This year's senior class gift, which provides financial aid to the incoming freshman class, totalled $24,785, a new giving record. About 70 percent of the senior class contributed to the gift.
The Class of 1963 has pledged to match each dollar of donations by seniors with two dollars of its own contributions, allowing students to triple their giving and impact, said Jeff Hafner '02, managing director for individual and class giving at the Dartmouth College Fund.
Donatations of $20.13 or more could be made in honor of a specific faculty or staff member, and a gift of $100 inducted seniors into the 1769 Society. The minimum donation amount was $1.
In total, 317 seniors made gifts in honor or in memory of a person or organization. Crispin Scott '13, a member of the class who died in Barcelona on a transfer program last year, received the most of such recognitions, with 23 gifts in his honor.
Seniors were also asked to make a pledge to give each year in their first five years after graduation as part of the Hal Ripley Society pledge. A total of 347 seniors made such a pledge.
For every $1,000 raised by the Class of 2013, a student in the Class of 2017 will be named a scholar and become one of the class gift's financial aid beneficiaries.
The Classes of 2012 and 2011 each had participation rates above 80 percent, and several prior classes had rates above 90 percent. Seniors donated $24,000 in 2012 and raised a total of $72,697 through additional donations from members of the Class of 1962.
Hafner stressed that a high participation rate was more important that the specific dollar amount raised.
"The senior class gift educates seniors about the DCF and the importance of giving back," Hafner said. "[It] gets seniors in the habit of giving a gift to Dartmouth each year."
The DCF covers 10 percent of the College's total operating budget. Dartmouth tuition only covers about half of the cost of education.
"There's a portion of everyone's Dartmouth experience that's being largely supported by alumni that give back," he said. "That's been the case since the '63s were here, it's the case now and will most likely be the case for the Class of 2063."
The option to donate to a specific person or group was a new fundraising initiative this year, which Hafner said was "very successful."
"The recipients ranged from classmates to professors to alumni advisors, the office of residential life, custodians, workers in '53 Commons [and] Safety and Security," he said. "Gifts have also been made in memory of parents and grandparents, Crispin Scott '13, Stephanie Pignatiello '12."
Four student interns, Angela Dunnham '13, Suril Kantaria '13, Tyler Wallace '13 and Jay Webster '13, organized the Senior Class Gift campaign. The group selected the gift, met with members of the DCF and created an outline of how to best solicit members of the class, Kantaria said.
Numerous student volunteers work on the Senior Class Gift campaign as well.
Using the funds from this year's class gift for scholarships for incoming freshmen is consistent with past gifts, Kantaria said.
"I think my peers at this point in their Dartmouth careers are realizing how important their Dartmouth experience was, and they want to contribute to the Class of 2017 so future students can have the same experience," he said.
Volunteer Richard Asala '13 said he knows of several seniors who have not donated as well as others who have donated the full $100 suggested amount.
"Some students have said they thought their money could be better spent elsewhere and didn't think the school needed their money," he said.
Asala said that the majority of his peers have been happy to give back.
Some students may not be able to give due to financial difficulties or may refuse to give due to frustration with the College, Kantaria said.
"It's our job to help them to understand that this is not the best vehicle to express those frustrations, because by not donating they're not hurting the College," he said. "I see it as giving up the opportunity to join this important cause that our class is rallying around."
Webster is a former member of The Dartmouth senior staff.
