Cause for Concern in Annual Giving

Annual Giving raised $66.7 million in the campaign year ending June 2024 (On the Campus, September issue), with donations from 45.0% of undergraduate alumni. This was down for the second straight year — from an all-time high of $81.8 million in 2022 — with participation also less.

But figures over the past decade suggest far greater concerns. The participation rate was 61.4% in 2014. It is now more than a quarter less. The 2014 rate was also not exceptionally high. Participation was 58% to 61% every year back to 1996 and 54% or higher every year from 1951-52.

The amounts donated, adjusted for inflation, also suggest concerns. In prices of June 2024, the all-time high was 2017, with $96.0 million raised. The $66.7 million in 2024 was close to a third less. The reduction is even greater if compared to the previous rising trend.

This has not been a one-year issue, nor an issue only of the 2020 shocks. The participation rate was already 55.4% in 2019, before dropping to 47.8% in 2020. It is now 45.0%. The amount raised (in constant prices) also fell yearly from 2018 to 2024, except for 2022.

The University should consider why alumni have evidently become increasingly concerned. While neither the share who donate nor the amount raised should be taken as the sole or even primary indicators of concern within the University community, the issue should not be ignored. Rather than assert all is fine, the Board of Trustees should examine why a significant share of the University community apparently believes otherwise.