’s success depends mainly on larger donations.

“The majority of people who last year gave $100 or $1,000 or $50 are giving that same amount or more,” Hardt explained. “The biggest challenge is in the large denominations. Typically, many of these gifts are made in celebration of major Reunions, and so far, at least, there are fewer large denominations in the mix of gifts.”

Despite the relatively small impact of their gifts, young alumni said they remain dedicated donors, whether because of persistent solicitation or a sense of responsibility to the University community.

Tiffany Andras ’07 said in an e-mail that repeated requests by her classmates drove her to donate.

“It usually begins by receiving a Facebook message, e-mail, or text (or sometimes phone call) from one of my friends who participates in soliciting donations,” Andras said. “It feels a bit cheap, as you get excited to get a message from someone you haven’t spoken with in awhile, then you get to the end of the message and all feelings of benevolence are gone.”

She added that receiving a list of her classmates who had already donated to Annual Giving proved a further motivation to give money because she realized her classmates would know if she chose not to.

“Public embarrassment at NOT donating was incentive to donate early in the coming year, although I can’t say that I was pleased with the method,” she explained.

But other young donors said their connection to the University community motivated their decision to give.

“As a Princeton alumna, I believe that it is part of my responsibility to give back what I can to the University and contribute to making current students’ time on campus as unique and amazing as the time that I spent there,” Annual Giving volunteer Cate Adams ’08 said in an e-mail.

Hardt said he doesn’t yet know if Annual Giving will reach its $56 million goal for this year.

“I wish I knew,” he said. “Obviously, we’re playing in a challenging environment, so it remains to be seen.”

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Regardless of concerns that fundraising may fall short this year, several young alumni said they would not increase their donations.

“Princeton will probably be alright without my money even though the endowment took a large hit,” Stephen Armenti ’07 said in an e-mail, adding that he usually donates between $20 and $50.

Andras expressed a similar sentiment.

“I understand that Princeton may be negatively affected by a downturn in alumni donations but you can’t give money that you don’t have,” she said.

She noted that, given the current economic climate, many recent graduates need to focus on their personal financial security before the University’s welfare.

“The reality in this economy is that those who have been working for a year or two are facing the threat of ‘First in, first out’ in company layoffs,” Andras said. “They are not yet invaluable to their companies in most cases. This threat, paired with the fact that we have not been working long enough to accrue significant savings in case we lose our jobs, means that we are more likely to need to put any extra money into our savings accounts.”