The University’s 2016–17 Annual Giving campaign was a tale of two numbers. The good news: The amount raised jumped 26.2 percent from the previous year to a record $74.9 million. Leading the way was the 50th-reunion Class of ’67, which raised $11 million, more than any class in Princeton history. The Class of ’87 broke the 30th-reunion record with $10 million, and the 25th-reunion Class of ’92 brought in $9.6 million.
At the same time, the percentage of undergraduate alumni who donated slipped to 56.8 percent, down from 58.4 percent last year and the lowest figure in 22 years. William M. Hardt ’63, assistant vice president for Annual Giving, said that while the University hopes to see the participation rate go up each year, the rate for 2016–17 “is a remarkable total on any absolute level.” In the past three decades, the rate has ranged from 54.8 percent to 61.4 percent.
Factors include the mood of the country — political and economic anxieties — as well as Princeton matters, Hardt said. “There are always campus controversies, and in some cases misimpressions,” he said, noting erroneous media accounts that the University had enacted a speech code banning the use of the word “man.”
Alumni volunteers can clarify issues and offer other perspectives, he said, “but only if they are able to reach people personally and learn what their concerns are.” That has become more difficult, he said: Many people don’t answer the phone because of telemarketing, and younger people rely more on texting and social media.
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2 Responses
David M. Long ’63
7 Years AgoLosing Respect
Published online Oct. 23, 2017
It should come as no surprise that Annual Giving participation rates are down (On the Campus, Sept. 13). Princeton, following other similar institutions of so-called higher learning, has certainly done a lot of stupid things in recent years. As one loses respect for the old alma mater, one also loses the desire to support it.
Larry Leighton ’56
7 Years AgoUnhealthy Trends
A trio of numbers leapt off the page and, combined, do not seem to augur well.
Annual Giving: Only 56.8 percent of undergraduate alumni gave (see story, page 13). This is well below the usual 60 percent or higher. Are alumni expressing some displeasure at recent strategies?
Yield of admitted students: This year at 66.6 percent, instead of usually more than 68 percent. Are our friends in Cambridge and Palo Alto doing a better job here? Are they also committing to athletes on a more timely basis than Princeton’s Office of Admission does? I did convince a Seattle native to attend after five hours of telephone conversation. We need to do much better here.
Alumni offspring: Only 13.2 percent of students accepting admission offers, compared to 14.4 percent last year and at least 15 percent in the past. Much of Princeton’s strength has been the support and loyalty of its alumni and the maintenance of its close-knit culture. The admission office needs to remember who brought them to the dance. There is anger here.
I trust that the trustees and President Eisgruber ’83 will focus on these unhealthy trends. Princeton’s unique strength has derived from its sense of family, cohesion, and loyalty. Let’s not blow it.