Stanford University: Teaching Students to Be Givers (No. 19)

By VIKKI KRATZ

How much it raised last year: $319.6-million

Where contributions come from: Nearly 70 percent comes from individual donations,

including from alumni and parents. About 15 percent comes from foundations, with the remainder coming from corporations. The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education raised $8.7-million of the university’s budget last year.

Most notable fund-raising effort of the decade: Expanding efforts to get students involved in fund raising, starting from their freshman year, through activities designed by the Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education.

How it works: During the Frosh Thankathon, members of the freshmen class call alumni to thank them for their gifts to the university. Student groups can earn money by asking their members to write letters to thank donors for their contributions. In their senior year, students create direct-mail campaigns, organize several nights of fund-raising calls, and staff a booth on campus to solicit donations from fellow students for the senior class’s gift. The seniors also decorate a “senior gift mobile” — a golf cart — and drive it around campus, picking up pledges.

Why it works: Students begin thinking about the role alumni gifts play in their education from their first few months on campus, and learn what is expected of them after graduation. And letting students design fund-raising appeals has led to more-effective solicitations from their fellow students. Students get further encouragement to give through offers of matching donations made by a group that represents parents of Stanford students and by Peter Bing, a trustee.

Results: The percentage of seniors who give increased from 8 percent in 1993, the year before Stanford fund raisers began expanding efforts to reach undergraduates, to 78 percent in 2000. This year, seniors gave a total of $28,447. With the matching gifts, the total increased to $280,986.

Where the money went: Sixty percent of the money raised from the senior gift fund is used for need-based scholarships. The rest supports student organizations and academic programs.

The future: Stanford hopes to increase the number of students who give in the years immediately after graduation. The percentage of alumni who give usually hovers around 18 percent one year after graduation, increasing to 40 percent after five years.