Annual Giving Raises $68.4 Million but Participation Continues Decline

In a tumultuous time for higher education nationwide, Princeton’s Annual Giving campaign raised $68.4 million, its seventh-highest total ever. Yet, despite the strong outcome in total dollars raised, the undergraduate alumni participation rate dropped to 43.9%, the lowest in almost 80 years.  

The campaign’s final months overlapped with the University’s “Stand Up” campaign, which invited alumni, faculty, students, members of the Princeton community, and friends to support the University financially and to advocate for it in response to the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on endowments, research funding, financial aid, and academic freedom in higher education.

In a June 18 email, Stand Up organizers wrote to the more than 10,000 Princetonians and supporters who joined the initiative that with “many of our grants suspended or under threat, the University will need to draw even more heavily on Annual Giving and other sources.” 

While the total amount raised exceeded last year's total of $66.7 million, the continued decline in alumni participation reflects a broader trend. From 2010 through 2015, the participation rate hovered just above 60%; in the decade since, it has dropped by 16 percentage points.  Princeton has consistently ranked as a top university for alumni giving, leading the nation in participation rates and total dollars raised, well above the national average of 7.7%, according to U.S. News and World Report. 

Sue Walsh, the associate vice president for Annual Giving, wrote to PAW that the Stand Up campaign “energized many new donors to give, and inspired consistent donors to reaffirm their support and gratitude for Princeton during a challenging time for higher ed.”  

President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83 echoed this sentiment in a press release sharing the Annual Giving totals, and called the results “especially meaningful during this challenging time for Princeton.” 

“Unrestricted funds are critical to sustaining the University’s excellence in teaching and research and to meeting the full financial needs of our talented students,” he wrote. 

According to the press release, unrestricted gifts to Princeton through Annual Giving directly support the University’s educational mission, impacting financial aid and research. The recently passed federal budget act includes a revised endowment tax on investment income that likely will increase what Princeton pays, to 8% from 1.4%. This could result in tax of an additional $184 million.  

In an April interview with The New York Times, Eisgruber acknowledged that the University could be faced with difficult trade-offs, for example, choosing between funding research and giving financial aid. “At some point, you get to really tough choices about, how good does your financial aid program have to be in order to be able to sustain the research that you do?,” he said. 

Despite the overall decline in participation, multiple classes set individual giving records. The Class of 2000 raised the largest amount for a 25th reunion class ($6,502,600), and 62.9 percent of the class participated. The Class of 1975 raised $5,358,175 for its 50th reunion, and 62.7 percent of the class participated. Graduate alumni raised $2,482,922. The Class of 1960 set a 65th reunion record and raised $2,282,578. Princeton parents contributed $1,519,930. 

“We were inspired and encouraged to see the extraordinary response of so many alumni, parents and friends who made it possible to realize a $1.7 million increase in Annual Giving over last year’s results,” Deb Yu ’98, the Annual Giving Chair, wrote in a message to PAW.