A strong showing by annual donors
The 2011–2012 annual giving total of $37.3 million has demonstrated once more the significant generosity of alumni, parents, and friends across Yale College and all of Yale’s graduate and professional schools. Nathan Hale Associates leadership giving continued to be a strong source of support, with 7,498 alumni and parents contributing over $31.6 million.
This past April, volunteers rallied once again for the annual Bulldog Blitz, a focused outreach effort to boost participation in annual giving. Hundreds of Yale alumni took part in the weeklong drive, bringing in 1,160 new annual gifts and pledge payments.
Reunions also played a key part in boosting support for the Alumni Fund in Yale College. The Class of 1962 set a record for the highest, current-use, unrestricted giving by classmates in a single year, over $1.063 million. Widows affiliated with the Class also contributed to the Alumni Fund, bringing the total to $1.091 million.
Current students and young alumni make an impact
Yale’s students and young alumni were especially generous in 2011–2012. The Yale College Class of 2012 raised $31,545 over three weeks and set a new record with a participation rate of 97.5 percent. Challenge gifts by alumni and parents increased the impact of the senior class gift to $185,035; the gift was presented to the University on Class Day.
Among the four professional schools with a class gift, the Yale School of Management led the way in student contributions. The second-year class attained 100 percent participation and total gift commitments of $328,853. The highest in the history of Yale SOM class giving, this contribution will name the Class of 2012 Foyer in Edward P. Evans Hall. Students in the schools of Divinity, Medicine, and Forestry & Environmental Studies also contributed generous class gifts, with participation rates of 86 percent, 79 percent, and 70 percent, respectively.
Recent alumni also had a strong showing. The 12,928 members in the Yale College classes of 2002–2011—collectively the Bulldogs Of the Last Decade, or BOLD—had extra motivation thanks to the Greatest Generation Challenge. Offering $95,000, members from the Yale College classes of 1940-1946 challenged BOLD alumni to make 350 individual Alumni Fund contributions in the month of April. The alumni were enthusiastic, making 701 gifts, more than twice the participation target. All told, BOLD classes saw a significant gain in donors over last year.
A new way to recognize giving
In November 2011, students from across the campus took part in the first Elihu Day, an event to celebrate and thank the University’s donors. Hundreds of students signed personal thank you cards for donors at stations in Yale College and at the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and Forestry & Environmental Studies. This highly successful event will now be an annual tradition at Yale.