Protecting the University's mission

Let me begin by stating my own conviction that giving to Princeton is essential, even as we all work to support smaller nonprofit organizations that are challenged in this economic climate. I direct the SEED Foundation, a nonprofit organization that partners with urban communities to prepare underserved students for success in college and beyond. My colleagues and I experience daily the challenges of these times. Yet I am especially proud to lead Annual Giving right now: Princeton educates the leaders who will ensure the long-term viability of our nation and our world, and Annual Giving plays a central role in sustaining and building the work at Princeton’s core.

To understand this role played by Annual Giving, it helps to have a basic understanding of how the University funds the experiences enjoyed by undergraduate and graduate students. There are four primary funding sources: tuition and other student fees, which to a significant degree are offset by financial aid for many students; grants to support particular research projects (mostly from the federal government); gifts that are invested in the endowment so they can keep giving in perpetuity; and annual, spendable gifts, particularly through Annual Giving.

Endowment earnings account for almost half of Princeton’s operating budget, while annual gifts add another 10 percent. Many endowed funds and annual gifts are restricted to specific purposes. Annual Giving funds are entirely unrestricted, which means they can be used each year to fund the University’s most urgent needs. These funds come from alumni, parents and friends, and in President Tilghman’s words, they “allow Princeton to be Princeton.”

Princeton’s signature features and programs — a low student-to-faculty ratio, the freshman seminars, the senior thesis, exceptional laboratory and library resources, fellowships for graduate students, investments in extracurricular activities and residential life — all depend on the flexibility of Annual Giving and the generosity of those who contribute to it each year.

This past year, Annual Giving has been especially helpful in allowing the University to sustain its extraordinary commitment to financial aid. Because of the economic downturn, more students than expected qualified for aid, and many students on aid qualified for higher awards. Princeton has been able to meet these needs so that not one student has had to leave the University for financial reasons. It is expected that next year’s financial aid budget will increase by another $12 million, or 13 percent, and again the University remains committed to fully meeting this significantly higher level of need and sustaining its no-loan policy. It can only do this because thousands of Princeton alumni, parents and friends support Annual Giving with gifts, both large and small, each year.

Annual Giving is at the heart of a tradition of giving back that links Princetonians of every era. Since Annual Giving’s inception in 1940, Princetonians who are grateful for the experience they had on this campus have wanted to help those who come after them enjoy similar opportunities. There is a mistaken perception that only big donations make a difference. In reality, the power of Annual Giving is its cumulative effect, and the fact that a large number of Princetonians make gifts — many of them modest — has a significant impact on the programs and experiences that Princeton can provide for its students.

In my role as chair of the national Annual Giving Committee, I have spent much of the past two years traveling and meeting Princetonians, many of whom work long hours as volunteers for Annual Giving. Their commitment is amazing and inspiring. This week, you have an opportunity not only to recognize their efforts but to inspire even greater generosity on the part of our alumni and friends.

As we face the challenges of this economy, I think it would be wonderful if undergraduates choose to join forces with alumni, faculty, staff and friends who are working together to protect key elements of the Princeton experience. The material strength you can provide would be most helpful. Your message of solidarity and appreciation would be immeasurable.

Rajiv Vinnakota ’93, chair of the national Annual Giving committee, is co-founder of the SEED School, the nation’s first public boarding school for disadvantaged students.