Annual giving sets new records
In 2012–2013, alumni, parents, and friends were spectacularly generous across Yale College and all of Yale’s graduate and professional schools, providing current use, unrestricted support to meet the needs of faculty and students.
Counted in the $34.0 million annual giving total, the Yale College Alumni Fund reached a new, all-time high of $19.3 million. The Parents Annual Fund set a new record of $2.9 million, and the Graduate School Alumni Fund reached its second-highest total with over $1 million. Donors also set new annual fund revenue records in the Divinity School, the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and the School of Public Health.
Year after year, such contributions provide vital funding for financial aid, teaching, research, collections, and other needs across the university.
Challenges raise the bar on giving
Alumni and parents led the way to a banner year by not only giving, but also encouraging annual contributions from others. More than 2,300 class chairs and class agents volunteered for Yale College, the Graduate School, and the professional schools. Giving challenges brought a competitive edge to their efforts:
- In November 2012, alumni from the classes of 1998 to 2012 took part in the second annual Yale-Harvard Alumni Fund Participation Challenge to see which school could secure the highest number of gifts leading up to The Game. Yale alumni were barely edged out by Harvard, 1,010 to 938, raising the stakes for Elis aiming to beat Harvard this year.
- Hundreds of Yale College volunteers participated during April 2013 in the eight-day Bulldog Blitz campaign, reaching out to their classmates to encourage annual gifts to Yale. One anonymous donor pledged a challenge gift of $100,000 if volunteers secured 1,000 donors—a goal that was handily surpassed. The final result was a record-breaking 2,118 gifts and pledge payments to the Alumni Fund totaling over $1 million.
Lessons in generosity
Current students were quick to recognize the importance of giving:
- In November 2012, students from Yale College and the schools of Divinity, Forestry & Environmental Studies, Medicine, Music, Nursing, and Public Health took part in the second annual Elihu Day. Over 1,000 personal thank-you cards were sent to a cross-section of alumni, parents, and friends who have supported the university.
- The Yale College Class of 2013 conducted an energetic Senior Class Gift campaign, achieving a participation rate of 96.1 percent and raising $39,069. Alumni and parents weighed in with challenge gifts to increase the impact of the gift to $248,240, which was presented to the university on Class Day.
- In the Yale School of Management, 97 percent of graduating students participated in the Class Gift, raising $335,824 in gifts and pledges, and the Yale Divinity School Senior Class Gift was its largest ever at over $13,022.