Alumni giving to the College's graduate school fundraising campaigns has fallen in the wake of the current economic crisis, according to Dartmouth development officials, but the percentage of alumni making contributions has remained constant.
Revenue from the Tuck School of Business' annual fund has declined by 20 percent for this fiscal year, according to David Celone, director of Tuck annual giving and alumni services. Celone said this "slowdown" in revenue "mirror[s] the larger economy."
Alumni participation in the fund, which is usually about 25 percent, has remained relatively constant, Celone said.
"People are still giving," he said. "The question is: Can they give as much?'"
Dartmouth Medical School's campaign has also experienced a decrease in donations. The school had raised $300,000 at this point in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, whereas it has only received $190,000 thus far this year, according to Amy Schrom, director of annual giving and direct marketing.
Efforts earlier this year to raise $153,000 to establish an endowed professorship, which is not included in the overall tally, may account for the campaign's lower total value, she said, adding that the economy was likely also a factor.
Schrom also said that the percentage of alumni participating in giving has not significantly declined this fiscal year.
The total amount raised for the Thayer School of Engineering's annual fund, which supports the school's operating expenses, is down 8 percent as compared with last year, Maria Emory, associate director for annual giving and alumni relations, said, adding that last year's fund raised a record amount.
The number of donors contributing to the annual fund is "down just one percentage point" from the last fiscal year, Emory said.
The school recently implemented initiatives to encourage alumni to donate, Emory said.
"Thayer and the Board of Overseers recognize in this tough economic time donations will decrease, and they wanted to boost momentum," she said.
Board members announced last week that they will personally match all alumni donations to the annual fund and will contribute twice the amount donated by alumni who have graduated in the past 10 years, Emory said. The Board hopes that this measure will encourage alumni who might not have otherwise contributed to donate, she added.
The Thayer School is also undertaking a $60-million capital campaign.
The initiative, known as "Partners in Innovation," is part of the College's larger Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience.
The fund is within $4.5 million of its target, according to Jeanne West, associate dean for development at the Thayer School.
"We are very confident that we'll be able to reach our goal, in spite of what's going on in the economy right now," West said.
While the number of alumni contributions to "Partners in Innovation" has not yet decreased, some donors have said they must delay making payments on previously pledged gifts, West said.
"We try to accommodate our donors who still want to make the same-sized gift but want a more flexible payment schedule," West said.
Development coordinators at all three schools said they were not concerned about long-term drops in revenue, citing the historic loyalty of alumni to development campaigns.
